Final Essay The Successful Evolution of Facebook Social media is a growing network of both competing and joint platforms that now dominate much of the internet. Today, Facebook is a household name around the globe with close to 2 billion users[ CITATION Idr20 \l 3081 ]. When Mark Zuckerberg first launched Facebook in 2004, his initial goal was to create a place for the world to connect. The Facebook platform that exists today successfully does this, and much more[ CITATION Ant20 \l 3081 ]. The evolution of Facebook can be analysed through its business model canvas; from the launch date to now. Exploring how it has progressed and changed over the past 16 years and why. The business model canvas is a tool that is used to develop or document existing business models by identifying 8 fundamental elements; key partners, activities, resources, value propositions, customer relationships, channels, customer segments, cost structure and revenue streams[ CITATION Mik16 \l 3081 ]. Facebooks successful evolution is subject to; being an effective advertiser funded platform, advancements in technology and increased human usage, the integration with competing platforms and finally, platformisation. Although undeniably successful, Facebook have faced several issues over the years and these are linked to data concerns and privacy issues. Originally launched as 'Thefacebook' for Harvard university students, the platform had just a simple profile layout where you could upload a photo, your interests and connect with fellow students. By the end of 2004, it had expanded to all American and Canadian universities. At this point, 'Thefacebook' remained minimal; with no key partners and its only value propositions being to connect with other students and express your interests. There were no revenue streams, the only channel was website and the customer segment was exclusively American university students[ CITATION Hel \l 3081 ]. Within the business model canvas, customer relationships are features offered by the platform to connect with their users. At this point, the only customer relationship feature was the user profile itself[ CITATION Viz17 \l 3081 ]. Key Resources of the platform at this time were exclusively; the Founder (Zuckerberg) and American University students (platform users). The key activities were also minimal, data collection was yet to occur but Zuckerberg was constantly working towards
improving and further developing the platform. Although no revenue streams were present, costs still existed in the platforms start up. Zuckerberg still had to cover the software development, technology, IT infrastructure and platform engineering costs. Smart phones didn't exist yet and advertising was still predominantly through television, radio and outdoor billboards. This largely contributes to Facebooks minimalistic business model, as technology and advertising at the time were also very minimalistic[ CITATION Jos19 \l 3081 ]. In 2005 Zuckerberg's platform gained some key partners; with PayPal investing $500 000. These key partners and investors continued to grow, with Accel investing over 12 million dollars[ CITATION Jos19 \1 3081 ]. By 2006, 'Thefacebook' had changed to just Facebook and was available to anyone with a valid email address; significantly increasing