Last week, after a particularly boring Religion lecture, Phillip Andrews officially claimed the title of Facebook's Most Active User of 2017 by posting his 1 millionth comment and his 1.5 millionth post on the site that year.
Andrews, a junior at the University of Southern California - LA, attributes his dull classes and incredible party scene at USC-LA to his success on Facebook.
"During my lectures, I usually spend my time going through Facebook and tagging my best friends in memes and videos. I make sure to sit in the back where the outlets are so I won't sacrifice battery for my time spent on social media."
To commemorate Andrew's incredible accomplishment, Mark Zuckerburg, founder and CEO of Facebook, personally invited him to his home for a private reception in Palo Alto and a tour of the Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
Andrews also received a signed gold 'like' button from Zuckerburg, similar to Youtube's Gold Play button given to channels with over 1 million subscribers.
"This is the first time any user on our site has shared and engaged with others this much in such a short amount of time," Zuckerburg told reporters on Friday. "He's challenged us at Facebook to improve our facilities and we're in the process of making changes to our servers to increase bandwidth and support more traffic. We just knew we had to do something special to thank Phillip."
"We'd like to offer Phillip Andrews a job when he graduates USC-LA," Zuckerburg adds. "He would make a great addition to our team and could offer invaluable improvements to both the web and mobile versions of Facebook. These are the kinds of professionals we are always searching for - those that fully embrace and understand the power of social media."
However, the offer is contingent on Phillips remaining the Most Active User in 2018 as well.
"Facebook has challenged me in ways I never could have imagined," Phillips said of Zuckerburg's proposal. "Because of the app, I've been able to participate and excel in other activities at school that require increased hand dexterity and finger strength. I never would have thought that Facebook would become my primary social media outlet, either."
Prior to 2017, Andrews expressed himself using the micro-blogging site Tumblr and the since defunct video-sharing app Vine. The death of Vine earlier this year allowed Andrews to explore other means of communication and self-expression.
"Phillip is USC-LA's social media King. Forget #TeamSnapchat or #TeamInstagram - he has an article, video, or post from Facebook for every situation. He's really bringing back the relevance of Facebook to this generation," Rebecca Greene, a friend of Andrews, told reporters.
Dr. Daniels, one of Phillip's favorite professors at the university, praised Andrews for his time spent in the classroom.
"He's always on his phone during my lectures so he's always busy doing important things. This is a student who is really going somewhere."
Andrews announced his formal intent to take the job at Facebook by posting on his account early this morning.
Phillip Andrews feeling blessed with Mark Zuckerburg.
I am proud to announce that I am Facebook's Most Active User of 2017. Mark Zuckerburg has offered me a job once I graduate with my Exploratory Degree & I cannot wait to work for such an incredible company. Thanks for the many likes, comments, and posts throughout the year. Go Bruins!
While taking this job means he may not be the Most Active User for much longer, he hopes his story will inspire others to take Facebook more seriously and will work hard to improve the application to make sharing even easier for future active users.
