Best yet to come: Zuckerberg recaps Facebook journey on its 20th birthday

Facebook was co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, entrepreneurs Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin and launched on February 4, 2004

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, on Sunday, celebrated the social media giant's 20th launch anniversary by posting a throwback video on Meta-owned Instagram.

"20 years ago, I launched a thing. Along the way, lots of amazing people joined and we built some more awesome things. We're still at it, and the best is yet to come," the Meta CEO captioned the nearly 25-second Instagram short video, also known as a 'Reel'.

The video featured Zuckerberg from his younger days when Facebook was launched on February 4, 2004.

Following the video, he also shared two photos, one from two decades ago and another clicked recently, captioned "20 years in. Still at it."

With over 600,000 likes on both posts combined, Zuckerberg's fans extended congratulations on the feat as many hoped for improved services on the platform.

Launch of Facebook in 2004

Following its launch, Facebook was a hit in ushering in a new era of communication methods. The social media platform was established by Zuckerberg and co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin.

On December 1 that year, the platform hit 1 million active users, marking a key milestone. Gradually, more features were added to the platform, including adding photos in 2005 and a news feed, in a bid to increase user engagement.

Notably, the popular 'like button' on the platform was launched in 2009, and by 2010, the portal had garnered 500 million active users. Features such as groups, messenger, and timelines followed in the subsequent years, making Facebook the most sought-after digital platform to connect, share and communicate with friends and family.

Facebook on decline recently

However, the platform has seen a decline in growth in recent years. With increased competition from popular apps like TikTok and Instagram, Facebook has now turned into a hangout platform for the "older" generations, according to experts, though the company refuses the claim.

In February 2022, Facebook's total number of users declined for the first time to 1.9 billion in the December quarter, a half-a-million drop from the previous September quarter.

According to recent reports, the platform hosts nearly 3 billion monthly users but it is struggling to remain relevant among the "tech-savvy" youngsters.

Notably, Meta's Instagram which hosts 'Reels', is the company's competition to ByteDance's TikTok. According to Zuckerberg himself, Reels are the fastest-growing form of content consumption and the biggest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram.

(With Reuters' inputs)