-
Email
Email was established, allowing electronic communication to begin.[http://www.nethistory.info/History%20of%20the%20Internet/email.html(http://www.timetoast.com) -
USENET
Allowed users to share news stories for the first time.
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/nag/node256.html -
Napster
Originally meant to be a file sharing site, it quickly grew into a music download/sharing site that made MP3 a household name. (http://fortune.com/2013/09/05/ashes-to-ashes-peer-to-peer-an-oral-history-of-napster/) -
Six Degrees
First of what most describe as the typical social networking site. Users created a profile and could connect with other users. http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/then-and-now-a-history-of-social-networking-sites/2/ -
WOW and MMORPGs
From the late 90s into the 2000s sparked the beginning of social media gameplay. The emergence and popularity of multi-player online role playing video games such as World of Warcraft lead to a new culture and kind of social media all around the online world.
(http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring05/Hill/mmorpg.html) -
Friendster
The first general modern social networking site. Before the relaunch into a gaming site in 2011, Friendster still had millions of users, but the usage was nowhere near that of other social sites.
(https://www.wired.com/2013/02/friendster-autopsy/) -
LinkedIn
The formation of this site lead businesses to be able to tap into the social networking side of social media. By allowing users to create a business profile equipped with resumes and history and network amongst each other and potential job leads and connections. -
Birth of MySpace
MySpace quickly became the most widely used and user populated social networking sites of its time. With a customizable profile, photo and music sharing capabilities, and multiple means for user commentary and interactions, a new format for what we consider social media and the basis for Web 2.0 was created.
(http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/then-and-now-a-history-of-social-networking-sites/7/) -
Youtube
With the creation of YouTube as a video search engine and video sharing site, social media once again added a new part to the definition of social media.
(http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1990787,00.html) -
Facebook
Being offered to everyone, not just highschoolers, for the first time this year, Facebook top the charts in users and profiles. Over the years Facebook has remained innovative and relevant enough to survive unlike it's similar predecessor MySpace. Facebook is the go to example when most try to define social media. (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia) -
Twitter
On the same popularity level as Facebook, Twitter has turned the social media world in 140 characters or less. With users across the globe stemming from celebrities to politicians to everyday individuals, Twitter has connected more people from more walks of life than any other social networking site to date.
(http://socialnomics.net/2013/01/23/the-history-of-twitter/) -
Snapchat
One of the most recent social media forms, this photo and video sharing app allows users to send temporarily viewable content to users phones and with new features allows money transfers, celebrity follows, and news briefs.
(http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/9103216)