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  • Since Facebook’s was started in 2004, it has grown to be the world’s dominant social

  • network. 1 in 5 people worldwide are active monthly users, and Facebook’s net worth

  • is more than $250 billion dollars. As one of the most visited websites on the internet

  • we wanted to know, how powerful is Facebook?

  • Well, Facebook has been widely popular as a website where users can connect with their

  • friends and express themselves through shared media. Membership is free, and the site is

  • primarily funded through advertising revenue. Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has

  • become the 7th richest person in America, with a net worth of about 35 billion dollars.

  • But Facebook isn’t just about social media. The company has acquired a number of tech

  • startups and continues to grow. In 2012, Facebook bought the image app Instagram for 1 billion

  • dollars, and two years later, purchased the messenger program WhatsApp for 22 billion.

  • The increased partnerships across different social media platforms have helped Facebook

  • diversify.

  • Through their social media holdings, Facebook has become an all-powerful collector of data.

  • In 2013, roughly 300 million photos and billions of comments were posted every day. Facebook

  • accumulates massive amounts of information about its users which allows them to sell

  • very effective targeted ads.

  • But Facebook isn’t just making money, it is changing the way the world communicates.

  • During the Arab Spring, millions of people used Facebook to organize and share information.

  • It has influenced American politics, with many pointing to President Obama’s use of

  • Facebook as one of the reasons for cornering the youth vote. It even helps companies interact

  • directly with consumers, and collect information on how best to serve them.

  • But people value their privacy, and oftentimes photos or opinions that are posted to Facebook

  • can never be fully removed, even after deactivating a user’s account. Additionally, Facebook

  • has been accused of tracking usersweb histories through cookies, and secretly supplying

  • data to the government. The company also introduced facial-recognition software in 2010, sparking

  • a class action lawsuit about invasion of privacy. Still, the company has maintained that it

  • is committed to transparency and user data rights.

  • Facebook has become the most popular social network for adults, and the company has undoubtedly

  • affected the way Americans interact with each other in real life and online. Since the company’s

  • humble beginnings, Facebook has made smart business choices that allow it to grow and

  • respond creatively to the digital era.

  • Google is Facebook’s biggest competitor. To find out just how powerful the tech company

  • is, watch this video. Thanks for watching! Make sure to like and subscribe to our channel

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Since Facebook’s was started in 2004, it has grown to be the world’s dominant social

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