Facebook turned 20 yesterday. It seems like yesterday that we were introduced to the Social Media tool that allowed us to reach out and tell the world what we were thinking. Literally!
Harvard College students Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew MCollum and Chris Hughes were the instigators of the Facebook phenomenon. Its name derives from the face book directories often given to American university students. Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities.
Since 2006, Facebook allows everyone to register from 13 years old (or older), except in the case of a handful of nations, where the age limit is 14 years. As of December 2022, Facebook claimed 3 billion monthly active users. As of October 2023 Facebook ranked as the 3rd most visited website in the world with 22.56% of its traffic coming from the United States. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s. (According to Google)
We at MHHS try to share parts of our collection with the public and Facebook allows us to do that and to include some of the historic information that we have in our overflowing archives.
Doris Pratt in front of the overflowing Weir C1920
National Park ( now known as John Forrest National Park) 1933
Troops departing from Chidlow Station in 1942