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Six Degrees Released
Many consider Six Degrees to be the first ever social media platform that matches our definition today. You could add friends, speak with them, and even create profiles. It was created by Andrew Weinreich to connect people, but the internet was not popular enough for it to gain steam. It died in 2001. K. (2015, June 16). The History of Social Media: Social Networking Evolution! Retrieved from http://historycooperative.org/the-history-of-social-media/ -
Blogger Released
Although weblogs had already existed, the release of Blogger unleashed a surge of blogs, from 23 before its release to 50 million seven years later. This was what many consider to be the origin of the social media craze. People finally had a reason to use the newfound Internet to connect with one another. Chapman, C. (2011, March 14). A Brief History of Blogging. Retrieved September 15, 2018, from https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/03/a-brief-history-of-blogging/ -
Internet Becomes Mainstream
It is arguable when the internet became mainstream, but many consider the turn of the century to be the huge benchmark. In 1997, 70 million people where on the internet. By the end of 2000, 361 million were on the internet. With this becoming mainstream, people wanted to find something to do, so they connected with other internet users, creating a surge in social media usage. Internet Growth Statistics 1995 to 2018 - the Global Village Online. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2018 -
MySpace Released
The first enormous social media site that was released was MySpace. During its release, the Internet had already exploded and now people had a way to get onto these social media sites. MySpace allowed people to view profiles, create profiles, connect, and do most anything that we consider to be under the definition of social media today. Stenovec, T. (2011, August 29). Myspace's Biggest Moments: Memories Of A Fallen Social Network. Retrieved September 15, 2018 -
Facebook Released
When Facebook first came out, it was solely to connect Harvard students. However, it quickly became the giant that we see today, where it has literal billions of users. This is the core of social media now, as if you are someone who doesn't have Facebook, you are in the vast minority and are even missing out on many opportunities and connections because of it. Phillips, S. (2007, July 25). A brief history of Facebook. Retrieved September 15, 2018 -
YouTube Released
When YouTube was founded, people suddenly had a way of watching videos to learn how to do anything they wanted. Videos, up until this point, were not even common, but now there were channels with random people all over the world creating comedy, information, news, and much more. Bellis, M. (2018, April 3). The Creative Forces Behind YouTube Were a Trio of Inventors. Retrieved September 16, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-youtube-1992691 -
Twitter Released
When twitter was released, it became a national phenomenon within four years. It now competes with Facebook with its amount of users and is most likely more influential than Facebook now, especially with how many tweets the President puts out on what the government is actually doing. This site is known for its short and sweet influential posts from people everywhere. MacArthur, A. (n.d.). The History of Twitter You Didn't Know. Retrieved September 15, 2018 -
Mobile Usage Explodes
The release of the iPhone was arguably what set social media on the track to be in every single person's pocket who had a phone. You could do anything that a computer could do and then some, and it was all in the palm of your hand. This was truly the spark that would turn into the flame of social media today. The History of the iPhone. (2018, July 18). Retrieved September 15, 2018, from http://historycooperative.org/the-history-of-the-iphone/ -
Instagram Released
Instagram became a sensation for people to marvel at because it marked the popularity of posting pictures instead of comments, and many times, as the saying goes, these pictures were worth a thousand words. Even today, they are extremely influential over the social media world. Lagorio-Chafkin, C. (2012, April 09). Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Founders of Instagram. Retrieved September 15, 2018 -
Snapchat Released
Snapchat is one of the newest yet most popular social media platforms out there. This platform is dominated by the younger generations and has arguably gotten many of our children today into the social media world. It does a good job of throwing people in quickly, as all it needs is a picture to send with minimal words. Gallagher, B. (2018, February 10). How Reggie Brown invented Snapchat. Retrieved September 16, 2018 -
Grooveshark Shut Down
Grooveshark was once a music platform that allowed people to share music, talk about music, and more. However, this was just one example of many where a social media site infringed upon copyrights and had to be shut down through a lawsuit. This took a step toward social media rights, but also showed that users could not just create their own sites easily. Spanos, B. (2018, June 25). Grooveshark Shuts Down After Eight Years. Retrieved September 16, 2018 -
Facebook Testifies
In 2018, social media was changed forever with the testimony over the U.S. Congress by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was under fire for allegedly selling users' data to companies who wanted demographics. This was a huge step in the social media world, as it gave users more rights to provacy among other things. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before US Congress: Highlights. (2018, April 11). Retrieved September 16, 2018
