The first social media platform is often credited to Six Degrees, which was launched in 1997. It allowed users to create profiles, list their friends, and browse friends networks, laying the groundwork for the social networking features that we see today. The name “Six Degrees” was based on the concept of six degrees of separation, the idea that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else by six or fewer social connections.
While other platforms like Geocities (1994) and Classmates.com (1995) existed before Six Degrees, they were more focused on reconnecting with former classmates, rather than building a broad social network with interactive profiles and friend lists.
Following Six Degrees (1997), several other social media platforms emerged, each building on the concept of online social networking.
Let’s take a look back, starting from the 90’s!
LiveJournal (1999) A blogging platform that allowed users to create journals, post content, and interact with others through comments and communities. It became popular for its community-building features and the ability to share thoughts and ideas.
Friendster (2002) One of the first true social networking sites, Friendster allowed users to connect with friends, share media, and post status updates. It became extremely popular in Asia and laid the groundwork for later social networks.
LinkedIn (2003) Launched as a professional networking platform, LinkedIn allowed users to create resumes, connect with colleagues, and search for jobs. It focused on building professional connections rather than social or personal ones.
MySpace (2003) Quickly became one of the most popular social media platforms in the mid-2000s. It allowed users to create highly customisable profiles, connect with friends, share music, and join communities. MySpace was especially popular among musicians and artists.
Facebook (2004) Initially launched for college students, expanding rapidly to become one of the most influential social media platforms globally. It introduced features like the news feed, photo sharing, and “likes,” which have since become a standard across most social media platforms.
Flickr (2004) A photo-sharing platform that allowed users to upload, share, and organise photos. Flickr became popular among photographers and visual artists.
YouTube (2005) Focused on video sharing, revolutionising on how people consumed and shared video content. It became a platform for creators, vloggers, and media companies to reach large audiences.
Twitter now ‘X’ (2006) A microblogging platform, originally designed for short, real-time updates (limited to 140 characters). It wasn’t until 2017 that Twitter expanded the character limit to 280. Following it’s acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022, July 2023 saw the official rebrand to ‘X’.
Instagram (2010) Quickly gained popularity for its focus on photo sharing, filters, and a simple user interface. Initially only available for iPhone users, it wasn’t until 2012 that it also became available for Android users.
TikTok (2016) Initially launched by the Chinese company ByteDance under the name Douyin for the Chinese market. It was released internationally as TikTok in September 2017. Becoming globally popular after ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, a lip-syncing app, in November 2017 and merged it with TikTok in August 2018, expanding its user base significantly. The platform focuses on short-form video content and has since become one of the most popular social media apps worldwide.
These platforms helped shape the modern social media landscape, each contributing different features and concepts that continue to influence how we connect and communicate online.
