INTRODUCTION

Social networking sites are not a new in today’s world. In modern times social networking helps humans by making them grow and mature and be updated with modern trends and requirements to follow what’s happening in the society and adapt to things according to it, by bringing changes in one’s life. The small things that travel within these site makes us aware about judgement, boundaries and self-expression. But because of constant growth and developments in digitisation the working and usage of these sites have changed. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and all other social networking site being used in modern world didn’t bring a completely new or different concept in human life, but there is no denying the fact that these social networking sites did immensely expand the ground on which the normal life of humans unfold.

People’s opinions, pictures, videos, thoughts, are no longer restricted to those who are close to us, but now they can be accessed globally with help of these social networking sites. However, the social networking sites owner companies have done things much more than just simply expand the network of people, they have also changed a lot of the basic rules of how the network works.

FACEBOOK

It is an American company which offers online social networking services to people associated or registered under its server. It was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. It became one of the largest social network sites in the world, with more than one billion users according to its data in 2012. The company is having its headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Access to creating or registering an account on server of Facebook is free of charge, and the company makes most of its money from advertisements and other source on its Web site but not from users enrolling on its server. Any New user can create his/ her profile, upload photos, join any pre-existing group or start new group.

The company offers has many components on its server, including Timeline, a space on each user’s profile page where they can post their content, messaging facility where the users can post or receive messages, Status which allows users to share with friends or other people linked with their I’d about their current location or situation, News Feed which informs users of any updates or changes to their friends’ or people they are following profiles and status. Users can chat with one other and send private messages. Users can show their approval or disapproval of content posted on Facebook by the Like, dislike and many other features provided by the company to all its users.

CASE STUDY ON FACEBOOK

When Facebook was first launched in February 2004, it offered very few things to its users which they could use on few different sites as well making Facebook not so consumer attractive in the beginning as it didn’t offer much or unique features to attract more customers to join its server. The things initially offered by Facebook were:

1. Users were allowed to create a profile with their picture and information.
2. Users can View other people’s profile who have registered themselves on server of Facebook.
3. Users can Add people they know as friends which links them with each other’s account.

To stand up in such a competitive market to do something to attract more and more users to join their server, and make a brand which was specialized in the field it works, with help of its research and development department Facebook emerged with various new ideas of innovative and features which they can offer to their customers. Such new feature when introduced in the market caught people’s eyes very quickly and Facebook became very popular in just and instance. The various new innovative and different features offered by Facebook were:  

1. Users can Connect and Share with their friends;
2. Users can Discover and Learn;
3. Users can Express Themselves;
4. Users can Stay connected everywhere.

HOW ENTREPRENEURS LIKE MUKESH AMBANI, ELON MUSK, OR JEFF BEZOS ARE RUNNING MULTIPLE BUSINESSES | TO KNOW MORE, VISIT-

REVENUE MODEL OF FACEBOOK

Facebook was based on always having an ad-based revenue model. The ad’s presented on server of the company had different strategies and execution. The features of such ads were:

1. Targeting appropriate consumer;
2. Alternative payment models;
3. Social Ads depending on class of consumers.

CHALLENGES FACED BY FACEBOOK

Due to a long legal battel and struggle, company faced many accusations and received a lot of distrust from its consumers because of which necessary changes were made in the framework of working of the company and to regain its clients and customers, the company assured them with new provision of rules and regulations based on which company worked. According to which the company promised that:

1. The server was and will always remain clutter-free and clean.
2. The server never sold or will sell any information of the people registered under it.
3. The consumer will always have the complete control over their information.
4. The number of ads shown will be reduced and quality of ads will improve.

STRATEGIES FOR GROWTH

The company realised that they need to expand their functioning as having just an ad-based income was not enough so various steps were taken by the company to expand and increase their revenue. The decisions taken by Facebook for expanding and increasing their revenue were:

1. Expand globally;
2. Develop social products;
3. Mobile Products.
4. Develop the Platform offered to the customers. 
5. Improve ad products. 
6. Build a good infrastructure.

RISK FACTORS OF FACEBOOK

Facebook works on the belief that 'Trust is the most important cornerstone of our business' and they utilize a large number resources for their objective of building their users and consumers trust by developing and implementing programs designed to protect its user privacy, promote safe environment on their server, and assure the safety and security of user data which they have uploaded on company’s server.

Facebook has been through a lot of legal battel in past few years and due to which it has to some extent learned such lesson.

The legal battle was endless with incidents including:

1. Initial concerns about privacy of the data of its customers and consumers (December 2005);
2. New feed functionality launched (September 2006).

To clarify such accusations and keep up with company’s name and its relation with its consumers the founder of the company Mark Zuckerberg said, “We really messed this one up. When we launched News Feed and Mini-Feed, we were trying to provide our customers with a stream of information about your social world. Instead, we did a bad job of explaining what the new features were and an even worse job of giving the customers control of them. I’d like to try to correct those errors now.”

Non the less with all its up and downs Facebook still stands as one of the most powerful company in the world with daily work worth billions of dollars and has also expanded it wings to not only Facebook, but governs most of the social networking servers available today to the consumer. Social networking servers such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus VR, LiveRail etc are all governed by Facebook, where Facebook being parent company of all such companies.

This shows that no matter what Facebook as a company has work very well and is where it is now facing lot of difficulties but over coming all of them and standing on the top of their field.   

BY- GAURAV GUPTA