How Facebook Was Founded On An $85 Server & A Dummies Handbook

I often get asked the question, “How do you setup a website and make it successful?” If there was only one way to do it, I would be more than happy to write a handbook about it. However, the reality is a whole lot more complex than that. It has to do with a whole lot of dedication, patience and of course a little bit of luck. The Internet is constantly changing, but if someone really wants to make something successful, there are always ways to get there. That’s even how Facebook was founded back in 2004.

In an interview given in 2011, Mark Zuckerberg spoke a little about the humble beginnings of the now world dominating social networking website. He of course talked about how it all began and how Facebook was founded. He also touched on the way the website was actually hosted, and how he and Dustin Moskowitz began to develop the site further. This short but quite information packed clip from a documentary called Our Time should be inspiration enough for anyone to start their own project on the Internet.

The funny part about how Facebook was founded, and how the foundation of their entire platform was coded, is that they started out on an $85 per month server. Imagine for a moment a little dorm room with a couple of guys frantically coding away in hopes that they would grab the interest of one more member. An even funnier moment from the history of how Facebook was founded is when Dustin Moskovitz is asked if he wants to help with the website. At the time, Dustin didn’t have much experience in programming, but he said he would learn it fast. He bought the book PERL For Dummies, studied it over a weekend and then got to work.

Now, if you read that a couple of times, you should find both the inspiration as well as the dedication to do what you want to do. It’s not hard to learn. The only thing that stops you is the willingness to get started at all. The proof for that is this interview, and how Facebook was founded. It’s a site built on dedication and a strive to make something better. Things can always be optimized and made better, you just have to get started.