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Wikipedia
A free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, launches -
StumbleUpon
A website that recommends web content to it's users -
Friendster
Granddaddy of social networks. luanches -
Technorati
Search engine for blogs -
Linkedln
a business-related social networking site used by professionals from its inception. -
Wordpress
publishing platform that hosts blogs, is released. -
Myspace
launched. -
Gmail.
begins -
Flickr
an image and video hosting website, goes live. -
Facebook
a social networking service which began at Harvard, expands to other universities. -
Yelp
a social networking site where users can review local businesses, begins. -
DIGG
a social news website, goes live -
Facebook
reaches one million members -
YouTube
a video-sharing website, goes live. -
Mashable
a news website and blog, goes live. -
Facebook
available to high schools in the United States. -
Facebook
becomes available in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand -
Myspace
becomes the most popular social networking site in the United States -
Twitter
a website for mini-blogging and social networking, begins. -
Facebook
launches its news feed feature to a mixed reaction -
Google
acquires Youtube. -
Wikileaks
publishes submissions from anonymous sources, begins. -
Facebook
reaches one million active users in the UK -
StumleUpon
is acquired by eBay. -
Facebook
allowing developers to use the site as a platform for games and widgets, leading to the success of popular games such as Farmville, Bejeweled Blitz, and Mafia Wars. -
Apple
releases the iPhone in the United States. iPhone users can access social media sites and apps through their phone. -
Facebook
the most popular social networking site, surpassing Myspace which had been in first place since June 2006. -
Facebook Connect
Connect enables users to log onto third-party websites, applications, gaming systems, and mobile devices. -
Tweetdeck
TweetDeck is a desktop application for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, and other social networking sites. -
Itunes
Apple store opens -
Twitter
becomes the third-highest-ranking social networking site. Its previous ranking was 22 -
Foursquare
a location-based social networking website, goes live. -
Twitter
Michael Jackson dies, Twitter servers crash after users send 100,000 tweets per hour. -
Wordpress
reaches 202 million users. -
Flickr
hosts more than 4 billion images. -
twitter
users are sending 50 million tweets per day -
Facebook
now delivers more than half of all U.S. social medial referral traffic -
Google Wave
a web-based platform designed to merge email and social networking, is released to the general public. By the end of 2010, Google would hand it over to the Apache Software Foundation. -
Twitter
are sending 65 million tweets per day, roughly 750 tweets per second -
Facebook
Lady Gaga becomes the first living person to have 10 million friends on Facebook. She is second overall only to Michael Jackson who has 14 million friends. -
Facebook
eaches 500 million active users -
Youtube
Lady Gaga becomes the first person to receive one billion overall views on YouTube -
Wikileaks
begins releasing U.S. State department diplomatic cables -
Egypt
shuts off all internet access in an effort to contain activists from organizing protests which threaten to end the reign of President Hosni Mubarak. The block is temporary and does not put an end to the protests -
Twitter & Facebook
Twitter and Facebook help activists organize an uprising in Egypt -
Egypt
Egyptian baby is named Facebook to honor the role that social media played in Egypt's revolution -
Wikieaks
begins publishing files on Guantanamo Bay detainees -
StumbleUpon
surpasses Facebook as the site that delivers more than half of all U.S. social media traffic -
facebook
A teacher in Missouri sues the state over what has become known as the Facebook law. The new state law prevents teachers from contacting students through non-work related websites. The teacher's lawsuit argues that the new law makes it illegal for her to chat with her own child over Facebook. -
Boston Marraton boming
Social media becomes a major source of information about the Boston Marathon bombing. It is the first major terrorist attack in the U.S. during the age of Facebook, Twitter and smartphones. Many Americans receive news of the bombing and search for clues about the suspects on social media. Several anonymous posters name people online who they believe are involved in the bombing. Once the suspects are identified, investigators look at the suspects' Facebook accounts for evidence and clues for moti -
Facebook
A retired police detective's Facebook post provides authorities with a lead to the driver involved in a 1968 hit-and-run death. Douglas Parkhurst has been identified via Facebook as the driver of the car that did not stop after hitting a four-year-old girl in upstate New York on Halloween night in 1968. Police have been following hundreds of leads, but the break comes when retired police detective Russ Johnson posts information about the case. A former resident of the area in New York where the -
Twitter
For the first time ever, a trial based on alleged defamation via twitter begins. Attorney Rhonda Holmes is suing her former client, rock musician and actress Courtney Love over a tweet in which Love claimed that Holmes had been “bought off” in a case related to the estate of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana singer and Love’s deceased husband. The case is being referred to as the Twibel trial and could have major legal implications for any Twitter user. The Los Angeles Superior Court has already rejected an
