In the early days of Facebook, we established a culture of real identity by requiring users to sign up with their school email addresses, which helped verify their credentials and fostered trust within the community.

We initially included detailed profiles on Facebook, such as dorms and courses, to create a college-specific environment that fostered a sense of community and trust among users.

The first server for Facebook cost $85, and we operated on a philosophy of not spending money we didn't have, which constrained our growth but allowed us to focus on product quality.

We chose to launch Facebook at schools with existing social networks to ensure our product was superior, which would justify the time and effort invested in its development.

Historical examples like Facebook show that while rapid development is possible with simpler tools, scaling requires hiring specialized engineers for complex systems.

Even if you start with a less scalable technology, like PHP, you can optimize it later as your user base grows, as seen with Facebook's evolution.

I initially built Facebook for myself as a college student, but I quickly realized its potential to serve a broader audience beyond just my university.

Facebook's success was due to secure connections and ensuring that new users had at least 20 friends on the platform, which made it more engaging.

Even if a university had built a social network, Facebook's ability to allow users to share more content and connect in meaningful ways would have set it apart and driven its success.