by Bethaney Wallace

Way back when Facebook first started, it was an elitist club. Only those enrolled in a university – a university with @ their domain email address – could join. And they meant it too. Before I transferred up into the Big XII, I went to a tiny college that didn’t believe in distributing its own email addresses. I wasn’t allowed to have a Facebook account. In fact, a fellow classmate of mine hacked a university email address from a man in Kentucky, and received a personal message from Mr. Zuckerberg himself, stating his disappointment. In just a few years, Facebook has gone from personally apprehending those attempting to make a profile, to servicing more than 800 million active users, regardless of education status.

Anymore, it’s no surprise to see a grandmother or great uncle add you as a Facebook friend. High school drop outs, stay-at-home moms, Facebook is now accessible to anyone with a computer and the ability to lie about being over 14. Thanks to Facebook’s ability to see what a future they had ahead of them, they were able to make the necessary changes and become a multi billion dollar company – a reality the “you can’t have an account” version of Zuckerberg would have never seen come true.

When it comes to running a business, there are adaptations and changes that every company must fight through in order to become (or stay) successful. (In an example of what not to do, we can all turn to the latest moves Netflix has made.) But just as every business has had to morph into something new, so have their customers. For many technology gurus, this has been no big deal. Facebook takes away the “post” button? Who cares? Twitter links are shortened? Of course, why didn’t we think of that?! But for others, those who grew up before the computer age, are having a harder time adjusting. For the parents and grandparents of the social media world, it’s enough to just have a profile. From my grandpa who “likes” everything, “because it’s the only thing he knows how to do,” to my grandmother whose profession is listed “grandmother,” which I suppose is true (once you hit double digits it becomes a full time job), the pre-electronic generation is just trying to stay in the game.

But, when they’re struggling to work their profiles, or to successfully stalk their friends, why do they keep their accounts up and running? I asked a number of my technology-challenged family members and they all gave different answers. Some to run their business, some to keep track of family, and some because they just like doing it. Even if they have to call or text their grandchildren unreadable messages asking for help, it makes them feel connected.

Despite Facebook’s changes and upgrades which may alienate some users, they have still managed to mark themselves as the world’s most successful social media site. This only goes to show that, with the right marketing moves and business changes, no matter your company’s past, an incredible demand can be created.

Image courtesy of Flickr.