History of Social Media

Invention

1973

PLATO SYSTEM- instant messaging application

Milestone

1980

Bulletin Board system-earliest forms of social media. Hosted public messaging boards.

Invention

1984

FidoNet- worldwide network that was used to communicate between BBS. It was used to exchange private emails and public messages between BBS in the computer network.

Milestone

1985

AOL(America Online)-One of the fist companies to offer internet services to the public.

Launch

1995

classmates.com-Launched as a list of school affiliations but later would help former and current classmates to connect.

Launch

1996

Hoteline- Consisted of servers, clients and trackers. It was free to access.

Launch

1996

Bolt.com- one of the first social networking cites. It had chatrooms, message boards, games and more. Marketed to teenagers to create content, meet others and play games in a safe age appropriate environment.

Milestone/Launch

1997

SixDegrees.com-It was named after six degrees of separation which allowed users to list friends and family even if they were not registered on the site to connect.

Launch

1997

AOL instant Messenger (AIM)-Allowed users for free to communicate in real time, send files and play games together.

Launch

1998

Yahoo Pager-Integrated Yahoo users to chat, see their status, block users. Changed the name to Yahoo Messenger 1999.

Acquisition

1999

YouthStream Media Networks- bought Sixdegrees.com for $125 Million. At the time it had over 3.5 million registered users.

Launch

1999

LiveJournal-Russian-owned social networking platform. Users can keep a blog, journal or a diary.

Lauch

2000

Habbo-Is a virtual world multiplayer online game. They can build and design room, avatars and take care of virtual pets.

Defunction

2001

Sixdegrees.com-Shut down due to not being able to keep its followers due to the evolving market.

Launch

2003

LinkedIn- It is used for professional networking and career development. It allows users to search for jobs and help employers seek out potential employees.

Launch

2003

Myspace-It was based in the U.S.A. it was the first to reach global users. You were able to download music and pop culture to design your page.

Launch

2003

Friendster-90% of the users came from Asia and it reached 115 Million users. The users played online games, send messages, share images and videos and write comments.

Milestone/Launch

2004

Facebook-Owned by Meta. The members was originally limited to Harvard students but eventually expanded to North America universities.

Launch

2004

Flickr-It is a free platform, used for sharing photos and videos. They can share them public or privately and connect with other to share feedback and discover new talent.

Launch

2005

YouTube-The first video uploaded was "Me at the zoo". It has impact on influencing culture, trends, and creating multimillionaires.

Acquisition

2005

Myspace- was bought by News Corporation for $580 million. In 2006 Google signed a $900 million deal to sell adds on Myspace. In 2011 sold it again for $35 million and it became a loss.

Launch

2006

Twitter-It was originally set as a text message base. It was a tool to update between friends. It had short posts that are called "tweets" and to like other users comments. The # symbol was created on Twitter in 2007 to gain followers with like interests.

Launch

2010

Instagram-First photo was of Pier 38 at south Beach Harbor. Users can tag locations and followers. They can view trending content or just keep up on family and friends through photos.

Launch

2011

Snapchat-It is about living in the moment. Send your pictures or short stories to individuals or you can send them publicly originally only for a short time. They have created filters to alter any photo or video.

Acquisition

2012

Facebook/Instagram- Facebook purchases Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock. This was done to reach the smart phone users.