10 Years of Facebook
It has been an amazing journey so far, and one of which I am very grateful to be a part. It is strange to be able to touch the lives of so many people, and I personally try to remind myself to make the most of every day and to have the biggest impact possible.
People often ask me if I ever imagined that Facebook would become what it is today. No way.
I remember hanging out with my friends one night in college eating pizza shortly after Facebook opened. I told them that I was excited to help connect our school community, but that one day someone would need to connect everyone.
I always thought that was important – giving people the power to share and stay connected, empowering people to build their own communities.
When I reflect on these 10 years, the question I ask myself is: Why were we the builders of this? We were just students. We had far fewer resources than the big companies. If they had focused on this problem, they would have.
The only answer I can think of is: we cared more.
While some doubted whether connecting to the world was really important, we were already building it. While others doubted whether this would be sustainable, lasting connections were already forming.
We care more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we are still doing it today.
That is why I am even more excited for the next ten years than the last. The first ten years were to jump-start the network. Today we have the resources to help people around the world solve even bigger and bigger problems.
Today, only a third of the world’s population has access to the Internet. In the next decade, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to connect the other two-thirds.
Today, social networks are mainly for sharing moments. In the next decade, they will also help you answer complex questions and problems.
Today, we have only a few ways to share our experiences. In the next decade, technology will allow us to create many more ways to capture and communicate new types of experiences.
It has been amazing to see how all of you have used our tools to build a real community. You have shared the happy moments and the most painful ones. You have started new families, and you have kept your families connected everywhere. You have created new services and built small businesses. They have helped each other in many ways.
I am so grateful to have helped build these tools for you. I feel a deep responsibility to make the most of my time here and serve you to the best of my ability.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this journey.
Mark Zuckerberg
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