-
The Spark of Social Media
The first spark of social media began with the release of "Six Degrees" in May of 1997. Users were able to "friend' others, chat, and post ideas to "bulletin boards". Six Degrees was the first major website of its kind but only lasted until 2001 after they were bought out by YouthStream Media Networks for $125 million dollars. The website ended up dying off later that year. -
A New Approach
The site LiveJournal was created in 1999. Users on LiveJournal used the site to update friends on their lives which Facebook later on used as their inspiration for "status'" . -
Bigger and Better
Following Six Degrees, Friendster was founded in 2002. Friendster was originally used as a site much like Myspace. The site was later sold and became a gaming site, but became "defunct" as of 2011. -
Social Media of the Early 2000's
In August 2003, MySpace was a site very similar to Instagram. MySpace offered personal accounts, chat groups, and users could upload music, videos, and pictures. MySpace was the most popular social networking site from 2005 to 2008. -
More Talking
The internet service "Skype", is a telecommunications app that gives users the ability to have video calls and voice calls over phone, computer, and now even smart watches. Skype was created in August of 2003 by Priit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn, Ahti Heinla. -
The "Face" of Social Media
FaceBook was initially launched as "FaceMash" in July of 2003 by Mark Zuckerberg. The name was later changed on February 4th, 2004. FaceBook is still used today and paved the way for social media sites today. -
The Rise of YouTube
YouTube is a music and video sharing website founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in San Bruno, California. Since it's release on February 14, 2005, YouTube has become a huge franchise. In November 2006, Google purchased the site for 1.65 billion dollars. -
Tweet Tweet
Twitter was founded in March 2006 in San Francisco, California. Users interacted with posts called "tweets" and could direct message. Twitter is available to download on mobile devices or as a website. -
Blogging and the Media
Tumblr is a blogging and multimedia website that was founded in 2007 by David Karp. Within two weeks of it’s launch, Tumblr had 75,000 users. Bloggers were able to make their own blog posts and follow others blogs. Tumblr is now owned by Yahoo as of 2013. -
How “Pinteresting”
Pinterest was launched in January of 2010. The users of Pinterest can create boards and save pins of them based on what they are interested. The software of the app will then recommend similar “pins”. Since the creation of the app, it has helped start businesses, plan important events, and just overall organize one’s life. -
Instagram is Launched!
On October 6th, 2010, Instagram was founded by Kevin York Systrom. Users on Instagram can upload photos, videos, and can receive likes on their posts. The popular app is currently worth $100 billion dollars. -
More Messaging!
Kik Messenger is a social networking app that allows you to chat with people on virtually any device. The app was released on October 19, 2010 and founded by Ted Livingston. In May of 2016, Kik had around 300 million users. 40% of those being United States teenagers! -
Snap What?
Before being called "Snapchat", "Snap Inc." was created in July of 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown. Snapchat is described as a "multimedia messaging app" and is used by millions of people worldwide. Snapchat is currently at number 7 for top rated apps on the app store. -
The Peak of Vine
Vine was discovered in June 2012, but was not launched until January 23, 2013. Vine produced content creators like Nash Grier, Thomas Sanders, and Liza Koshy. The original Vine app is no longer available and the app transitioned into VineCamera in January of 2017. -
“Tik Tok” on the Clock
Though being one of the youngest social media apps, Tik Tok is currently #1 on the App Store for entertainment. Before being called “Tik Tok”, the app was previously known as “Musical.ly”. The company Byte Dance purchased Musical.ly and turned it into the app we know today. Users can upload comedy, talent, and so many other kinds of content to the app.
