AI Term of the Moment
AI slop
Redirected from: FB
Definition: Facebook
The world's most popular social networking site. A product of Meta Platforms, Facebook lets anyone share comments, photos and videos. Founded in 2004 at Harvard University as TheFacebook, Inc. by Mark Zuckerberg and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, the "The" was dropped a year later to become simply Facebook. The Facebook name came from the paper document with names and faces issued to Harvard freshmen to help them get acquainted with each other. In 2021, the company was renamed Meta to reflect all its products, including Instagram and WhatsApp (see Meta Platforms).
Free to members, Facebook derives its revenue from ads. Using the built-in search, members can locate other Facebook members and "friend" them by sending an invitation, or they can invite people to join. Facebook offers photo sharing, and Facebook's messaging system is often the only communications system students ever use. See Faceslam and Facebook Messenger.
Timeline/Wall
The Timeline (new format) or Wall (old format) is the area on Facebook where members post comments and their current status and location as well as upload photos and videos.
News Feed and Ticker
Facebook introduced the News Feed in 2006 and gathered news from other Facebook members as well as outside sources. This changed the game almost overnight because not only could people see what their friends were doing, but they could get their daily news at the same time. The Ticker, later discontinued, showed what friends were doing in real time.
Facebook Reels
Facebook Reels are vertical videos up to three minutes in length that can be added to a user's Facebook profile. Reels was introduced in 2021 with a 60-second limit, which was increased to 90 seconds. Later, all posted videos became Reels. See short-form video.
Profiles, Pages and Groups
There are three types of representation on Facebook. Individuals create a Facebook "Profile," which is normally a two-way interaction with friends. Businesses create a Facebook "Page" to promote products and brands. Also called a "Fan Page," all members are accepted as fans, and although comments can be posted by them, a Page is primarily a one-way broadcast from the business. However, because "page" is such a natural term, individuals routinely called their Facebook presence their Facebook page.
Explosive Growth
Initially targeting Harvard students, Facebook was later opened to other universities and then high schools. In 2006, it allowed everyone to join and added a News Feed feature that would broadcast changes in members' pages to all Facebook users identified as friends. This turned Facebook into a personalized social news service that by 2010 had more than 500 million members. Two years later, Facebook surpassed one billion users, and today, more than three billion people use it worldwide.
Facebook Platform
In 2007, Facebook introduced its application platform to developers. By 2010, more than a half million applications were available for business, education and entertainment. Games have been the most popular, and Facebook Credits were created to provide virtual money to spend while playing.
Facebook Became Meta
In late 2021, the company changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc. to provide a more comprehensive name that covers all its products (see Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Messenger and Instagram). The company continuously expands its virtual reality platform (see Meta Quest). See Facebook Workplace, Facebook Live, Facebook Platform, Open Graph, Facebook Gaming, Facebook Graph Search, Facebook M, Facebook Ad Library, social media and social advertising.
Beyond Personal
Free to members, Facebook derives its revenue from ads. Using the built-in search, members can locate other Facebook members and "friend" them by sending an invitation, or they can invite people to join. Facebook offers photo sharing, and Facebook's messaging system is often the only communications system students ever use. See Faceslam and Facebook Messenger.
Timeline/Wall
The Timeline (new format) or Wall (old format) is the area on Facebook where members post comments and their current status and location as well as upload photos and videos.
News Feed and Ticker
Facebook introduced the News Feed in 2006 and gathered news from other Facebook members as well as outside sources. This changed the game almost overnight because not only could people see what their friends were doing, but they could get their daily news at the same time. The Ticker, later discontinued, showed what friends were doing in real time.
Facebook Reels
Facebook Reels are vertical videos up to three minutes in length that can be added to a user's Facebook profile. Reels was introduced in 2021 with a 60-second limit, which was increased to 90 seconds. Later, all posted videos became Reels. See short-form video.
Profiles, Pages and Groups
There are three types of representation on Facebook. Individuals create a Facebook "Profile," which is normally a two-way interaction with friends. Businesses create a Facebook "Page" to promote products and brands. Also called a "Fan Page," all members are accepted as fans, and although comments can be posted by them, a Page is primarily a one-way broadcast from the business. However, because "page" is such a natural term, individuals routinely called their Facebook presence their Facebook page.
Explosive Growth
Initially targeting Harvard students, Facebook was later opened to other universities and then high schools. In 2006, it allowed everyone to join and added a News Feed feature that would broadcast changes in members' pages to all Facebook users identified as friends. This turned Facebook into a personalized social news service that by 2010 had more than 500 million members. Two years later, Facebook surpassed one billion users, and today, more than three billion people use it worldwide.
Facebook Platform
In 2007, Facebook introduced its application platform to developers. By 2010, more than a half million applications were available for business, education and entertainment. Games have been the most popular, and Facebook Credits were created to provide virtual money to spend while playing.
Facebook Became Meta
In late 2021, the company changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc. to provide a more comprehensive name that covers all its products (see Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Messenger and Instagram). The company continuously expands its virtual reality platform (see Meta Quest). See Facebook Workplace, Facebook Live, Facebook Platform, Open Graph, Facebook Gaming, Facebook Graph Search, Facebook M, Facebook Ad Library, social media and social advertising.
Facebook became increasingly commercial. Vendors, celebrities and politicians use Facebook to publish their products and agendas. See Facebook algorithm.