ABSTRACT
News Feed came into operation on 5 September 2006. Data showed that people were spending more time on Facebook than before. By the end of September 2006, anyone could join Facebook – 'open registration' – and within weeks, Facebook had 10 million users. Facebook amended its prospectus just over a week before the initial public offering, to say that mobile numbers were growing more rapidly than the rate of advertising revenues. Economists explain Facebook’s rapid growth as being due to network effects: the more people who are part of the network, the more valuable it becomes. Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp did receive scrutiny in the European Union. In January 2019, Facebook announced the integration of the back-ends of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Facebook is moving into a number of areas, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, e-commerce, sports content, its own currency, banking and dating.
