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Take a look at Facebook's first-ever ad sales pitch deck: 'What is thefacebook.com?'

Take a look at Facebook's first-ever ad sales pitch deck: 'What is thefacebook.com?'

Thefacebook.com was originally intended to replace actual face-books used by individual colleges at the time. Originally physical paper books of photographs, they had migrated online to college web sites but were often clunky to use.

Take a look at Facebook's first-ever ad sales pitch deck: 'What is thefacebook.com?'

"What is thefacebook.com?" ... "an expanding online directory"! Now you know.

"What is thefacebook.com?" ... "an expanding online directory"! Now you know.

The original Facebook had very few functions. One of them was "Social net: displays 10 random people from user's school."

The original Facebook had very few functions. One of them was "Social net: displays 10 random people from user

Note that even though Facebook was only a few months old, it already had 1.5 million users and generated 1.2 billion pageviews per month — that is a staggering amount for a web site even today.

Note that even though Facebook was only a few months old, it already had 1.5 million users and generated 1.2 billion pageviews per month — that is a staggering amount for a web site even today.

The level of targeting was extremely specific even at this early stage.

The level of targeting was extremely specific even at this early stage.

Over 400 schools available!

Over 400 schools available!

When Mark Zuckerberg, a junior at Harvard, introduced thefacebook.com in February, he never imagined the site would soon have 180,000 registered users.

When Mark Zuckerberg, a junior at Harvard, introduced thefacebook.com in February, he never imagined the site would soon have 180,000 registered users.

Here's the pitch ...

Here

This is how Facebook looked like back in the day. It was a desktop-only web site.

This is how Facebook looked like back in the day. It was a desktop-only web site.

The site grew so fast that Saverin and Iverson had to frequently update their sales materials with new numbers. At this point there were 2 million users.

The site grew so fast that Saverin and Iverson had to frequently update their sales materials with new numbers. At this point there were 2 million users.

The blue, shadowy dude in the left corner of Facebook's logo is actually Al Pacino. Zuckerberg’s friend Andrew McCollum designed the logo using an image of Pacino he found online.

Perhaps you'd like to join the Spongebob Facebook group?

Perhaps you

It's interesting that advertising was part of Facebook's plan from the very beginning ...

You could run a national ad campaign on Facebook for as little as $15,000, as this Paramount ad order shows. Nowadays national brands routinely spend multi-millions on Facebook.

You could run a national ad campaign on Facebook for as little as $15,000, as this Paramount ad order shows. Nowadays national brands routinely spend multi-millions on Facebook.

This is a screengrab from an Excel spreadsheet a year later, in October 2005. It is titled "Facebook Master List." It shows all the colleges on Facebook — 1,971 at the time — and the total number of users: 4.8 million.

This is a screengrab from an Excel spreadsheet a year later, in October 2005. It is titled "Facebook Master List." It shows all the colleges on Facebook — 1,971 at the time — and the total number of users: 4.8 million.

Here is another version of the same list ranked by the number of users per campus. Penn State had the most users at the time.

Here is another version of the same list ranked by the number of users per campus. Penn State had the most users at the time.

EY was an early advertiser. This spreadsheet is interesting because it shows the colleges that weren't yet part of Facebook.

EY was an early advertiser. This spreadsheet is interesting because it shows the colleges that weren

Apple was one of the earliest advertisers approached by Facebook, with a projected budget of $400,000.

Apple was one of the earliest advertisers approached by Facebook, with a projected budget of $400,000.

By April 2005 Saverin and Iverson updated their numbers again: to 2.5 million users ... and the rest is history.

By April 2005 Saverin and Iverson updated their numbers again: to 2.5 million users ... and the rest is history.

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