Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

The Inside Story Of How Facebook Got Its First 500 Million Users

Chamath Palihapitiya
Chamath Palihapitiya

Now that Facebook's IPO is well into the past, and user-growth has stalled a touch, it's easy to sit back and take the incredible story of Facebook for granted.

Advertisement

Don't.

Facebook, which now has a billion users, reached 100 million users in just 10 quarters. 

It reached 500 million just 12 quarters later.

That's beyond mind-boggling.

Advertisement

How'd it happen?

Over on question and answer site, former Facebook employees are telling stories about it. They're pretty fascinating – and certainly full of lessons for anyone else trying to build an audience/userbase.

First, there's former Facebooker Andy Johns, who writes this:

Read Quote of Andy Johns's answer to Facebook Growth and Traction: What are some decisions taken by the "Growth team" at Facebook that helped Facebook reach 500 million users? on Quora

Advertisement

Next, there's Chamath Palihapitiya, Johns's former boss, who writes:

Read Quote of Chamath Palihapitiya's answer to Facebook Growth and Traction: What are some decisions taken by the "Growth team" at Facebook that helped Facebook reach 500 million users? on Quora

Facebook
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account