Top 10 Surprising Facts About Facebook

Facebook is one of several social media websites that have changed the way that we use the Internet and how we interact with our friends, family members and peers. Those of us who have had a Facebook profile since the website first opened up over a decade no longer have to attend events such as class reunions. We have a reunion whenever we log onto the site and see that our former classmates now have children of their own and that they just acquired new jobs. Facebook does all of the work for us, and it allows us to check in with the world via any device that can access the Internet.

Facebook has done well to take every part of the online social experience and put it on one website. You can, as an example, upload photos via Twitter, but that site does not allow you share entire albums that can be viewed via a single click as is the case on Facebook. Instagram allows you to share photos in seconds, but that app does not offer a chat option as does Facebook. Videos, news links, and short personal posts that are typed via 140 characters or less: Facebook has it all, and those running the company are constantly working on improving the site.

Much of the history of Facebook was made public via The Social Network, a fantastic movie that exposed the background of the company and of those who founded the social media website. That movie highlighted just how important one specific person was in taking Facebook from something that college students would use when they were ignoring their homework to what that website has become today. You may not know, however, that multiple companies had opportunities to cash in on the Facebook phenomenon before it became a worldwide sensation used by millions of individuals, but those potential life-changing investments never occurred.

 View Article in List View

10. The Pirate Language option

Via custommagnums.com

It seems as if a day cannot go by without some sort of hoax regarding Facebook hits either that entity or some other website. Some of them involve links that supposedly lead to opportunities to win giveaways when in reality they are attempts to hack into personal accounts. One thing that is very real, however, is the ability to change the language for your personal Facebook page, and that includes utilizing the “English (Pirate)” option. With just a handful of clicks, you can turn your Facebook experience into one that reads like aPirates of the Caribbean script, perfect for those “Talk Like a Pirate” days.

9. Facebook used to be college only

Via flickr.com

As long as you have a valid email address and you don’t mind fibbing about your age if you are required to do so, you can set up a Facebook account in the time it will take you to read this sentence (if you have fast Internet, that is). That was not always the case. Those who are older and who may have learned about Facebook because of their kids and also younger users who are just now completing their high school educations may be surprised to know that Facebook was only available to users with confirmed college email addresses. It is almost impossible to reflect on those days considering what Facebook ultimately became.

8. Mark Zuckerberg’s shortcut

Via deathandtaxesmag.com

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, had close to 32 million followers as of the posting of this piece. Those who do not have an account on the site can get a look at Zuckerberg’s page viahttps://www.facebook.com/zuck, a link that makes sense since it contains a shortened version of his name. Another way to get to that same page is to type the following into your browser’s address bar:www.facebook.com/4. What exactly the number four means to Zuckerberg and why he used it for his page’s shortcut is unknown. Logic would suggest that the person who created the website would prefer to have “1” associated with his account.

7. Get paid to find bugs

Via cryptlife.com

Those in charge of Facebook take the stability of the website seriously, so much so that you can get paid if you find any vulnerabilities on the site. Really. While there is no maximum reward per the official Facebook terms, users are promised a minimum of $500 for locating any possible bugs. There are, of course, rules that must be followed in order to cash in and to avoid any complications to your daily lives. Actions that result in privacy violations or you publicly degrading Facebook could keep you from getting paid, and such decisions could even result in a lawsuit.

6. MySpace could have bought Facebook

Via chipchick.com

MySpace was Facebook before Facebook was cool. The former king of social media websites allowed users to upload and share pictures with followers, and it was a way to interact with people that you had never before met in real life. The story is that Zuckerberg and his partners offered what was then known as “TheFacebook” to MySpace for the cool sum of $75 million. MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe turned the offer down, and MySpace has since become a largely forgotten website that is now more so used for music than it is a way to communicate with fellow users.

5. The “Awesome” button

Via ausgetrock.net

Want to inform one of your Facebook friends that you have seen a post, but don’t want to leave a comment for that person? There is a “Like” button for that. That was originally known as the “Awesome” button, an option that was eventually vetoed by Zuckerberg. It is probably for the best that Zuckerberg got his way, as “Awesome” could have been a controversial word to use on the website. Say, for example, that you were posting a memory about a deceased loved one. “Awesome” is probably not the word you want associated with that update regardless of the tale.

4. Remember the “Facebook guy?”

Via quora.com

One of the early icons that was linked with Facebook included the face of a male that was slightly hidden behind numbers that made up binary code. The original opinion, one that many casual users of the website did not question, was that the face was a representation of Zuckerberg or of somebody close to the Facebook founder. That, however, was not the case. According to The Facebook Effect that was written by David Kirkpatrick, that image was actually an altered version of a photo of famous actor Al Pacino. One of Zuckerberg’s friends reportedly created the picture that was used for the logo.

3. What happens to your Facebook when you die?

Via mindtheproduct.com

While it is probably something that you would rather not think about, the truth of the matter is that Facebook users pass away on a daily basis. It is just a fact of life. One of two things can happen to your account per your request or per the wishes of loved ones: It can either be “memorialized” and turned into somewhat of a makeshift social media gravestone where people can leave messages and post memories. The account can also be deleted. Facebook requires information, including proof that the person in question has passed away, before the company will make any significant changes to an account.

2. Teens no longer love Facebook…

Via businessinsider.com

The perception has been put out there for years. Teens are walking away from Facebook in massive numbers and moving on to other services such as Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and Tumblr. There are reasons to believe that the trend is something that should concern Facebook officials. The results of a survey conducted by Piper Jaffray that were released in April of 2015 stated that only 14 percent of teenagers polled claimed that Facebook was the “most important” social network. That number was 33 percent in 2013, and it dropped down to 23 percent for 2014. Instagram was the winner for 2015 at 32 percent.

1. …but teens still love Facebook

The demise of Facebook among the teenage population has, to a point, been exaggerated by some in the tech world. A Pew survey that was released in April of 2015 calculated that approximately 71 percent of teenagers still use Facebook. Second on that list was Instagram, which checked in at 52 percent. Instagram happens to be owned by Facebook. While that survey does show that teenagers polled are using Facebook less than was the case back in 2012, those who are looking for Facebook to become the latest casualty in the social media wars would do well to put such eulogies away for the time being

SOURCE: THERICHEST.COM

Read More»

10 Extremely Rich People Who Never Graduated From College

RELATED VIDEO

10 Things Successful People Do Every Morning

When you’re in college you get a chance to learn a lot of important things. You learn how things work in the field you wish to get a career in. You get to meet a lot of brilliant professors that might inspire you to be really successful.

Still, some of the richest and most successful people in the world are actually college dropouts. Why? They simply never needed a college education in order to learn everything they wanted to know. The truth is that anybody can be successful without going to a university, as long as they are motivated enough to learn by themselves.

Now is the time of entrepreneurs and self-made millionaires, where no one has four years to waste on going to college. But, if you wish to follow in their footsteps, understand that the dropouts who become extremely successful were spending more than 12 hours a day working on their projects when they finally decided that college wasn’t for them. This is why formal education is very important for people who would have never done something with their lives if it wasn’t for studying for exams and looking up to their professors. Nevertheless, the number of college dropouts is constantly rising every year. This is mostly due to the fact that you can educate yourself in any subject you please just by Googling it.

When some people figure out that they have found a way to learn much more by themselves than by going to a college, they usually drop out. This is exactly what these ten people did, and now they’re doing what they love and enjoying life as much as they can.

 View Article in List View

10. Gabe Newell – Net Worth: $1.26 billion

Via wired.com

Gabe Newell is known for being the co-founder of the popular video game development and digital distribution company Valve Corporation, which developed some of the most popular games of all time, including Half-Life. He was a student at Harvard University, but claimed that he hadn’t learned anything while he was there. He would instead hang around the offices of Microsoft, where his brother worked, and learned everything about developing software at the company. Eventually, he even got a job at Microsoft, and spent 13 years working there. In 1996, he left the company to found the company Valve. Now, Gabe Newell has a net worth of $1.26 billion.

9. Jack Dorsey – Net Worth: $2.5 billion

Via josephrosenfeld.com

Jack Dorsey is among the best known programmers today, having co-founded the social networking website Twitter. Even as a kid, he was very interested in writing code, especially in the field of dispatch logistics. He began creating dispatch software at a very young age, which many taxi cab companies still use today. Upon finishing high school, Jack enrolled at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, but quickly transferred to New York University. While he was at NYU, he came up with an idea for a social networking website that later became Twitter. He dropped out of college to work on his idea, and it really paid off. Twitter is one of the most recognizable websites in the world, and Jack has a net worth of $2.5 billion.

8. Sean Parker – Net Worth: $2.7 billion

Via allthingsd.com

Sean Parker is an entrepreneur, best known for co-founding Napster, a file sharing Internet service. He is also notable for becoming the first president of Facebook. When Parker was a kid, he was very interested in programming and hacking. When he was 16, the F.B.I. managed to track him down and sentenced him to community service after Sean hacked into a Fortune 500 company. During his high school years, he was recruited by a number of companies, and was earning more than $80,000 a year. This convinced his parents to let him skip college and work on his business ventures. He learned a lot of things while working on Napster, which he considers to be the equivalent of a college education. Because of this, he often notes that he attended the Napster University. He is considered a genius by many, as well as one of the most successful serial entrepreneurs of our time. His current net worth is $2.7 billion.

7. Steven Spielberg – Net Worth: $3.6 billion

Steven Spielberg is one of the best and most popular filmmakers of all time. Some of his most notable work includes the movies Jaws, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Spielberg was interested in making movies ever since he was a kid. In his early teens, he would make a lot of amateur films with his friends. When he was 16, Steven made his first independent movie with a small amount of money his father gave him. The movie was called Firelight, and it was shown at a local cinema one evening, helping him earn the budget of the movie back. Upon graduating from high school, he applied to film school, but was rejected due to his low grade average. So, he enrolled at California State University. But while he was a student there, he was offered a seven-year contract with Universal Studios to be a professional film director. He immediately dropped out of college and decided to work for Universal. Spielberg currently has a net worth of $3.6 billion.

6. Ralph Lauren – Net Worth: $7.1 billion

Ralph Lauren is one of the most notable designers in the fashion world, best known for being the CEO of the Ralph Lauren Corporation. Ever since he was a kid, he was very ambitious and his main goal was to become a millionaire. He started earning money back in high school, when he was selling ties to other students in the school. After graduating from high school, he continued his education at Baruch College where he was studying business. However, he dropped out only two years later because he wanted to join the army, where he also spent two years. After that, he managed to get a job at a tie company, where he stayed only for a brief period of time. He left the company because they rejected a lot of his design ideas. A year later, he began designing neckties from rags, and eventually founded Polo with a budget of $50,000. He now has a net worth of $7.1 billion.

5. Michael Dell – Net Worth: $18.7 billion

Via wired.co.uk

Michael Dell is a very successful business magnate and investor. Even as a kid, he was very fascinated by the business world. So in his early teens, he would save up money he earned from working part-time jobs and invest it in precious metals and stocks. As soon as he got his first computer, at the age of 15, he became fascinated by these machines. Only four years later, he managed to establish the company known as Dell, with a modest budget of $1,000. At that time, he was a student at the University of Texas. However, his business was doing so well that he felt he needed to drop out in order to focus on it. That type of thinking certainly paid off, as he’s now worth $18.7 billion and is currently the 50th richest man in the world.

4. Sheldon Adelson – Net Worth: $28.7 billion

Via vosizneias.com

Sheldon Adelson is a very popular philanthropist and business magnate. He is best known for being the CEO of the Las Vegas Sands casino empire. He was born into poverty, so he felt the need to make money ever since he was a kid. He started his first entrepreneurial venture at the age of 12, by selling newspapers across Boston. When he finished high school, Adelson enrolled at the City College of New York. However, he only spent two years there, and joined the army afterwards. But, his knack for business hadn’t stopped there. He was discharged from the army to pursue his interests, eventually starting more than 50 different businesses during his career. He currently has a net worth of $28.7 billion.

3. Mark Zuckerberg – Net Worth: $34.8 billion

Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most notable Internet entrepreneurs of all time. He is the chairman of Facebook, and is also the most prominent co-founders of the social networking website. Even as a kid, Zuckerberg was very interested in writing software and creating computer games. In high school, Mark excelled in a number of subjects, and eventually enrolled at Harvard University. During his sophomore year, he started developing a social networking website now known as Facebook. Mark even dropped out of college at the time because he really wanted to finish the project. Now, it is the most popular social networking website in the world, and Zuckerberg has a net worth of $34.8 billion.

2. Larry Ellison – Net Worth: $54.9 billion

Larry Ellison is one of the most notable programmers and internet entrepreneurs of all time. In his teens, he excelled in subjects such as science and math. Upon graduating from high school, Larry enrolled at the University of Illinois, where he spent two years. He dropped out after his adoptive mother died. One year later, he decided to go to the University of Chicago, but spent only a semester there. Larry subsequently moved to California with little money in his possession, and he spent the following ten years working for numerous companies. In 1977, he co-founded the Oracle Corporation, which specializes in both computer hardware and enterprise software products. Larry is currently the 5th richest man in the world, with a net worth of $54.9 billion.

1. Bill Gates – Net Worth: $80.4 billion

Yes, even the richest man in the world is a college dropout. Bill Gates is a programmer, business magnate, inventor, and an extremely prominent philanthropist. Ever since he became a teenager, Gates was incredibly interested in programming, which he would practice on a computer at his school. At the time, he met a fellow student named Paul Allen who shared the same interests and enthusiasm about computers. They quickly became very good friends and would both spend a huge amount of time together programming. After graduating from high school, Paul enrolled at Washington State University, while Gates went to Harvard. However, they both quickly dropped out with a desire to start a software company, now known as Microsoft. Bill Gates has a net worth of $80.4 billion.

SOURCE :THE RICHEST .COM

Read More»

THE TOP TEN EARNING BLOGGER

Blogging, so much a part of daily lives today, actually took a while to catch on before becoming enormously successful – practically overnight. Blogging began to rapidly spread in 1999 and shortly thereafter thanks to a few nearly-simultaneous creations of blog tools: Open Diary (1998), LiveJournal (1999), Pitas.com (1999), and Blogger.com (1999).

In 1997, John Bargerm, editor of Robot Wisdom, coined the term “web-log” while attempting to describe the daily list of sites that he “logged” onto during his web travels. A few years later Peter Merholz used the word in his sidebar but made the creative decision to split the word into two: we blog. It wasn’t long after that, that Evan Williams at Pyra Labs began using the word “blog” on its own as both a verb and a noun, before finally creating the term “blogging” in association with Pyra Labs’ Blogger product.

Today, blogging is more than a familiar term. Many of us interact with blogs on a daily basis in one way or another; whether we write our own blogs, contribute to a blog, or just enjoy reading and commenting on them, blogs are huge part of the online experience.

Many people have chosen to make blogging their lifestyle, and their livelihood. And as we delve into the earnings associated with the top ten bloggers in the world today, it becomes clear why these people decided to make the success of their blog down their career path. Blogging, as a profession, has proven to be quite lucrative but not many people realize just how lucrative a successful blogging career can be.

However, creating a wildly successful, lucrative blog is no easy feat. The blogosphere is competitive, and it takes an extreme amount of dedication, a fair amount of talent, a good amount of business sense, and a whole bunch of luck for a blog to become one of the most popular in the cyberverse.

With 33.9 million new blogs being created every month and over 60,328,496 blogs on sites like WordPress.com, the following blogging stars have truly emerged from the masses and have risen to the top of the blogosphere for a great many reasons. One thing they all have in common, though; none of these bloggers would have attained this level of influence and wealth if they didn’t have drive, passion and expertise in their respective niches.

 View Article in List View

10. Ewdison Then, ‘Slash Gear': $60,000 – $80,000 per month

Ewdison Then is the co-founder and executive editor of this consumer electronic and tech news site. He also works as a media publisher for his blog within the site and as CEO of R3 Media LLC.

SlashGear is “geared” towards consumers in need of tech gadgets. If you’re in need of an iPhone 5S, tablet, iPad, or looking to get your hands on the newest, coolest touch screen than you will love Then, because that’s what he does. He puts tech lovers in touch with the latest news regarding all kinds of technology and gadgets. His blog is consistent with its updates and aids readers in becoming the first to get a hold of a new fantastic gadget or app.

Most of Then’s income comes from pay-per-click advertising. His overhead has to be incredibly small as he only staffs about 13 people for this small enterprise. SlashGear is also notable for being the most successful blog to utilize the WordPress platform.

9. Matt Marshall: $50,000 – $100,000 per month

Matt Marshall was somewhat of a presumptuous journalist prior to breaking out as a top blogger. He started blogging in 2006, covering world wide technology. He is founder of VentureBeat, a informative blog that covers a range of topics, not just technology, and has developed a network of technology specialized websites. VentureBeat’s scope encompasses tech as well as money, finance and investment topics. Marshall provides a plethora of valuable information to his readers, including different business techniques to earn money from your investments and aspects of the startup process.

8. Gina Trapani: circa $110,000 per month

Gina Trapani takes her spot as the only woman on this list of highest earning bloggers. Trapani is not only CEO and founder of the popular blog Lifehacker, but she is highly active in the social media community. Most recently she has become a part of both Gawker Blog Empire and Gizmodo. Trapani’s focus on Lifehacker is to find ways to do things better, and improve the way in which one lives their life. Lifehacker encourages followers to share tips and new ideas to make everyday life easier. No wonder it’s so popular.

7. Collis Ta’eed: $55,000 – $120,000 per month

Collis Ta’eed, owner of the number seven blog on this list — TutsPlus —  contributes to various famous blogs. This man just loves him some blog! TutsPlus is an informative site for building skills that compiles tutorials, lectures and many other teaching methods to inform readers about application software and numerous designing tools. Ta’eed’s tutorials can help you with anything from downloading a photo to mastering a software application. Not only is Ta’eed making money from this site but members of the site can make money too by writing articles themselves. So whether you need help with music production or have some knowledge you’d like to share and make a buck doing it, Ta’eed’s site is definitely worth a visit.

6. Jake Dobki:$80,000 – $110,000 per month

The famous blog Gothamist.com makes Jake Dobkins a pretty handsome income. Gothamist is a newsy site. Its articles cover the genres of food, events, and art. The information spans the globe. If you are planning a trip overseas and want to know about the cuisines in a certain location, Gothamist is a good place to look. Gothamist started covering city life in New York but has expanded its reach to 13 cities worldwide: including Toronto, London and Shanghai. Prior to becoming the publisher of Gothamist, Dobkin worked as an amateur urban photographer. Quite a turn of events for the urban artist.

5.Timothy Sykes: Monthly Income: $150,000 – $180,000 per month

If you want to learn how to make lots of money Timothy Sykes’ blog is what you should be reading. It includes inspiring articles about investment, finance, stocks, and the like. Sykes is incredibly smart when it comes to stocks. He is an expert, and makes around two million dollars a month from stock operations. This is on top of what he makes from his wildly successful blog — which is, apparently, like a side job. While some people waitress at night, Sykes writes one of the most popular, highest earning blogs in the world. Sykes’ story is inspirational in and of itself, as he started as a penny stock trader — a penny stock scam geek — and now he trains people and writes articles that help people around the world, and he makes millions doing it.

4.Vitaly Friedman: $150,000 – $190,000 per month

Vitaly Friedman is founder of SmashingMagazine, a blog for website designers. He also started the Smashing Network in 2009 to curate the best of other design blogs. The majority of Friedman’s reported income is from advertising banners and doesn’t include affiliate revenues. SmashingMagazine is the most popular and famous blog in web design and development. If you want to master this field than SmashingMagazine can help you in achieving your goal by making sure you get the newest, latest tips, and provides guides and high quality tutorials to help you on your way.

3. Mario Lavanderia, ‘Perez Hilton': $200,000 – $400,000 per month

Mario Lavandeira, a.k.a. Perez Hilton, has been a powerhouse blogger since launching his site in 2005. Say what you will about his particular style of journalism, it’s making him a lot of dough. PerezHilton is a blog about celebrity news, scandals and and the like. Most likely you’ll see stuff about Lindsay Lohan and Justin Bieber on here. It doesn’t take a blog making it on a top ten list of highest earning bloggers to tell us that people love reading and talking about the latest celebrity news. So, if you have any burning questions about your favorite celebrity you may want to give PerezHilton a glance.

2.Pete Cashmore:$560,000 – $600,000 per month

Pete Cashmore is CEO and founder of the world famous blog Mashable, which covers anything from technology and business to social media, entertainment and lifestyle. Mashable is the largest (award winning) independent site. It is the most influential, the most read and the most popular destination for digital, social media, and technology resources and news. This generation connecting site was established in Cashmore’s bedroom in Scotland when he was only 19-years-old. Cashmore is now the youngest and almost the richest blogger in the world.

1. Michael Arrington: $500,000 – $800,000 per month

Are you a technology news and article lover? TechCrunch is a great place to be if you are. Founder Michael Arrington has created a one stop destination for tech news. Arrington has famously become know as the “prophet of Silicon Valley.” He has become the most influential personality in technology. His site updates its news so often you can get minute-to-minute tech news. So, yea, if you like technology chances are, you’ll love Arrington. That is of course, if you don’t already.

SOURCE :THERICHEST.COM

Read More»

Greece pushes for urgent Europe bailout deal

Yanis Varoufakis was removed as chief negotiator, but he was heavily involved in Tuesday's diplomacy

Greek bailout

• Greece's undeclared domestic default
• How close is Greece to Grexit?
• Could Europe lose Greece to Russia?
• How Greece's Syriza has had to compromise

Greek ministers have launched a concerted effort to persuade European officials to release more bailout money as the government runs out of cash.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was meeting his French counterpart before heading for Brussels, while colleagues headed for the European Central Bank.

The EU and IMF will not release €7.2bn (£5.3bn; $8bn) until they are satisfied with Greek plans for economic reform.

The EU has now slashed its 2015 growth forecast for Greece from 2.5% to 0.5%.

The Greek government is desperate to reach a deal with its international creditors before a scheduled €1bn debt interest repayment to the IMF on 12 May, but the two sides have yet to agree on labour reforms and pensions.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the phone on Monday night, but a Greek official said only that they had exchanged views on the relevant issues.

As his government pushed for a compromise, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that "in light of the persistent uncertainty", revising the forecast for Greece's growth had been unavoidable.

EU's stormy forecast for Greece

Communists shout anti-austerity slogans in Athens at a May Day rally

• Gross public debt: 177.1% in 2014; 180.2% in 2015; 173.5% in 2016
• Growth in GDP: 0.8% in 2014; 0.5% in 2015; 2.9% in 2016
• Unemployment: 26.5% in 2014; 25.6% in 2015; 23.2% in 2016

Spring forecast for whole of EU

Mr Varoufakis was recently removed from Greece's negotiating team amid reports that eurozone counterparts were unhappy with his abrasive style.

Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said the climate in the Brussels talks had improved and progress had been made, with time running out before a vital Eurogroup meeting on 11 May.

However, Mr Varoufakis was playing a key role in Greece's diplomatic campaign on Tuesday, first meeting French Finance Minister Michel Sapin in Paris before talks with Mr Moscovici in Brussels.

Euclid Tsakalotos, who took over as lead negotiator last week, and Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis were due to meet ECB head Mario Draghi later.

As Greek ministers launched their push for a deal, officials in Athens told Reuters that they were willing to move ahead with two big asset sales - a €1.2bn deal with German operator Fraport to run regional Greek airports and the re-opening of bidding for a 51% stake in the biggest Greek port, at Piraeus.

SOURCE :BBC

Read More»