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Steven Levy , chief editor of Wired and Newsweek , is one of the people who best knows Mark Zuckerberg. His access to the founder of Facebook and employees of the company have allowed him to obtain 16 pages of the first notebooks in which the manager wrote down his ideas to build a social network with which to conquer the world. If everything remains the same, in a few years it will have reached half its goal.
WhatsApp, which has been owned by Facebook since 2014, recently announced that it already has 2 billion users worldwide. Only one application in all history had managed to reach that figure: that of Facebook, which already exceeds 2,500 million . Between these two, Instagram and Facebook Messenger account for almost 2.9 billion monthly active users. One in three people.
In an extensive article, Levy describes these pages in which sketches, annotations, algorithms, ideas and even doubts appear. Before, a reward of $ 1,000 for those who find and return the notebook and a quote from Gandhi: " Be the change you want to see in the world ." Perhaps inspired by it, Zuckerberg called it the Book of Change.
Although the role of the founder changed over time and left the code and meetings (the least important, at least) for others, his word remained law and these books were, in a way, his sacred texts. It was normal for workers to find photocopied pages on their computer screen.
The network - like the Network that hosts it - has changed a lot in these 15 years, but it has always maintained much of its essence. The manager has been the anchor of the project with decisions that, although they were discussed, were rarely ignored. The opening, privacy and the wall are three of its pillars and already appeared in the notes made by its CEO in these notebooks.
Facebook began as a social network for Harvard students that, shortly thereafter, expanded to other universities. In the middle of that process, its creator wondered who could see the profiles of friends of friends. Should I limit it to a geographic region? "Maybe it should be anywhere," he said. "It would make the page more open, although it may not be a good idea yet." I probably didn't know, but that idea was the germ of the most populous empire in history: 2.5 billion pockets.
If this was the idea that began the invasion, the landing was made by an unstoppable infantry called Muro. During its early years, Facebook forced to go to each person's profile to see their news. Zuckerberg knew that it was not enough and that the key would be to fill this wall with data, photographs and relevant information. When it was implemented, the social network faced one of its first controversies - the movement was considered an invasion of privacy - and discovered that its users were not always going to be on their side. However, they also discovered another of the laws that govern the platform: people will use Facebook (either in its traditional blue version, in the green WhatsApp or in the colorful Instagram) despite Facebook.
Over time there would be much more informed concerns about privacy, interference in elections, the ability to disseminate bulls, a stratospheric fine of 5,000 million dollars (a good way to get an idea of the magnitude of the company is to know that it turned out so Ridiculous to the firm that its actions, in fact, went up when it was announced) and even an appearance in Congress. Facebook despite Facebook .
The platform is already an excuse. The founder himself knows this and a few months ago he announced a change in the strategy, which will focus on messaging - in theory, private and encrypted. The wall has already fulfilled its role in the invasion and other functions will be done with the next 2,000 million people.
A few years ago, Zuckerberg - who confirmed to Levy that the letter that appeared on the pages he had got was his - destroyed all the notebooks. Several messages and emails from the manager had been made public in legal proceedings and he did not want this information to be used against him. The Book of Change, key to the global conquest by Facebook, did not live to see how Facebook became the change that Zuckerberg wanted to see in the world.
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