Inside Facebook HQ

Only last week I had the privilege of visiting the Facebook HQ in Menlo Park, the home of the mighty 9 year old social giant.

Arriving at the car park, you wouldn’t think too much, with limited branding and no real arrival “razzmatazz” you could easily be at any company in any outsource zone.

Only after you visit, you realise why the FB culture is one that others try to replicate. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Linkedin etc. all have amazing cultural reputations, but nothing quite comes close to the pure “geek sheek” vibe that is Menlo Park (although admittedly I am yet to visit Mountain view!) . FB culture means limited branding on the front door, where only a few thousand will see it, but do something different and stick a QR code on the roof and a few million get to see it, daily!

This culture of creativity and ownership is rife throughout the Menlo Park campus and most evident in the artwork that resonates with ownership of the brand and the future success. They use the term “this journey is only 1% finished” to remind them where they stand. Throughout the campus (which homes 3000+) there are stickers from the previous occupants, Sun Microsystems, which will not be removed by FB. These stay as a reminder of how the great and giant can falter and never to assume that you have arrived or that it is time to relax.

The one area that really caught my eye (other than the vast choice of free food, free barbers, bike hire, tech vending machines!, tech way-finders etc. ) was the mass of original artwork ordaining the walls. After taking a few snaps on my phone and asking if it was okay to blog (which I have shared below), I researched further and found that FB has a full team dedicated to creating the statements of culture.

The Analoglab produces hundreds of original art scores, a real call of respect to Johannes Gutenburg, from the current Goliath to the first true Social Media Giant.

Facebook wears its Hack culture with pride, and the below will only show a snippet of the vibe that permeates the campus. Hopefully you too will have the pleasure of visiting one day.

The Bathroom Moustache – A strange one to start! The moustacio’s were spray painted in the gents lavatory wall, possibly a shout out to Banksy or a roll-over from Movember? It was also noted a very large number of people with beards within the campus!

The “Truth” Poster – Just as you enter the main building, a very creative play on reminding people to remain truthful.. no matter how difficult.

Facebook Security Awareness – while FB are proud of the “hack”, they also have a very creative way of reminding staff to remain alert!

Hack 24/7/52/8… only 8 hours a day?

The Hack Stripe – another play on the word that dominates the campus

People over pixels – in a company run by engineers, for engineers a poster that tries (possibly in vain) to remind the staff who are the end users!