Three weeks after the welcome party, the fairy lights were taken down, but their glow lingered in the air like smoke that didn't want to leave.
Lukas was back at it.
The headquarters of Facebook in Philadelphia buzzed like a second stock exchange. The main lobby had just added two new security lines. There were three secretaries per floor now. And in the topmost room, in glass and concrete, Lukas sat silent as a typhoon brewed on every screen.
Reports. Numbers. Dotted-line projections. Deals on the table. Lawsuits on the fringe. Facebook had become the talk of not just Silicon Valley but also Wall Street, Brussels, and Tokyo.
They were already prepping for IPO Stage 2, only months after their first. And with that came competitors—rising like weeds.
Yspace. Blogbounce. Tagroom.
Every second day, a new startup with seed funding popped up, claiming to be the "better Facebook." Some promised filters. Others offered forums. One even said they'd add music to profiles.
