June 1, 2003, was the day Facebook officially launched.
The University of California, Los Angeles, as one of the public Ivy League universities, attracts excellent students from all over the world.
As a student from a well-off family, Barry didn't have to pay for his tuition, and he also had his own laptop.
He woke up as usual, and the first thing he did was open his laptop, then skillfully navigated to Google to see what interesting news had happened in the world overnight.
What caught his eye was a large line of text—"Facebook: Make Everyone a Protagonist!"
As an experienced internet surfer, Barry immediately understood that this was an advertisement, but the space it occupied was too large.
Shaking his head, he wasn't interested in clicking on it. He browsed for a bit but didn't find anything interesting.
Then he exited Google and opened Yahoo, only to find the same prominent phrase on the homepage—"Facebook: Make Everyone a Protagonist!".
Hesitating for a moment, Barry clicked in this time, arbitrarily chose a pseudonym, entered information such as gender, age, and school, and arrived at his main interface.
He spent more than ten minutes reading the introduction, understanding how Facebook operated, and then he posted his first text update.
And when he finished getting up and washing, and checked his laptop again, an exclamation mark in the upper right corner reminded him that he had new messages.
Clicking to view, two comments had appeared under the update he had just posted, and there was also a friend request from a girl. Of course, no one knew if there was actually a girl behind the computer.
This made Barry feel both novel and excited; he had never had such an experience before.
To draw a parallel, it was like secretly calling a paid customer service line when he was a child.
He immediately accepted the friend request, and the first name appeared in Barry's friend list.
He left the dorm with his laptop, his feet moving without pause, but his eyes remained fixed on the laptop screen.
Barry discovered that through the girl, he could see the main interface and updates of her friends, and could also add the girl's friends as his own.
This also meant that if two people became friends, it didn't just represent those two individuals, but also the vast network of relationships behind them.
Just like a neuron can send out countless branches, if one is willing to try, they can completely fill a friend list of 5,000 people, because Facebook currently only supports a maximum of 5,000 friends.
"Hey! Little junior, watch where you're going when you walk."
Suddenly, a voice of advice sounded in his ear. Barry looked up and saw a sexy, hot blonde beauty leaning against a pillar in the hallway, looking at him.
"Lauraleen!"
Barry couldn't help but blurt out her name. The beautiful girl opposite him was a member of the school's cheerleading squad, the dream girl of many boys, and a frequent topic in their private dirty jokes.
"You know me?" Lauraleen asked with a smile.
"Of course, who doesn't know you in this school?"
"Hehehe, am I that popular? But I don't seem to know you, and we're not friends yet."
Barry thought to himself, 'Your friends are all concentrated in the school team; with my physique, I'd be shattered if I went on the field.'
"Junior, if you want to be my friend, add my Facebook account. That way, you can know what I'm doing all the time."
Barry quickly nodded: "I'm using Facebook, look."
The two added each other as friends, and after waving goodbye to Lauraleen, Barry happily continued walking to class.
Along the way, he noticed many handsome boys and beautiful girls promoting the platform, either school team members or cheerleaders. It was then that Barry suddenly realized it was an advertisement again.
However, even though he knew it was an advertisement, he couldn't bear to delete them. These school team and cheerleading members were the popular figures in the school, and normally he wouldn't have any interaction with them. Now that he did, he naturally cherished it.
Besides, although it hadn't been long, Barry found Facebook quite interesting. His posts also attracted comments from others, which gave him a thrill of being at the center of attention.
"Facebook: Make Everyone a Protagonist!"
Barry seemed to understand the meaning of this advertising slogan a little better.
The same thing was happening in major universities across the United States. As the group of people most capable of accepting new things, many college students quickly chose to join Facebook.
Eric didn't go to MGM today. Instead, he flew to Silicon Valley early in the morning and was now sitting on the floor where Facebook was located.
He, Fitz Heisenburg, Robert Millen, and Howard Hughes were gathered in front of computers, watching the backend data.
The number of registered users, which was originally "0," suddenly jumped to "544."
Eric looked down at the time: "It's been less than five minutes, and there are already over 500 new users. That's a very good trend."
"Because your promotion strategy is correct, boss. There's no better soil for Facebook's development in this world than a university campus," Heisenberg complimented.
Eric smiled: "How are things going with the servers?"
"We're in the process of purchasing; the order has been placed. Actually, as long as it's completed within a month, I don't think there will be a problem. With the current server capacity, it can definitely hold up, unless people go crazy."
"Don't be complacent. Always give users the best experience. Only then can we remain invincible against challengers."
"By the way, Fitz, I suddenly noticed a problem. Although Facebook supports users posting image updates, whether using a phone or a camera, image uploads always rely on data cables or memory cards. Can we develop a software that makes image transfer more convenient?"
"Boss, do you mean to abandon data cables or memory cards?"
"Exactly."
Fitz thought for a moment: "It shouldn't be difficult. We can develop a Bluetooth technology plugin and embed it into Facebook. Users would only need to pair their phone and computer's Bluetooth to transfer. However, there are also problems."
"What problems?"
"Looking at phones, most of them already have built-in Bluetooth functionality. However, computers have a longer usage cycle, and some older ones are highly likely not to have Bluetooth modules installed."
Eric chuckled: "That's not our problem. Users' problems need to be solved by themselves. We only provide a convenient path. Maybe it can even stimulate consumption. Those electronics manufacturers should thank us."
"Alright then, I'll complete this plugin as soon as possible. The technical difficulty isn't high; a week should be enough."
Eric nodded: "This plugin will be Facebook's first version update. From now on, we must constantly release new content, with once a month being the minimum."
"Likes, blocking, privacy settings, viewing visitors, search engine, automatic friend recommendations, mini-games—I need you to gradually complete all of these."
"Don't worry, boss, I know what to do!"
As they spoke, the backend numbers jumped significantly again, directly from 3,554 to 15,387.
Eric's eyes lit up: "How did it suddenly increase so much?"
The technical guy next to him accessed the database to check, and after a moment, turned to report: "Boss, Nicole Kidman registered an account and posted an update. She brought in a considerable amount of traffic."
As a social networking software, Facebook's primary condition is real-name registration. Without this foundation, the sense of reality would be greatly diminished. Therefore, the technology can quickly pinpoint targets from the backend.
However, this real-name system is just a broad concept. The internal program of the system can only determine whether it is a person's name, but cannot determine whether the name is real.
For example, if you choose a name like "Dog Poop," it's clearly not a human name, so you won't be able to register.
But if your real name is Sheldon, and you register using Leonard, congratulations, you can successfully register.
Facebook can only go this far. To truly implement a real-name system, similar to the real-name system in later-era China,
It would be necessary to access the federal database and import citizens' social security accounts and other private information into Facebook's database.
However, this approach is clearly impossible; it wouldn't even pass legal scrutiny.
Moreover, Facebook in later generations has caused multiple user privacy leaks due to technical reasons, leading to numerous lawsuits and fines.
It's just that it never led to overly serious consequences, and they managed to get by with some 'atonement silver.'
If it were truly connected to the federal database, what would be leaked would be more than just some harmless phone numbers or email accounts.
The requirement of real-name registration added a hurdle for everyone.
Big celebrities would definitely use their real names to enhance exposure and publicity, unless they intended to use a secondary account to fight with others.
For example, basketball stars James and Durant liked to use secondary accounts to praise themselves or insult others; Meghan Markle even opened 12 secondary accounts to insult her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton; the famous Yuan Li dog-stealing incident in China even became a meme.
Unlike big celebrities, ordinary people were more casual; no one truly knew what was behind the computer.
Eric found a computer, sat down, logged into his Facebook account, searched for Nicole, and then clicked to add her as a friend.
He waited for a while, but it wasn't accepted.
He added her again, and it still wasn't accepted.
After trying several times in a row, Eric simply made a phone call, which was answered instantly this time.
"Nicole, I saw you opened a Facebook account. Why aren't you accepting my friend request?"
On the other end was Nicole's slightly helpless voice: "Eric, is that really you? You don't know, since I logged in, dozens of Eric Coopers have tried to add me as a friend, and others too. I can't tell who's real and who's fake."
"I accepted the first one, and after a few sentences, they actually started asking for my photos, or to be precise, nudes."
"I became alert. Luckily, I didn't get carried away and send them, otherwise, I would definitely be in tomorrow's news."
Eric instantly understood; it was a problem of duplicate names. Thinking about it, it would be strange if there weren't duplicate names among hundreds of millions of people, not to mention those trying to take advantage of the confusion.
"I understand. Remember my ID and search for me directly to add me. I'm hanging up. You reminded me of something that needs to be dealt with quickly."
After speaking, Eric hung up the phone and hurried out of the small room.
"Fitz, use our official account now to send a message to everyone, warning them that there are many users with duplicate names and to be careful not to be deceived."
"If someone asks for money, sensitive information, or other content, be sure to verify by phone and do not easily fall for it!"
Upon hearing this, Fitz slapped his forehead, also realizing that this could be a big problem.
Especially since Facebook was the first social networking software, everyone was inexperienced. If someone tried to cause trouble at this time, Facebook would definitely suffer.
The message was sent very quickly. After about ten seconds, the technical guy nodded, indicating it was done.
Fitz sighed: "Now is the accumulation period for new users; a large number of new users will pour in every moment. You should resend this message every hour."
Then he looked at Eric: "Boss, is this acceptable?"
"Can we differentiate and only remind newly registered users? Repeated reminders to the same user might annoy them."
"Sorry, boss, our backend isn't that smart yet," Fitz shook his head.
Hesitating for a moment, Eric said: "I don't think this method is very good. How about this: on Facebook's login screen, below 'welcome to Facebook,' we include our reminder."
"As long as the user logs in again, this screen will pop up. If someone still falls for it, it can only be said that such people are suitable for staying at home and playing Atari."
Everyone's faces lit up. This was indeed a simple and effortless good solution.
"Fitz, there's also another feature to develop, which is real-name authentication for public figures, including current ones and all public figures who will join Facebook in the future."
"Whether in politics, film and television, music, or fashion, as long as a user labels themselves as a public figure, they must be required to undergo information authentication."
"After authentication is passed, a prominent suffix can be added after the name, or some other method. You all can discuss the specifics."
"Boss, what about general users?"
"General users also need a safeguard. We don't care if they use their real name or a pseudonym when registering, but for whatever reason, once an account is banned, to unban it, real-name authentication must be completed. If it passes, it's unbanned; if not, it's permanently banned."
Fitz carefully noted Eric's requirements: "Okay, this feature will go live along with the Bluetooth plugin."
"Boss, thanks to you flying over to take charge, even though we've thought a lot, there are still too many problems we haven't considered."
"Especially when facing such highly dangerous emergencies, if it weren't for your on-site guidance, everyone would surely be in a panic."
Eric smiled: "You can flatter less and do more. The problems Facebook faces might also be the problems YouTube and Lionheart Network will face in the future. Solving them well benefits everyone."
Then he looked at Robert Millen and Howard Hughes: "Facebook will be quite busy lately. When necessary, you can come and help out."
They both nodded in agreement.
At this moment, the data surged again, directly breaking through from 38,453 to 56,123, an increase of nearly 20,000 new users.
The backend data was set to refresh automatically every ten minutes.
The reason for the surge in data must be that another celebrity had joined.