October 2015
Case
HBS Case Collection

Facebook: The First Ten Years

By: Shane Greenstein, Marco Iansiti and Christine Snively

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:15

Abstract

Facebook celebrated its ten year anniversary in February 2014. Over the past decade it has grown into the largest social network in the world with one billion users. After filing an IPO in 2012 at a $104 billion valuation (the third largest IPO in U.S. history), the stock price steadily declined, but recovered after the company implemented an effective advertising strategy. Facebook worked to maintain its "hacker ethos" and remain nimble as it matured. The company was worth close to $200 billion. Could this kind of value sustain itself for years to come?

Keywords

Social Networks; Technology; Facebook; Entrepreneurship; Profit; Open Source Distribution; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry

Citation

Greenstein, Shane, Marco Iansiti, and Christine Snively. "Facebook: The First Ten Years." Harvard Business School Case 616-012, October 2015. (More Info.)