The History of Social Media

Social Media Meets Six Degrees

1997

Found by Andrew Weinreich it is known as the first social media networking site. It was revolutionary because it allowed users to upload a picture profile and stay in contact. The internet however could not handle the millions of users. Chenda Ngak - https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/then-and-now-a-history-of-social-networking-sites/2/

Ryze is founded

2001

Ryze is the first social networking program that was made for business professions to make connections with each other by creating a profile, adding friends and sending messages. Founded by Adrian Scott, the network is still up and running today with over one million members. https://www.ryze.com/

Friendster Hits Social Media

2002

One of the founding social media websites, it was launched by Jonathan Abrams and Peter Chin, Friendster quickly took the Web. The platform was used like six degrees but was also considered a safe way for meeting potential dates, share videos, messages, photos and leave comments. In 2011 the company sold and switched to a gaming social platform and in 2015 paused their services. http://www.friendster.com/

Myspace Hits Social Media

2003

When Myspace came out it changed the social media game and became a powerhouse within the industry. Founded by a small team consisting of Brad Greenspan, Chris DeWolfe, Josh Berman and Tom Anderson, Myspace quickly took over the number one spot. It was known for band pages, customizable profiles, and the this place for people to online stalk. After Facebook took the #1 spot Myspace my the switch into an online music platform. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace

LinkedIn is Founded

2003

LinkedIn was founded by a small group consisting on Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly and Jean-Luc Vaillant. LinkedIn was created as a way for people to post their resumes turned into a massive business networking site and is still highly recommended today. LinkedIn is not about how many friends you can acquire but how you can build more strategic relationships. Randy Duermyer - https://www.thebalancesmb.com/introduction-to-linkedin-1794572

Hi5 is Founded

2003

Hi5 was founded by Ramu Yalamanchi and is more popular over seas to the east. The company started off as a social network and at one point was tailing behind Myspace. In 2009 they redesigned from the typical social networking platform by adding a bunch on gaming and entertainment features, requiring members to be 18 or older. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi5

Facebook Hits Social Media

2004

I do not think that are too many people in the world who have not heard of the social media giant, Facebook. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg (with some controversy), it started out exclusively for Harvard students and then became public in 2006. It only took a few years to knock Myspace out of 1st and took it's place. Now Facebook is king of the social network industry and is second to Google in web ranking. Sarah Phillips - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia

Youtube is Born

2005

Same as Facebook, YouTube is the most widely used social media platform for sharing and watching videos. The first YouTube was uploaded two months after the website was uploaded by Jawed Karim, one of it's founders. Two others, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, helped him launch the video and in September the first video with a million views was launched. Google purchased the company for $1.65 billion in 2006 and is still growing today. https://phrasee.co/the-history-of-youtube

Twitter is Founded

2006

Twitter started off as an idea created by Jack Dorsey where he wanted a communication platform that could keep tabs on others based on sms-like status updates, but not using texting. Once twitter was launched, users could make status posts, but were limited on how many characters they were able to use (280). Average tweets consist of around 50 characters and now users can comment, like and retweet while also tagging others. Amanda MacArthur - https://www.lifewire.com/history-of-twitter-3288854

Instagram is Founded

2010

Founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Snapchat is a smartphone based social media app where users can filter, post, and share photos and videos to their feed. Users can also follow others, like and comment on their content as well. Instagram is always adding new updates such as their Insta-stories and InstaTV. Facebook has purchased Instagram for a staggering $1 billion. Christine Lagorio-Chafkin - https://www.inc.com/30under30/2011/profile-kevin-systrom-mike-krieger-founders-instagram.html

Tinder is Founded

2012

Tinder is a dating app that is location based and allows users to swipe left or right to see if both parties match up. The app was based on a theory that people felt more comfortable when both parties knew and wanted to see each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinder_(app)

Snapchat is Born

2012

Snapchat was founded in 2012 by Evan Spiegel and was an originally an iOS only app. The app originally aloud only pictures to be shared on a one-to-one basis that disappeared after 15 seconds. Now users can send photo, video and text messages but they still disappear. Snapchat also changed the social media sharing game by creating filters that other apps did not utilize yet. Sophia Bernazzani - https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/history-of-snapchat