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First Email Sent
While email may not fit the traditional definition of social media, it allowed us to keep in touch with anyone in the world. The first email was sent in 1973 by engineer Roy Tomlinson. It was a test email to himself, but began a tool that almost everyone in society relies on.
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6116/first-e-mail-sent-by-ray-tomlinson/ -
First Social Media Site Created
Six Degrees was created in May of 1996, considered to be the first social media/networking site. It had many popular features that sites like Facebook uses today, such as "friends" and other affiliations. The site was short lived, as it may have been ahead of its time and ended in 2001. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/then-and-now-a-history-of-social-networking-sites/2/ -
Napster Created
In May of 1999, the music sharing service Napster was created by Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning. While the service was later shut down in 2001 due to an insane amount of lawsuits concerning copyright, Napster opened the door for (eventually) legal music streaming services. Users were able to have hundreds of thousands of songs available online for download, and defined peer-to-peer sharing.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/24/napster-music-free-file-sharing -
Myspace Created
Arguably one of the first massively popular social media sites, Myspace had a lot of interesting features, including "top friends" and the ability to customize profiles with themes, colors, etc. Myspace's popularity tanked massively due to sites like Facebook and Twitter which combined the best of Myspace's features, it still was influential in the history of social media.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/then-and-now-a-history-of-social-networking-sites/7/ -
LinkedIn Launch
In 2003, LinkedIn was launched. While the site did not explode in popularity at first, it eventually grew into one of the social media giants. It allowed business professionals to have a slice of the social media network, and allows users to network with others they may or may not know, as well as look for jobs. https://ourstory.linkedin.com/#year-2003 -
WordPress created
The first popular blogging platform, Wordpress was created in May 2003. While there were many places one could blog, Wordpress is one that has survived, and now 22% of all websites use WordPress. Blogging has remained popular since the beginning of the internet, and WordPress gave users a free platform to do so. http://www.wpbeginner.com/news/the-history-of-wordpress/ -
Facebook Created
Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard freshman in 2004. Originally opened only for college students, then expanded to high school students, it allowed for users to have friends, upload pictures, and have affiliations to colleges or universities. It has grown to include younger users, as well as a growing portion of adults. Features like messaging, and groups were later added.https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia -
First Tweet Sent
On March 21, 2006, the first tweet was sent by the founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. Since that day, Twitter has been a social media giant. It allows for users to post short messages (originally in 140 characters, has been expanded) to their followers, and has become a vital part of the internet, especially for businesses and public organizations.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/digital-culture/the-history-of-twitter-140-characters-at-a-time/article573416/ -
App Store Created
As the Apple App Store was created in 2008, it made for an avenue to allow businesses and social media to have an even bigger mobile presence. Anyone with an iPhone could now have access to things like Facebook or Ebay with the simple click of a button from the phone, totally eschewing the mobile browser. The App Store was a huge creation, allowing for even more freedom on mobile.
https://www.imore.com/history-app-store -
Facebook Live Created
Facebook Live was created in April of 2016 to give users on Facebook an ability to livestream things they see, and could be viewed by anyone. Facebook Live has not been without controversy, but has been a vital part of it's growth, with brands and users using the service to livestream shows or press conferences, among other things.
https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102764095821611 -
HQ Trivia Launched
On October of 2017, the livestreaming game show app HQ Trivia was launched. The premise of answering 12 questions correctly in exchange for a portion of $2,000 (or more) has made the app massively popular, with some games amassing over a million players. Each day there is at least one game, and at least 1,000 dollars given away. HQ has become incredibly popular in 2018.
https://www.vox.com/2018/1/22/16851342/hq-trivia-lag-scam-explained -
Twitter Expands Character Limit
On November 7, 2017, Twitter officially expanded it's character limit to 280 characters, which was previously at 140. The move was highly debated by users, some of which felt the character limit was one of Twitter's main strengths. The site has experienced rapid growth, and everyone from the President to professional sports teams maintain a presence on Twitter.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/07/twitter-officially-expands-its-character-count-to-280-starting-today/
