Fourteen years ago, Mark Zuckerberg flipped the switch on The Facebook, inviting students at Harvard and then the world to like, friend, poke, share, and ruminate on their every waking moment.
In the decade since the social network went live, it has dropped the “the” and had more than its share of makeovers, transforming from a cluttered catch-all to the sleek, photo-filled Timeline we know today.
Though each Facebook profile and news feed overhaul has been met with loud complaints and threats of boycotts, users eventually simmered down and in most cases, forgot what the old site looked like. Can you really say you remember the layout of your profile before the Timeline was introduced in 2011? Are you satisfied with the news feed of today or would prefer to return to 2009, when it was largely a list of who friended whom that day.
By now, Facebook is home to average Web users, celebrities, businesses, members of Congress, and even a few pets. It’s on your PC and your smartphone, in the pages of magazines and on TV.
As Facebook gears up for the next decade, take a look back at the early years of the social network, the evolution of the profile and news feed, and other features that were added along the way.