Starting a Social Network website..A growing market? Or a monopoly?

[Rip]

18 year old kid here, and I am looking to delve into the world of social networks and whatnot..I know that many people are entering this market with the success of facebook, twitter, myspace, and soon google plus, and I know that not everyone will make it big like Mark Zuckerburg (or the other multi-million net worth creators)..

I, myself, am wondering what it would take to start up a social network website. I mean, not what the costs of running a site like facebook is right now (probably millions of dollars), but, at the time of the startup of facebook, what did it take for Mark Zuckerburg to launch that website (how many hours would I spend coding, how much money would I spend, etc, etc)..

Is it a growing market, or is it a difficult market to enter into and make money because everyone prefers facebook/twitter (and will not likely waste their time signing up for another social network website)..

I am just wondering, because right now I am thinking becoming an entrepreneur one day, and creating such a website is just one idea on my list.

So again, how much time, effort and money would I spend into making the aformentioned website? And what type of programming language would I have to learn (and what are the other steps of creating such a site)?

[Teirah]

this is a growing market and since you seem willing to do it...start doing some research online. I don't have all your answers, but I know you can google start-up of facebook, etc and get results. Also if you are looking to be an entrepreneur a great deal of information you'll have to dig for. Good luck.