Though nearly 85 percent of college students use the social networking Web site Facebook, according to alums now working for the company, few know the masterminds behind their favorite procrastination outlet.
At an information session yesterday about working for Facebook, software engineer Jon Warman '05 introduced himself as an "old timer" at Facebook even though he only began working for the company in February 2006.
Leah Pearlman '04, a product manager who spoke with Warman to a capacity crowd in the Center for Information Technology's Lubrano Conference Room, said that at 24, she was one of Facebook's older employees.
Further highlighting the company's youthful profile, a bullet point in the alums' PowerPoint presentation proclaimed, "Social networking is young," followed by another bullet point that read, "Think: sunlab + free food - collaborative policy = facebook."
Warman and Pearlman, both of whom wore hooded sweatshirts emblazoned with the Facebook logo, extolled the benefits of working at a company dominated by employees in their 20s. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and CEO, is 22 years old.
"It's really a big, open, fun environment. Every meal is a collaborative brain-fest," Pearlman said. She explained that the company provides its employees three meals a day, but that the meals generally do not take place at traditional times.
"Our working day is way more like 11 (a.m.) to 9 (p.m.)," she said.
Before moving to Facebook, Pearlman, who concentrated in computer science at Brown, worked at Microsoft for two years.
"I did a ton of learning there - it was valuable for building up skill sets," Pearlman said. "But I didn't open my mouth for six months."
Pearlman's desk now physically touches Zuckerberg's. Whenever an idea pops into her head, all she has to do is say it aloud and the company's highest officer will hear.
"Within a week at Facebook, I was able to assert myself with some authority," Pearlman said.
Warman said Facebook employees enjoy a significant measure of responsibility for their product and are able to earn respect quickly, which can be difficult for young employees at other companies.
"We like the control we have over the product we put out there," Warman said. Also a former computer science concentrator, Warman worked at Amazon.com before taking a job at Facebook. He said that while he got along well with his fellow employees at Amazon, he never felt any desire to befriend them outside of work. Now, he considers his Facebook coworkers his friends.
"It's not necessarily about age, but about the ability to relate with people and have fun," Warman said.
Pearlman also said she enjoys the sense of community Facebook employees share. She described going with 40 Facebook employees to see the movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" when it was released last Friday.
"It really feels like a big frat," Pearlman said of working at the company.
But the Facebook has a serious side too, according to both Warman and Pearlman. The company is striving to "maximize information flow" in the most efficient manner possible, and hires only the most qualified programmers to work toward this goal. Warman attributed his ability to succeed at Facebook to the education he received at the University.
"Brown really does have one of the best computer science departments in the country," Warman said. "It's amazing how well we are prepared working there."
Evan Kalish '08, who attended the session, said he wanted to hear from the employees because he was an "old-school Facebook fanatic."
"It was cool just learning a little bit more about it," Kalish said. Since he will not graduate until next year, he said he has not yet thought about applying for a job with Facebook.
