When Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004, he launched a revolution in how people connect with one another. By early 2014, Facebook had 1.2 billion monthly users accessing the site, with more than 1 billion checking in by phones or other mobile... More »

Facts on Facebook by Fraser Sherman With Facebook mobile apps, it's easy to stay in contact with friends. With Facebook mobile apps, it's easy to stay in contact with friends. Related Articles 1 The History of Skechers Shoes 2 History of Ranch Dressing 3 How to Find an Obituary 4 Japan Vs. Swiss Watches When Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004, he launched a revolution in how people connect with one another. By early 2014, Facebook had 1.2 billion monthly users accessing the site, with more than 1 billion checking in by phones or other mobile devices. In 2014, 67 percent of American Internet users are on Facebook. Facebook History Zuckerberg and his partners launched "The Facebook" in February 2004, while they were studying at Harvard. Within a month of the launch, it had grown beyond Harvard to Stanford, Columbia and Yale. In 2005, the company -- now called Facebook -- expanded to 800 other colleges. Then came high schools, work networks and everyone else. In 2012, the privately held company issued its initial public offering, at $38 per share. That set the company's net worth at greater than $100 billion. Facebook Geography Facebook users can view the site in more than 70 languages. The company has offices around the world including Washington, D.C., Amsterdam, Brasilia, Madrid, Tokyo and Tel Aviv. Non-U.S. users make up 86 percent of the Facebook population, and China, which officially bans Facebook, has 95 million people on the social network. California, Texas and New York are the states with the most users. In California, 41 percent of the population is on Facebook. Social Network Marketing With hundreds of millions of users, Facebook is a natural magnet for companies who want to market themselves online. Facebook's advertising revenue in the last quarter of 2013 hit $2.34 billion, according to an article on the Forbes website. Retailers advertising on Facebook saw a 152-percent return on investment in 2013. The 2013 last-quarter click-thru rate for Facebook ads was up 365 percent from the previous year. Teenagers, however, are drifting away from Facebook to other video and photo-sharing networks. Privacy Problems Because people post so much of their lives to Facebook, its use of personal data has become controversial. The Sponsored Story format, for example, allowed advertisers to include Facebook users' names and photos in ads without compensating them. The Beacon ad platform allowed businesses to post on people's Timelines announcing an individual had purchased from the company. Facebook scrapped both these programs due to user objections, but privacy advocates still raise questions about how it uses personal information. References Facebook: Company Info Search Engine Journal: 25 Amazing Facts About Facebook Forbes: Will Facebook Marketing Be Relevant In 2015? Time: Seven Controversial Ways Facebook Has Used Your Data Resources Information Week: Six Facebook Privacy Changes, Explained