2000s Technology timeline.

Created by Microsoft, XBox Live was the first commercially successful online gaming platform. Its predecessor, the Sega Dreamcast, was the first to support online gaming, but not successfully. XBox Live enabled solitary people to play with others even when alone. Online games can be used as a hobby, create friendships, or income. Many gaming tournaments exist to bring players together from all parts of the world to connect. XBox live also made games more accessible through digital downloads.

MySpace was one of the first social media sites, created by Tom Anderson and Chris Dewolfe. It allowed for teens and young adults to share photos, messages, and even provided HTML education through use of customized backgrounds. When it comes to keeping people digitally connected, MySpace paved the way for companies like Facebook and Instagram. Over time, social media has evolved to become an important part of daily life, and is also used for marketing or a way of producing income for some.

Introduced by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley, YouTube was a video platform that quickly grew as people watched and uploaded videos. With billions of daily views, the benefits of ad revenue were quickly realized, and ads were added to videos. Those posting videos to the website also benefit from the ads. YouTube can be entertain, educational, and potentially provide income. This has contributed to them being the second largest search engine behind its parent company, Google.

The first touch screen phone with full internet access was created by Steve Jobs and the Mac team. It quickly dated its brick and flip style counterparts, and within the 5-7 years, it became more common to see people with touch screen phones than without. The camera was also the best offered in a phone yet. Once the iPhone was released, the phone industry became driven to provide a touch screen phone with the highest resolution camera available, and ample storage, and hasn’t looked back since.

Launched by James Park and Eric Friedman, Fitbits helped track steps with more accuracy and features than a pedometer. They tracked distance, calories burned, and sleep habits. Because it displayed the time and date, it could even replace a watch, but with more features. By presenting this type of wearable technology, Fitbit set the stage for the creation of the Apple Watch. When utilized for fitness/health, Fitbits and other wearable technology can help improve the quality of someone's life.