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Yahoo! and Yahoo! Messenger much like AOL, is a pioneer when it comes to socializing and how we receive news. Yahoo! provided emailing features, IM (instant messaging) through messenger, and news also.
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AOL offered Internet service through broadband/cables. Many people accessed this through their phone lines. Many saw a spike in their telephone bills and the usage also tied up the telephone lines. Unlike now, we can surf the web while actively on a telephone call.
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This was one of the first instant messaging feature. Instant connection became a go to for many people utilizing Yahoo! email. -
MySpace was a personalized meeting space for everyone. Personalization such as songs, layouts, and top friends were features that were offered with an accounts.
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Shortly after MySpace, Facebook was released under the name "TheFacebook". Unlike Myspace, Facebook gave users a sense of keeping up with friends and associates in real time with status posts and comments as responses.
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Until Youtube arrives, we did not have a centralized space for videos of all types. Prior to the commercials and influencer era, Youtube was and still is vital for news, information, and now connecting across the world.
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Twitter was originally an internal website used for communication within a company. Soon after this became available for public use, commonly for blogs. Now, many people use Twitter as a means to connect, stay updated with social events, news, and more.
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Hashtags are used to filter through post in Twitter and now Instagram, Facebook, and even Google. The # symbol represents the sign for the hashtags. -
The hashtags were originally created to filter through post however, the real socializing ability came when the hostages became searchable in the search field. Many entrepreneurs took advantage of this opportunity.
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The hashtag serves the same purpose that it does on Twitter. However, one big event that happened was the day thousands of people decided to Blackout Profile Photos to stand in solitary with Black Lives Matter (BLM) known as BlackoutTuesday. This was due to hashtags becoming searchable. -
Instagram is known for being solely focused on pictures and videos. As a quicker and less permanent way to post photos and updates, Instagram created the stories option. As of 2025, stories also have the feature to have close friends to increase safety and user privacy. -
Differing from Instagram, TikTok solely focuses on connecting and providing news updates through videos or reels. Especially during COVID, many people passed much of that time in lockdown on TikTok and becoming influencers through TikTok.
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Geotags has been an extremely fun way to check in and show people where you may have recently visited or locations that friends and families should check out. In addition, it has also cause safety issues.
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Instagram was the last to add the Reels feature to their platform. Since then, there has been an increase in suggested materials for viewing.
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In January of this year, we witnessed people have full on meltdowns due to TikTok possibly being banned. The app immediately increased in value when the ban didn't take place but restrictions were applied. Phones with the previous version the application were selling for thousands. -