As Facebook celebrates its 10th anniversary, the world's biggest social network is finding its path as a maturing company, adapting to an aging user base.
The company created in a Harvard dorm room in 2004 has established itself as a phenomenon, securing its place in the world of the technology giants.
"Facebook has made the world much smaller, much more interactive," said Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry.
"Facebook started the social revolution but it may not be able to control it."
In its short history, Facebook has become a part of daily life for more than a billion people around the globe.
Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg described the mission as "making the world more open and connected," and some say he has accomplished just that.
"More than 20% of all time spent on the internet is spent on Facebook," says Lou Kerner, founder of the Social Internet Fund.
Yet in some ways, Facebook could be the victim of its own success. Its initial core base of teens and university students has expanded, and Facebook is now widely used by people in all age groups.
Facebook says it has a global total of 1.23 billion monthly active users, including 945 million who use the social network on a mobile device. But some analysts note that Facebook has to shift strategy for an aging user base.
An iStrategyLabs study of US Facebook users found a 25% drop in the number of users in the 13-17 age group, along with an 80% jump in the number of users over 55.
"People joke that for the teen, Facebook isn't cool when your mom is on it," Kerner said. "I think it's not even your mom any more, now it's also your grandmother."
The research firm Social Bakers says its data shows teens are a big and still-growing part of Facebook.
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