Throughout these chapters, Kirkpatrick discusses the economic expansion that Facebook went through. Facebook's team went into some long term investing committments with companies like The Washington Post, although Zuckerberg had a hesitant attitude towards investing changes. He did not want the company moving too fast into a direction that could ultimately hurt the company and cause it to fall apart. Yet, with offers like $80 million from comapnies like Accel, who could turn that down? Zuckerberg relied on Parker to do most of the negotiating and talking to the investors because he was good with his words. These types of settlements gace Facebook the financial boom it needed. Now that Facebook had no money issues, they had to hire more people to keep up with its rapid user expansion. As more employees were hired, the more fruitful Facebook became. Advertisers were desperate to have a part on Facebook. Clever advertising was done by target advertising. For example, Gwen Stefani's hit song "Holla Back Girl" was used in specific profiles (like those of cheerleaders for example). This ad would go into any Facebook profile that mentioned cheerleading somewhere in their profile and targeted the prime audience that would be interested in this type of music. The succes advertisers had on Facebook was extraordinary business for the companies and Facebook itself. "The combination of real validated identity information and extensive information about individuals could yield insights no Internet service had previously had seen, (143).
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg and Parker were having issues. Parker's arrest for drug possession and erratic behavior jeopordized his position at president of Facebook and he eventually stepped down. This change gave Zuckerberg control of three seats on the Board of Facebook, which ultimately gace him the most power in the company. With changes in the company's employees and constant addition of users and schools, Facebook was exploding more than ever. Zuckerberg was constantly thinking of new ways to enhance the Facebook experience. His ideas included photo sharing, tagging and uploading, which ultimately becomes Facebook's most popular feature among users. Furthermore, Zuckerberg end s up getting millions of dollars worth of offers to sell his company, but keeps refusing and turning them down. he does not want to sell the company too early and/or make any mistakes. He has a smart head on his shoulders and decides to take things at a slow pace with the company to avoid jumping into anything too fast and causing a downfall. Zuckerberg also avoided too much advertising on Facebook. "Zuckerberg remained uninterested in advertising that interrupted the Facebook experience and distracted users' attention, no matter how lucrative it might be," (177). This way of thinking is what keeps Facebook so financially stable. To further facebook's popularity, the invention of the News Feed was established as well. This was crucial to people keeping up-to-date with each other's lives and knowing what they are doing and when they are doing it.
It is amazing to me to realize how much money Facebook made and how fast they made it. I think Zuckerberg's slow-paced and "chill" attitude throughout these business and financial experiences is what ultimately keeps Facebook alive and keeps investors and advertisers on their toes. Not everyone in the business and financial worlds act like Zuckerberg. His slow decision making and laid back type of style keeps him apart from the average millionaire or billionaire company owner. I think that Zuckerberg knew how big Facebook was going to be the entire time and it was imperative that he kept a cool and collective head in order to make the right decisions. He knew how much money he was riding on and how popular his company was going to be. As far as the cultural impact, I think this invention of Facebook was the biggest impact to our culture in the past few years. I think this is what Zuckerberg wanted most out of his ideas and his site too. I think he realizes how much of an impact Facebook has had on our culture and I believe this makes him more successful than anyt financial aspect. His ideas and ways of structuring the site are what keeps Facebook so popular and ultimately keeps every user going back for more. I don't think he doubted himself for one minute and it is so interesting to see how Facebook has become the cultural phenomenon of our decade.
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