Timeline of Social Media

Telegraph

Jan 1, 1792

The telegraph, a device for receiving and transmitting messages over long distances is created.

Telephone

Jan 1, 1890

The telephone is developed by Alexander Graham Bell.

Radio

Jan 1, 1891

The first radio is invented by Alexander Stepanovich Popov.

CompuServe

Jan 1, 1969

CompuServe, the first major commercial online service in the United States, is originated.

E-Mail

Oct 1, 1971

The first email is sent between two computers sitting right next to each other.

Usenet

Jan 1, 1979

The worldwide distributed Internet discussion system was created by Duke University graduates Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis.

IRC

Jan 1, 1988

Internet Relay Chat was developed for file sharing, link sharing and keeping in touch.

GeoCities

Jan 1, 1994

GeoCities, one of the web's first social networking sites is founded.

TheGlobe.com

Jan 1, 1995

This site gave users the option of publishing their own content and sharing it with others with similar interests.

Six Degrees

Jan 1, 1997

This site is considered one of the first modern social networks, it allowed users to create a profile and become friends with other users.

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)

Jan 1, 1997

AOL instant messenger is launched

Napster

Jan 1, 1999

The pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files is launched.

Blogger

Jan 1, 1999

The blog publishing service is launched.

Wikipedia

Jan 1, 2001

The free, collaborative, multilingual Internet encyclopedia is launched.

Friendster

Jan 1, 2002

The social network site is launched.

Fotolog

Jan 1, 2002

The photo sharing site is launched and becomes popular in South American countries and Spain.

MySpace

Jan 1, 2003

MySpace was created and by 2006 was the most popular social network in the world.

LinkedIn

Jan 1, 2003

The business-related social site is launched.

Flickr

Jan 1, 2004

The photo hosting and sharing site is launched.

Facebook

Feb 28, 2004

Facebook is launched for Harvard University students.

YouTube

Jan 1, 2005

The video hosting and sharing site is launched.

Twitter

Jan 1, 2006

The microblogging site is launched.

Tumblr

Jan 1, 2007

The microblogging platform and social networking site is launched.

Pinterest

Jan 1, 2010

The image curation site is launched.

Google+

Jan 1, 2011

The social networking site operated by Google is launched.