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Usenet was one of the very first social platforms where users could post public messages. The first message exchange was between Duke University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. -
This was a pioneer social media platform where users could create a profile and connect with friends. The name Six Degrees came from the concept that everyone is connected to anyone else by six or less relationships. -
Friendster was founded by Jonathan Abrams and really set the stage for My Space and Facebook. Users could create profiles, see mutual friends, participate in private messaging, upload photos, and play casual games. -
My Space was founded by Tom Anderson and Chris Dewolfe. It was one of the most popular social media platforms and was the most visited one in the world from 2005-2008. It was unique because users were able to have a profile song, and this is where many upcoming music artists shared their music. -
Facebook was founded at Harvard and was originally called "The Facebook". It opened to the public in 2006 and has easily been one of the most popular and influential platforms ever. -
Youtube was a video uploading centered platform. It has been a huge game changer with youtubers making millions of dollars a year based on views, likes, and subscribers. -
The first tweet was made by Jack Dorsey. Not only is it a social media platform, but it has evolved into a news source today. -
Hashtags were first suggested by Chris Messina on Twitter as a way to have groups conversations. They were first heavily used during the San Diego wildfires. -
Instagram started as an IOS photo sharing platform. It has been a key player in things like the modeling industry and aesthetics. -
Snapchat was originally called "Picaboo". It has been a major platform for carrying streaks, saving photos to your memories, and having a my eyes only feature. Snapchat filters also went viral for many years early on. -
Stories were first created by Snapchat. Stories allowed users to post something, and it was deleted after 24 hours. This feature was later adopted by platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. -
The Harlem Shake was a viral dance created by Filthy Frank. It was to a particular song and participants would dance excitedly with their arms flowing behind their back. In the first month of the trend YouTube reported over 40,000 uploaded videos. -
The Ice Bucket challenge was a viral trend were participants nominated one another to participate. They would pour a bucket of ice water on their heads and use various hashtags in order to try and raise awareness for ALS. -
Tik Tok started as "Douyin" in China. Eventually in the United States it merged with ByteDance and Musical.ly to create "Tik Tok". It has been a game changer with millions of users all over the world able to connect with each other in a much more intimate and relaxed way. -
For You Pages were created by Douyin in China. It creates a personalized content stream based on users likes and interests. It is perfectly tailored to each user.