Mark Zuckerberg recently stirred excitement on Threads, Instagram’s rival social media platform, by sharing a nostalgic detail from his early days with Facebook. The Meta CEO, known for his active engagement on Threads, responded to a humorous post that sparked curiosity about the email address he used to create his first Facebook account.
The conversation started when an artist posted, “I’m you had to have a .edu email address to join Facebook years old.” This prompted Zuckerberg to reply, revealing, “Real ones know. First account was mzuckerb@fas.harvard.edu.” This revelation brought back memories of Facebook’s early days when it was exclusively available to those with a university email address, particularly those ending in .edu.
While Zuckerberg was the first person to use the platform, his wasn’t the first account created. According to reports, the first three accounts were created for testing purposes and later deleted. Zuckerberg’s account ended up being the fourth on the platform, with his fellow Facebook co-founders Chris Hughes and Dustin Moskovitz holding the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.
Zuckerberg’s post triggered a wave of nostalgia and shared experiences among users. One individual commented, “Pretty sure I took an adult education class at the local university so I could get a .edu account at least partially so I could meet this requirement. (Still the only college credit I have today).” Another shared, “I remember being a senior in high school and the thing I was most excited about was graduating so I could finally apply for a Facebook account with my college email. It was all I cared about at the time.”
Some users speculated about the fate of Zuckerberg’s old email address, with one noting, “So many people will now test that email.” Another user reminisced about the early days of Facebook, recalling, “I entered college in fall 2004. I remember when we had to switch Facebook from our .edu addresses to the accounts we had now! I think late 2005 or 2006 or so?”
Facebook, launched on February 4, 2004, was initially known as “thefacebook.com.” It began as a directory for Harvard students, offering a way to connect and share information. The platform quickly evolved, and over the years, it became one of the world’s most popular social networking sites. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg alongside his Harvard classmates Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes, Facebook has since grown into a global phenomenon, connecting billions of people around the world.
