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The Telegraph(Jarrett)
The first message is sent on the Telegraph by Samuel Morse, which we now know as Morse code. Morse sent a message from Baltimore to Washington, D.C, in 1844, saying “What hath God wrought?” This is the first instance of a message being sent electronically before the internet was invented. (Wikipedia) -
ARPANET (Jarrett)
ARPANET is created in 1969 by the United States Department of Defense. ARPANET allowed scientists at four interconnected universities to share software, hardware, and other data between each other. ARPANET would eventually be changed to the TCP/ IP Protocol on January 1st, 1983. This now allowed for different types of computers to communicate with one another, all while using a universal language. This day is now known as “the birthday of the internet.” (Wikipedia) -
AOL (Jarrett)
AOL (America Online) is launched in 1985. AOL allowed Americans to “surf the web” and go online, as long as they had dial-up connection and AOL software. AOL allowed its users to set up their very own profiles and let them communicate with other users through different means, such as emails, bulletin boards and instant messaging.
(https://thehistoryofcomputing.net/america-online-aol) -
NSFNET (Jarrett)
The National Science Foundation, wanting to create a newer faster service, launched a more robust, nationwide digital network known as NSFNET in 1987. NSFNET is widely considered the direct predecessor to our modern-day internet. (https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/ ) -
The first Social Media sites (Jarrett)
The first social media sites were launched in the late 1990s, starting with Classmates.com and SixDegrees.com in 1997, and LiveJournal in 1999. Classmates.com and SixDegrees.com allowed users to create their own profiles, invite other friends to join, and to view other users' profiles. LiveJournal allowed users to blog their thoughts and they could also communicate with other users.
(https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/) -
MySpace (Emily)
Myspace is a free, advertising-supported service that allows users to create Web “profile” pages that feature photographs, express their interests, and, most importantly, link to other people's profiles.(2024, Britannica.com) Created by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe -
Facebook (Emily)
Creator, Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook is a website which allows users, who sign-up for free profiles, to connect with friends, work colleagues or people they don’t know, online. It allows users to share pictures, music, videos, and articles, as well as their own thoughts and opinions with however many people they like. (https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explained-what-is-facebook-2/#:~:text=Facebook%20is%20a%20website%20which,however%20many%20people%20they%20like) -
Twitter (Emily)
Twitter is a free social networking site where users broadcast short posts known as tweets. These tweets can contain text, videos, photos or links. To access Twitter, users need an internet connection or smart phone to use the app or website, Twitter.com. Creators- Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams.
(https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Twitter) -
Tumblr (Emily)
Created by David Karp Tumblr is a short-form microblogging social media platform. It is host to more than 529 million blogs, which includes a variety of content such as fan fiction and art, memes, advice and more. In general, Tumblr is used to bring people of similar interests together. (2022)
(Internetmatters.org) -
Pinterest (Emily)
Pinterest is a visual discovery engine for finding ideas like recipes, home and style inspiration, and more. With billions of Pins on Pinterest, you'll always find ideas to spark inspiration. When you discover Pins you love, save them to boards to keep your ideas organized and easy to find. Created by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp
(help.pinterest.com) -
LinkedIn’s Publishing platform is Released to the Public (Ashton)
a. LinkedIn is a popular social networking platform emphasizing creating a place for businesses, employees, and employees to connect and promote themselves. Quickly growing in popularity for some time, only select users were able to publish articles on the platform, but in 2015, they opened up the feature to all. This website created a platform for all in the workforce to showcase their experience and insights and engage better with coworkers and other businesses. -
Instagram Launches Stories (Ashton)
Instagram rolled out a massive update to its platform, introducing one of the most well-known features and many other social media platforms: Stories. This is a feature that allows users to “post” photos and videos that would only be viewable for 24 hours allowing users to share moments from their lives and even share things more casually, as a formal post may not be exactly wanted or needed. Stories were embraced quickly, and is a feature still on Instagram an many other platforms today -
Snapchat Introduced SnapMap (Ashton)
Being one of their most popular features on the platform allowing users to share their location with friends, updating whenever they log into the app. Users are able to change who can see their location at any given time, deciding if only select people or no one at all could view. users can add Snaps to public Stories on the map,The more snaps are added to a location, a mark indicates popular areas. While this is an interactive feature it sparked concern for one’s privacy on the app -
YouTube introduces Premieres (Ashton)
This feature enabled content creators to schedule pre-recorded video releases as live events; with a live chat feature, allowed viewers to talk among each other while waiting for the video to premiere. This produced a sense of exclusivity among the first to watch the video. This also provided more income for YouTubers; users can send gifts and pay a small price to highlight their message; similar to the revenue they would receive when live, but now they do not have to be present for it. -
Twitter’s (Now X) Ban on Political Ads (Ashton)
the decision to ban all political advertising on its platform; this included political candidates and issue-related ads. This was a step in an attempt to combat misinformation and maintain trust; Twitter aimed to create prevent misinformation and the public from being manipulated They also reflected recent concerns about messaging tailored for specific demographics. Elon Musk removed this ban. However, the impact it had on the platform and social media as a whole is something we still see today. -
BeReal Launches In 2020 (Justie)
An app all about being real was started by French entrepreneur Alexis Barreyat in 2020. Social media can be time-consuming and pressure inducing, but BeReal is aiming to change that. Once a day the app sends a notification to its users saying, “it’s time to BeReal.” From there, you have two minutes to take a photo of whatever you’re doing at that time. The photo using your front and back camera to show what you’re doing. you must post your own photo before you can view anyone else’s
(npr.org) -
Instagram and Facebook introduce shops to help businesses during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. (Justie)
Businesses faced many challenges while switching their business models to sell online during the pandemic. Facebook and Instagram introduced shops to help the businesses keep going. Creating a shop is free and simple, and it makes it easy for people to shop the things they love. This marked a shift in the rise of social commerce.
(https://business.instagram.com/blog/introducing-shops-on-instagram) -
Twitter is acquired by Elon Musk and becomes X (Justie)
In late 2022, Elon Musk closed his $44 million deal to buy the social media service, Twitter. Musk’s reasoning was that he wants to make the platform a more freewheeling place for all types of commentary, with plans to transform it to an “everything app” called X.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/technology/elon-musk-twitter-deal-complete.html) -
Instagram Launches Threads (Justie)
Instagram introduces a platform in a format similar to Twitter called Threads. More than 30 million accounts were created in the first 24 hours since the launch. To use the app, you log in with your Instagram account and posts can be up to 500 characters including links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length
(https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/threads-instagram-text-feature) -
TikTok launches a new way for people to find and shop for their favorite products. (Justie)
Across the U.S., millions of people turn to TikTok to be inspired and find new products from their favorite creators. With the launch of TikTok shop, it gives brands and creators the ability to sell directly through content on the TikTok app. Truly revolutionizing social media marketing and influencer marketing by introducing such a seamless shopping experience
(https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/introducing-tiktok-shop)