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One of the first online communities, BBS allowed users to share messages, files, and chat, laying the groundwork for social interaction on the internet -
Usenet allowed people to post in “newsgroups,” creating early online forums for group discussions and community building -
SixDegrees was the first social network to let users create profiles and connect with friends and friends-of-friends, pioneering social networking concepts -
Founded in 2002 by Johnathan Abrams. Friendster popularized profile-based social networking with millions of users worldwide, influencing MySpace and Facebook. -
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MySpace allowed customizable profiles and music sharing, becoming the first massively popular social network of the 2000s. -
facebook started at Harvard University and grew into the world’s largest social network, transforming global communication. -
YouTube was created in San Mateo, California and revolutionized online video sharing, allowing anyone to upload and watch videos, creating new content creators. -
X (Formerly known as Twitter) introduced microblogging with short updates, enabling real-time news, trending topics, and social conversations. -
The News Feed centralized user updates into one stream, changing how people consumed social media content. -
Hashtags allowed users to organize conversations and track trends, enabling global discussions and viral movements. -
Instagram popularized photo-sharing and filters, becoming a hub for influencers, trends, and visual content -
Subscription service with ad-free viewing, offline playback, and exclusive content and this started the beginning support of more professional creators financially.
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TikTok redefined short-form video with an algorithm-driven feed, quickly becoming one of the most popular social media apps. -
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Storm Area 51 / “They Can’t Stop All of Us”
A Facebook event jokingly inviting people to raid Area 51 went viral. Millions RSVP’d online, leading to real-life gatherings and memes. -
The first video of the Milk Crate Challenge was posted on Facebook and the video quickly gained well over hundreds of thousands of views as individuals attempting to climb a pyramid of milk crates. This marked the beginning of the viral trend