-
World Wide Web
1993 the World Wide Web was available for free to the public on Unix, Commodore Amiga, Windows and Mac OS Nick Welch -
Bolt
1997 Bolt.com, created by Dan Pelson, becomes the first social media site to launch Nick Welch -
SixDegrees
1997 SixDegrees.com, created by Andrew Weinreich, is created Nick Welch -
AOL
1997 AOL launches to the public Nick Welch -
Six bought by YouthStream
1999 SixDegrees.com is purchased by YouthStream Media Networks for $125 million Nick Welch -
Habbo
2000 Habbo the game based social media launches Nick Welch -
SixDegrees Shutdown
2001 SixDegrees.com shuts down Nick Welch -
The launch of Friendster
Friendster was a social networking platform that launched in March of 2002 by Johnathan Abrams. The site was able to expand beyond one-way communication and allowed people to connect with anyone they wished. The site reached up to 8.2 million users in June of 2010. In June of 2011 the site decided to relaunch as a social gaming site. Seven years later on June 30, 2018, the company closed down due to lack of engagement and the site soon dissolved. Laney Miller -
Friendster
2002 Friendster, created by Jonathan Abrams, launches Nick Welch -
Skype Launches
Short after the launching of Myspace, the communication site for instant messaging and video calling from computers, mobile phones, and other devices over the internet, was launched. Skype received a 70% increase of daily users when the pandemic hit in March of 2020. They now average about 40 million people on a daily basis. Laney Miller -
Mark Zuckerberg’s initial website “Facemash”
Zuckerberg’s site “Facemash” was comparable to the popular site “Hot or Not”. His site was. The site grew quickly but after a few days it was shut down by Harvard administration. Zuckerberg faced expulsion from the site, however, the charges were eventually dropped. Laney Miller -
The launching of business-oriented social networking websites
May 5, 2003, employment-oriented social networking site LinkedIn, was launched. In December of 2016, the service became a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. In August 2003 another career-oriented networking site, OPEN Business Club AG, made its debut. Two years later the site was renamed to XING, it was founded in Hamburg, Germany and is mostly popular in Europe. The two sites are each other’s biggest competition and have been for the past 17 years. Laney Miller -
The creation of Myspace
Myspace, the first social network to reach a global audience was founded on August 1, 2003. The platform immediately began to rise and from 2005 – 2008 it remained as the largest social networking site in the world. In July of 2005 the site was bought by News Corporation for $580 million. Even when the site began to decline in 2015, the site still had over 1 billion registered users. Laney Miller -
Zuckerberg created TheFacebook
January 2004, Zuckerberg coded a new website about Facemash. Him and another Harvard student invested in the site & February 4, 2004, “TheFacebook” launched. Less than a week after launching, 3 Harvard seniors accused Zuckerberg of purposely misleading them to thinking they were helping with a different social network. They sued Zuckerberg for 1.2 million shared. The site was originally restricted to Harvard students, & eventually grew across universities in the US and Canada. Laney Miller -
YouTube launched
The video sharing platform launched in 2005 & allows users to upload their own videos, watch others, subscribe, & share content. The site was bought by Google a year after it was launched & is now one of Google’s subsidiaries. In 2017, the site was averaging more than 400 hours of video content uploaded each minute. Creators & selected others are paid for making their content on YouTube. The site is still active and receiving over one billion hours of content watched each day. Laney Miller -
TheFacebook turns into Facebook
The company moved to California where they received their first investment. In 2005, they removed “the” from the name when they purchased the domain Facebook.com for $200k. In September of 2005 a high school version was launched & in September of 2006, the site opened to anyone 13 or older. The company grew with the alliance of Microsoft in 2007 & expanded internationally in 2008. July 2010, the site had 500M members.The company is still active today & is available mobile & online. Laney Miller -
Facebook Launches News Feed
Facebook launches its news feed. The most “inglorious launch moment in history,” stated Chris Cox, current chief product officer. Before, users would only see things on Facebook that was for them, like pokes or if they were tagged in something. With the news feed launch, users are now able to see news that is not directed to them, they now had a live news content hub. This has made Facebook one of the biggest distributors of information in the world. Tate Wargo -
The Launch of Twitter
Twitter was created by Jacky Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in March of 2006. It launched in July of 2006. Twitter is a place of communication, news, sharing one’s ideas, and having a direct platform with celebrities, professional athletes, politicians, and recently, even the president. Twitter is one of the most popular social networking sites worldwide. Tate Wargo -
Tumblr Launches
Seventeen-year-old David Karp launches Tumblr from his bedroom in his mother’s apartment. It allowed users to share pictures, video, text, and “reblog” their friends on their “tumblelogs.” Tate Wargo -
The Hashtag is Born
Twitter’s 140 – character limit set them apart from rivals. The hashtag helped political organizers and average citizens mobilize, promote, and create awareness for social issues. The hashtag allows tweets to be seen in specific categories and has played a role in social movements. Tate Wargo -
AOL Buys Bebo for $850 Million
AOL saw Bebo as an opportunity to enter the hot social networking space and turn its business around. At the time, AOL was laying off thousands of employees as it tried to refocus. AOL was hopeful Bebo would help them merge their way into relevancy. Tate Wargo -
Farmville is Launched on Facebook.
In June, gaming company Zynga launched the free social game called Farmville on Facebook. The game reached one million active users four days after launch. Skyrocketing to thirty million in six months. Tate Wargo -
Grindr Revolutionizes the Hooku
Grindr was the first geosocial networking app for dating geared towards gay and bisexual men. Good or bad, it has revolutionized hookup culture for homo sexual men and paved the way for other many others. Tate Wargo -
Instagram
A photo/video sharing and social media service Sean Sobey -
Pinterest
Allows users to submit images or “pins” which could go on other users pinboards Sean Sobey -
Snapchat
photo/video sharing social media service Sean Sobey -
Microsoft
Acquired Skype for $8.5 billion Sean Sobey -
Twitch
Live streaming service, used more widely to stream video games Sean Sobey -
Facebook
Facebook goes public, negotiating $38 per share, valuing at $104 Billion, which is largest valuation for newly listed public company Sean Sobey -
Tinder
Social networking service, mainly dating oriented Sean Sobey -
Vine
Very widely popular video sharing and social media service launches after being acquired by twitter for $30 million Sean Sobey -
Myspace
relaunches coming out with redesigned website and mobile app Sean Sobey -
Twitter doubles the tweet character limit
Twitter doubled the amount of characters a user was allowed to type in one tweet from 140 to 280, in an effort to attract more users and expand current users abilities. Clay Slattery -
Musical.ly ends and Tiktok begins
The popular short-form video app Musical.ly transformed and migrated it’s users to Tiktok. Clay Slattery -
Google+ shuts down
Google decided to pull Google+, a social network owned and operated by google, due to low user engagement and a flaw in their system. Clay Slattery -
Instagram Launches Reels
In an attempt to compete with the super popular video app Tiktok, Instagram released Reels, an add-on in the Instagram app that features short-videos. Clay Slattery
