Facebook was originally designed for college students when it launched in 2004. At the time, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard University. The initial idea behind Facebook was to create an online directory and social networking site specifically for Harvard students. Within a few months, Facebook expanded to allow students from other Boston-area colleges to join. Over the next couple years, it opened up to most universities in the United States and Canada. So in the beginning, Facebook was very much aimed at the college demographic.
The origins of Facebook
In 2003, Zuckerberg began developing an online application called Facemash while attending Harvard. Facemash allowed Harvard students to rate the attractiveness of their classmates. But the site was controversial and shut down by Harvard administrators within days of launching. Zuckerberg was disciplined for breaching security, violating copyrights and individual privacy. However, this did not deter him from the idea of building a social networking site.
In early 2004, Zuckerberg began working on a new website, initially called TheFacebook.com. This time, he got help from a few Harvard seniors to build the network – Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. Zuckerberg’s stated motivation was to create a space for students to socialize online and share information. The website focused on profiles, friends lists, groups, events, private messaging, and status updates.
TheFacebook launched from Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room on February 4, 2004. Within 24 hours, over 1,200 Harvard students had created profiles. It quickly caught on across campus. To join, users had to have a harvard.edu email address, which limited the network to Harvard students.
Expanding beyond Harvard
By March 2004, half of all Harvard undergraduates had profiles. TheFacebook started receiving attention from major media outlets. At this point, Zuckerberg and his team decided to expand to other Boston universities. In April, TheFacebook added support for profiles from students at Columbia University, Stanford University and Yale University. By May 2004, most Ivy League schools were on board.
Within the first month, TheFacebook registered over 30,000 users across college campuses. The founders relocated to Palo Alto, California over the summer to plan for expansion. In August 2004, they officially dropped “The” from the name and became just Facebook.com. By December 2004, Facebook had reached nearly 1 million users.
Expanding beyond colleges
In 2005, Facebook began opening up to high school students. It also expanded internationally, first to universities in the United Kingdom and Canada. In September 2005, Facebook launched the controversial high school version. This provoked strong reactions from some college users who felt betrayed. However, the boom in younger users helped boost Facebook’s popularity and growth trajectory.
In 2006, Facebook took another major step by opening up to the general public. This meant that anyone over 13 with a valid email address could join Facebook. At this point, Facebook required users to have an .edu email address for profile creation. But it allowed other users to join networks. This shift opened the floodgates. Daily active user numbers nearly doubled from under 1 million to over 2 million after the public launch.
Key college features
In Facebook’s early days, it included several key features geared towards college students:
Campus networks
The backbone of Facebook was campus-based networks. Each university had its own network that users would join with their .edu emails. This meant you were interacting with other students from your university. The homepage showed a feed of friends and activity within your campus network.
Classmate profiles
A major use case was looking up classmates’ profiles. You could search for other students by name, see their pictures, interests, friend networks and contact info. On many campuses, the majority of students created Facebook profiles, making it easy to look up almost anyone.
Course schedules
Students could upload and share their course schedules. This allowed you to see which classes and sections your friends were in. Study groups often formed based on having shared classes.
Social groups
Facebook supported university-specific social, academic and interest groups. For example, you could join the Stanford Math Club Facebook group to get updates and organize events.
Events
Any student could create an event visible to others in the same network. This facilitated planning parties, club meetings, campus rallies, or any kind of in-person gathering.
Shared dorm networks
Students living in the same residence hall were part of a shared dorm network. This enabled bonding between dorm mates and coordinating social activities.
Roommate matching
Some colleges offered a roommate matching service on Facebook. Students could browse and connect with potential roommates before room assignments were finalized.
Freshmen could find upperclassmen mentors
Incoming freshmen could search for older students in their major or extracurricular interests for tips and advice.
How Facebook changed after 2006
Opening up beyond colleges in 2006 marked a major turning point for Facebook. Over the next few years, Facebook evolved rapidly from a college-centric network into a mass-market social media platform.
Loss of campus exclusivity
Once Facebook allowed anyone to join, campus networks were no longer private or exclusive. College students were mixed in with friends, family and co-workers. The “college-only” community feel was diluted.
End of .edu requirement
In August 2006, Facebook dropped the .edu requirement for all users. This meant the site was no longer limited to students and university affiliates. Anyone could sign up with any email address.
Emphasis on friends rather than networks
As Facebook expanded, it shifted focus from networks to friends lists. Instead of dividing users by campus or geography, friend connections became the core organizational structure. The News Feed highlighted updates from all your friends regardless of network.
New features for the public
Facebook rolled out features appealing to a mainstream audience – photos, notes, groups and third-party apps. Areas like events, groups and class searches became secondary.
Advertising model
In November 2007, Facebook launched its advertising platform to monetize its fast-growing user base. Targeted ads based on user data became the core revenue stream, changing incentives and user experience.
International growth
Facebook spread globally throughout the late 2000s, adapting features and language for each region. International users outpaced US growth.
College nostalgia
The shift away from an exclusively college-oriented experience left some original users feeling nostalgic. The college years represent a unique life stage for self-discovery and building social connections. Facebook’s role in that experience made it special to many students.
Some alumni wished Facebook could have retained more of its early college DNA as it expanded. But most recognized that Facebook had to radically change its model to achieve mainstream success.
While no longer tailored for students, Facebook is still widely used by college communities. It offers features like college alumni groups and campus pages that reconnect graduates. But the site’s original purpose of connecting classmates is mostly history.
Conclusion
In summary, Facebook was designed specifically for college students when it first launched in 2004. For its first couple years, Facebook required a university email to join and focused on features helping students connect with classmates. But after rapidly expanding membership to the general public in 2006, Facebook transformed into a platform for social networking with friends, family and coworkers. It moved away from the college-only model to achieve its current ubiquity and business success. While parts of the early college experience are lost, Facebook still plays a major role in college social life – though now as just one demographic among many.
| Year | Key Milestones |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Mark Zuckerberg creates Facemash site at Harvard |
| Feb 2004 | TheFacebook launches for Harvard students |
| March 2004 | Expands to other Boston universities |
| April 2004 | Adds support for Stanford, Columbia and Yale |
| June 2004 | Opens up to most US/Canada universities |
| Sept 2005 | Launches high school version |
| Sept 2006 | Opens up to the general public |
| Aug 2006 | Drops .edu requirement |
| Nov 2007 | Launches advertising system |