This month Mark Zuckerberg turned 30 years old. Congratulations are in order, for both the notable personal milestone and for what Facebook’s co-founder and CEO was able to build in his twenties.
Love him, or hate him, there is a reason why Zuckerberg is the 26th wealthiest person in the world (and youngest of top 150, no less). The guy has a very clear purpose: to connect people and make the world more open; he has a unique vision, which helped Facebook soar higher than any other social network in the world; and, most importantly, he has guts.
Zuck doesn’t make small bets. He never makes safe bets either, all his bets are bold (some are really bold). Expanding beyond colleges, launching the News Feed, announcing Facebook as a platform, buying Instagram and then WhatsApp, the list goes on… None of these moves were safe, and most were labeled as “moronic” by the industry and even some of his peers. Zuck never wavers.
The history shows that when it comes to Facebook, Wall Street’s approach to bet on the horse and not the rider doesn’t work. Zuckerberg has a vision for the company that’s more long-term than some are able to comprehend at the moment, but he is precise in stacking the building blocks of his empire just right. He is also okay with taking risks – it’s okay if some of the bricks fall or don’t set right, he gets rid of them and moves on. One would argue that what’s made him successful is his willingness to take risks and experiment as he is building.
“Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life.” – Mark Zuckerberg
Growing up together
As Zuckerberg turns 30, you can see the signs of Facebook growing up. From young and self-assured, both the company and its leader are shifting the focus to building and establishing true partnerships. His commitment to stable infrastructure shows clear commitment to his partners and developers. He is taking his platform to the next level and he wants developers and partners to help him continue to expand the ecosystem. He is moving from building the ecosystem, to nurturing it, to growing the community around it. Other signs of growing up are taking privacy matters more seriously and committing to holding his annual conference F8 each year (not just on a whim, as was the case in previous years).
So what’s next for Facebook?
No one really knows but Zuck’s trusted advisors and his little notebook which he calls “The Book of Change.” One thing is for sure, though, the innovation at Facebook won’t stop.
Facebook announced de-bundling of the blue app at F8 this year. Facebook will increasingly become an app launch platform. Since mobile is company’s biggest play, Mark if very conscious about how people consume information on mobile devices and on the go, and it’s primarily through apps. That’s a big reason why Facebook bought Instagram and WhatsApp and introduced Paper. Zuck sees huge potential in creating specific stand-alone experiences for mobile users: Messenger and WhatsApp – chat; Instagram – photo-sharing; Paper – news; etc. This is also the reason Facebook created Creative Labs to help make these experiences first-class for mobile users. We will definitely see much more in this area.
Mark is also furthering his cause of connecting the world. Internet.org, which mission is to make affordable internet accessible to the two thirds of the world that is not yet connected, is progressing nicely. He has partnered with several major brands to bring his passion to life.
But there are definitely challenges
With 1.2 billion people already on Facebook, the growth has been slowing down. Without the access to China there isn’t much more growth to be had. There are emerging countries or continents like Africa, where people consume most of the information on mobile devices and moves like buying WhatsApp (which seems to be popular in Africa) can give Zuck access to those markets. But there is still the issue of millennial generation and whether they see Facebook as a place to hang out. Again, some of the recent acquisitions and Creative Labs’ charter will help with that. But there is no denying that the next 10 years will be harder than the previous 10 and the company and its leader will have to work harder than ever on innovating and evolving as they continue to grow.
What will we see in the next 5-10 years?
Probably another vintage Zuck move in which he surprises both his stakeholders and his partners with a strategic outlook that half of them won’t see coming… yet another brilliant or moronic bold move, depending on how you look at it.
In the meantime, we hope you are enjoying your 30th birthday, Mark!
Originally posted in Forbes