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PLATO System
This system, created at the University of Illinois, was considered the first early forms of social media. It included notes, instant-messaging, chatroom, news, etc. -
Classmates.com
Originally a list of school affiliations, this site later incorporated features to help former and current classmates find and contact each other online. -
First Social Media Cite
SixDegrees.com became one of the first social media cites. This cite allowed for personal profiles, list of connections, and messaging within networks. -
Myspace
One of the first social media cites to take off, with millions of users. This cite became trendy very quickly, and eventually declined over time. -
Skype
Instant media messaging and platform used for video chat/ voice calling was launched. -
Tidal Wave of Social Media
Between 2003-2005, cites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and WordPress were launched became popular. -
Premium Packages
LinkedIn became the first cite to offer users paid premium packages. -
"Partners" & "Influencers"
YouTube introduced its paid partnership program. This allowed for users and creators to profit off of content. This was the start of social media influencers. -
Hashtag
Introduced from Twitter, the hashtag became the iconic symbol of social media. Not only did it allow for organization of posts, it promoted and created awareness for many movements, socially and politically. -
Tumblr
Created by a 17 year old, this site was created for microblogging and gained immense popularity. -
Instagram
This app was created by Mike Krieger, with the intention of users posting photos with captions. Instagram is now the most downloaded app globally. -
Pinterest
This website was created for photo-sharing and gained popularity, offering inspiring ideas for cooking, home improvement, life hacks, etc. -
Snapchat
Created in 2011, this app was created capture life's moments in current time. The content captured and sent deletes after 24 hours. -
Twitch
Popular live-streaming site which became popular with video gaming. Amazon eventually took over of this site. -
Billion Users, Billion Dollars
Facebook celebrates their user base reaching one billion users. This same year, Facebook bought Instagram for one billion dollars. -
Tinder
One of the first dating-oriented apps, Tinder was launched. -
Exclusivity = Monetization
Patreon was created in 2013, giving influencers access to a platform for monetization through exclusive content to subscribers. -
Vine
This app was launched as a video-sharing service. Users made videos up to 6 second lengths. This was the first media that was "quick" media. -
YikYak
This app was created, provided social media service similar to Twitter, however locally. the posts are anonymous and posted only based on your location. -
Musical.ly
This app was created for video uploading and took off from "lip-syncing."