(Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, 1984) American businessman and computer programmer. Creator and president of Facebook virtual community, in 2008, with only twenty-three years old, became the youngest billionaire on the list, published annually by Forbes magazine.
Born into a Jewish family, his passion for computer science manifested itself early, and already twelve years old began programming. He studied at Ardsley High School and Phillips Exeter Academy, and in 2002 he entered the University of Harvard, Massachusetts. Two years later, in early February 2004, with only nineteen years old and with his roommates in college, launched a new website, social network Facebook.
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Mark Zuckerberg |
Originally called Thefacebook, Facebook project arose with the initial intention of creating a network connection between the students of Harvard University. The name referred to the newsletter site that many universities give their new students with the intention of helping them to know each other on arrival at the center. The services offered Facebook essentially involved the ability to add friends, with whom they could exchange pictures and messages, and join groups, one of the utilities that best develop a posteriori. Each user, which must be registered, had a wall (wall) that allowed friends write messages or send gifts to it to see. The supermuro, further improvement, would also embed flash format animations.
What started as a game between colleagues surpassed all expectations in a short time. In just two weeks two thirds of Harvard students had joined Facebook, and coinciding with the summer of that year they had more than thirty U.S. universities. When classes ended, Zuckerberg took the opportunity to move to Palo Alto, California, and create your first office. Although the primary intention of university student was to resume his studies at Harvard after the break, the business was booming and required his attention, so he decided to leave Harvard and stay on the West Coast.
The project spread like wildfire and soon expanded their networks to other educational institutions and businesses, until finally the success led him to open their services to the general public. In 2006 Facebook had become a global phenomenon, with 64 million users, concentrated in English-speaking countries like the United States, Canada and the UK. Only available at the beginning, in 2008 Facebook broadened horizons and was available in several languages, including French, German and Spanish.