Early Education
Mark Zuckerberg was brought up in a household highly focused on education, with his father Edward a dentist and his mother Karen an educator who ran a psychiatry practice. Mark began his education within the local public school system in Westchester, New York but his parents wisely recognised that his intellect was beyond the scope of what the public education system could offer and he was enrolled in a prestigious school at Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard’s feeder school.
It was in the safety and special environment of the Academy that Mark first became exposed to the opportunities that coding offered. His interaction with the advanced mathematics, computer science and artificial intelligence projects being undertaken by his peers, led him to earlier fascination with computers and the start of his journey into coding.
Development of His Skills
Mark, in correlation with the other pupils at Exeter worked on coding projects, with his particular passion, beginning to focus on developing software. While at Exeter, he worked, along with his friend Adam D’Angelo on an early social networking programme, focused upon connecting students.
This programme, called Facemash, attracted the attention of the administrators who deleted the website and reprimanded Mark for his “unacceptable behaviour”. However, Mark’s strong interest in computer programming had been ignited and although initially disappointed, he continued to develop his understanding of the computer language, ultimately leaving a mark in the tech industry.
An Enormous Learning Curve
During Mark’s time at Harvard in the early 2000’s, the internet was truly beginning to shine, featuring postings and websites, including forums, music and video sharing sites. It was during this period that Mark began to truly expand his coding abilities.
He was learning myriad of languages, including HTML and CSS, with his eye on developing software. He developed a rudimentary online platform that allowed members to communicate with each other and developed a basic social networking platform, similar to the one he worked on with Adam at Exeter. This platform became known as thefacebook, which changed to the current moniker of Facebook, before his graduation in 2006.
The Influence of Programming
However, more than just being able to code and develop hardware and software, Mark was beginning to find out the influence of coding. He understood the fundamental importance of coding to create programmes and software, but also began to submerge himself in coding a software that had the potential to revolutionise the way people connected and interact with each other.
The vision was not just to create a social platform, but to expand on his coding skills and abilities, to craft an online environment that had the chance to change the world, a feat which he has now achieved.
The Role of Professional Help
Mark, of course, did not achieve this transformation on his own and his success comes from the role of the people he chooses to have around him. His first hire, Dustin Moskovitz, helped create the original Facebook code in the early days and since then mastermind programmers, engineers, developers and graphic designers have been paramount to Facebook’s success.
Mark has stated that it was his key hires that have allowed him to build the empire he has created today, having had the time for the more strategic elements of the business as his engineering and development staff have handled the bulk of the coding tasks.
An Industry Giant
In January of 2007, the Apple Inc Store was launched featuring the first application ever seen, the Facebook App. This highlighted the importance and the power of the coding skills of those working on Facebook.
The company has continued to innovate and expand, with Zuckerberg driving the process forward with new software, programming and code released regularly as the Facebook product continues to thrive. His coding and engineering skills have enabled him to create a giant in the tech and social media industry, a feat that could not have been achieved without the abilities of coding.
Continued Focus on Coding
Since his graduation from Harvard, Mark has remained focused on the development of programming, committing himself to learning the languages surrounding coding, coding conventions and the development of more integrated software for Facebook.
His knowledge of the languages and conventions become more advanced and his influence in the coding community began to become better known. This knowledge continues to be evident as he drives and steers the development of the Facebook product, with Mark himself stating that “coding and engineering are the most important skills I have” and that “without these skills none of what Facebook has become would have been possible”.
Addressing Issues Related to Coding
As coding has become a more sophisticated way to interact with online communities and platforms, so too has the issues surrounding it developed and become more complex. Zuckerberg has taken the steps to tackle these and ensure the far reaching implications of coding are addressed.
He is a co-founder of The Code for America and has worked for the advancement of coding through the efforts of creating a Joint Code Network and the Virtual Education Portal. This is his way of helping to ensure coding education is available to people from all regions of the world and from all walks of life.
Development of Security Features
The security implications of coding and software development have also been a primary focus of Zuckerberg, who has taken this to mean the introduction and development of security-related features within the Facebook platform.
His in-depth expertise has shaped the design of the platform and allowed him to drive and develop the security measures contained within, giving users piece of mind in dealing with the personal data available on the Facebook network.
Exploring Other Realms of Coding
In addition to his work with Facebook, Mark has established code.org, a platform dedicated to providing basic coding education to students and teachers of all ages. He has a personal commitment to coding and continues to explore the world of coding from a personal level, under the umbrella of his own personal development and learning.
He has, for example, recently begun the exploration of the coding language and convention of React, having also taken steps to understand the development of blockchain technology. As his knowledge and expertise expands, his impact on the development of coding also increases and is further solidified.
