Timeline of social media

This page is a timeline of social media. Major launches, milestones, and other major events are included.

Overview

Decade Description
1970s–1980s The PLATO system (developed at the University of Illinois and subsequently commercially marketed by Control Data Corporation) offers early forms of social media with Notes, PLATO's message-forum application; TERM-talk, its instant-messaging feature; Talkomatic, perhaps the first online chat room; News Report, a crowd-sourced online newspaper, and blog; and Access Lists, enabling the owner of a notes file or other application to limit access to a certain set of users, for example, only friends, classmates, or co-workers. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea of Usenet in 1979 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, and it was established in 1980.[citation needed]
1980s–1990s As operating systems with a graphical user interface, such as Windows and Mac OS, begin to emerge and gain popularity, this creates an environment that allows for early social media platforms to thrive and exist.[citation needed]

Bulletin board systems (BBS) and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) were popular during this time period, and IRC is still widely used today.[1][2] The WELL, established in 1985, is one of the oldest still-operating online communities. Its name is an acronym for "Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, coined by Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog.[citation needed]

1990s–2000s Various notable social media platforms such as Myspace and Facebook are developed and released, and blogging begins to gain popularity. Instant messaging platforms such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and Windows Live Messenger also become increasingly popular.[3]
2010s Many social media platforms that have remained are now thriving, and new ones are appearing sporadically. This includes popular blogs, instant messaging servers, and various social networking platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Twitter.[4]

With advances in smartphone technology, almost all social media services now have their own mobile apps.[5]

2020s The majority of users of social media services now prefer using mobile apps, with apps such as TikTok, Instagram, Threads (launched in 2023), and X (formerly known as Twitter) garnering and maintaining hundreds of millions of active users daily. Most well-established platforms (and influencers) focus on optimizing for engagement, algorithmic personalization, and maximizing revenue through targeted advertising.[citation needed]

Timeline

An asterisk (*) indicates relaunches.

Year Event type Description
1973 Invention Talkomatic is created by Dave Woolley and Douglas Brown at the University of Illinois, as a multi-user chat room application. It is an instant sensation among users in the PLATO System's online community.[citation needed]
1973 Invention TERM-Talk is created by the staff at the Computer-based Education Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, as an instant-messaging application enabling any two users on the PLATO system to conduct a live, character-by-character typed conversation on the bottom of the screen of their PLTO terminals. Soon many features would be added to it including "Monitor Mode," enabling one user in the TERM-talk to share their own screen with the other user, to ask questions or point out something that they're seeing. Years later this concept would be introduced as "Screen Sharing" or Remote Desktop Software.[citation needed]
1973 Invention PLATO Notes is created by 17-year-old student Dave Woolley at the Computer-based Education Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, as a conferencing and bulletin board forum system for communicating with the user community. In 1976, Notes expanded to enable any user to create a "notesfile" on any subject. PLATO Notes would serve as the inspiration for Lotus Notes developed by former PLATO users Ray Ozzie, Len Kawell, and Tim Halvorsen.[citation needed]
1974 Invention ARPANET evolved into the Internet following the publication of the first Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) specification, RFC 675 (Specification of Internet Transmission Control Program), written by Vint Cerf, Yogen Dalal and Carl Sunshine.[6]
circa 1980 Milestone Bulletin Board System (BBS) emerges as one of the earliest known forms of social media, and remains popular and under development until the late 1990s.[7]
1984 Invention FidoNet forms as BBSs start to exchange email in North America and later internationally.[citation needed]
1988 Invention IRC rises from the roots of BBS (and was initially intended to extend it), offering a similar service and experience.[8][9] It has remained in use to this day.
1995 Launch Classmates.com, originally launched as a list of school affiliations, is launched in December 1995. The site, founded by Randy Conrads, later incorporated features to help former and current classmates find and contact each other online.[10]
1996 Launch The Swedish social networking website LunarStorm, originally called Stajlplejs, is launched in 1996. The site, founded by Rickard Eriksson, was renamed LunarStorm in 2000 and has been described as "the world's first social media on the Internet" by the founder.[11]
1996 Launch Hotline, a chat, bulletin board, and file-sharing program, is released.[12] The Hotline client, with its graphical user interface in contrast to text-based IRC, let users connect to Hotline servers run by individuals and by corporate users like Apple and General Motors.
1996 Launch ICQ is released by Israeli company Mirabilis.[13]
1996 Launch Bolt.com was started as the first social networking and video website.[citation needed]
1997 Launch, Milestone Social networking website SixDegrees.com is created.[14]
1998 Launch Open Diary launches the first social blogging network, inventing the reader comment and friends-only content.[15]
1997 Launch AOL Instant Messenger is released.[13]
1998 Acquisition ICQ is acquired by AOL, and the service is patented.[16]
1999 Acquisition SixDegrees.com is purchased by YouthStream Media Networks for $125 million.[17]
1999 Launch Yahoo! Messenger instant messaging service launches.[13]
1999 Launch MSN Messenger (also known as Windows Live Messenger), a messaging, video and voice calling service, launches.[13]
1999 Launch LiveJournal, an early blogging platform and social network launches.[citation needed]
2000 Launch Something Awful, an American comedy website, launches its forums.[citation needed]
2000 Launch Habbo, a game-based social networking site, launches.[citation needed]
2000 Launch Friends Reunited exploiting a gap in the UK market following the success of US website Classmates.com[citation needed]
2001 Defunction SixDegrees.com shuts down.[7]
2001 Launch, Invention Windows Messenger is released, and is shipped with Windows XP. This is an integrated version of MSN Messenger.[citation needed]
2002 Launch Social networking and gaming site Friendster launches. The service would be popular in Asia and the Pacific Islands.[18]
2003 Launch Business-oriented social networking service LinkedIn launches.[19]
2003 Launch Social networking website Hi5 launches.[4]
2003 Launch The business-oriented social networking website, XING, launches.[20]
2003 Launch 4chan, an english-language imageboard, launches.[21]
2003 Launch Myspace launches.[22]
2003 Launch Skype, an instant messaging and video/voice calling service (VoIP), launches.[23]
2004 Launch, Milestone Facebook, the most popular social networking service to-date, launches.[24]
2004 Launch Flickr, an image and video hosting website, launches.[25]
2004 Launch Orkut, a social networking website owned by Google, launches.[26]
2004 Launch Tagged, a social discovery website, launches.[4]
2005 Launch Bebo, a social networking website, launches.[27]
2005 Launch YouTube, a video-sharing website, launches.[28][29][30][31]
2005 Acquisition Myspace is acquired by News Corporation for $580 million.[32]
2005 Launch Qzone, a Chinese social networking website, launches.[33]
2005 Launch Reddit, an American social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website, launches.[34]
2005 Launch Renren, a Chinese social networking website, launches.[35]
2005 Acquisition Yahoo! acquires Flickr.[36]
2005 Launch Facebook launches its photos feature with no restrictions on storage (but without the ability to tag friends).[37]
2006 Launch Twitter launches.[38]
2006 Launch VK (VKontakte), a Russian-based social networking service that resembles Facebook, launches.[39]
2006 Launch Facebook launches News Feed. The original news feed is an algorithmically generated and constantly refreshing summary of updates about the activities of one's friends.[40]
2006 Launch Nasza Klasa launches, later rebranded NK.pl peaking in popularity by 2009, becoming the biggest social media in Poland and the 4th most-visited website in the country.[41]
2007 Launch Tumblr, a microblogging and social networking website, launches.[42]
2007 Launch FriendFeed, a real-time social media feed aggregator, launches.[citation needed]
2007 Launch Justin.tv, a live-streaming that allowed anyone to broadcast video online, launches.[43]
2008 Acquisition AOL buys Bebo for $850 million.[32]
2009 Acquisition FriendFeed is acquired by Facebook for $15 million in cash, and $32.5 million in stock.[44]
2009 Launch Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website, launches.[45]
2010 Launch Pinterest, a photo-sharing website, launches.[46]
2010 Acquisition AOL sells ICQ to Mail.Ru (formerly known as Digital Sky Technologies) for $185 million.[47]
2010 Acquisition Bebo is sold by AOL to Criterion Capital Partners.[48]
2010 Launch Instagram, a photo/video sharing and social media service, launches.[49]
2010 Launch Path, a social networking-enabled photo sharing and messaging service for mobile devices, launches.[50]
2010 Launch Quora, a question-and-answer platform, launches.[51]
2011 Launch Snapchat, a photo/video sharing and social media service, launches.[52]
2011 Acquisition Microsoft acquires Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion.[53]
2011 Launch Google+, a social networking service, launches.[54]
2011 Launch Keek, a video-sharing and social media service, launches.[55]
2011 Acquisition Myspace is sold to Specific Media by News Corp. for $35 million.[56]
2011 Launch LinkedIn files for an IPO and trades its first shares under the NYSE symbol "LNKD", at $45 per share.[57]
2011 Launch Twitch, a live-streaming service, launches. This service is a spin-off from Justin.tv, as it is more focused on broadcasting users playing video games.[58]
2011 Launch Twitter overhauls its website to feature the "Fly" design, which the service says is easier for new users to follow and promotes advertising. In addition to the Home tab, the Connect and Discover tabs are introduced along with a redesigned profile and timeline of Tweets.[59]
2012 Launch, Milestone Facebook goes public, negotiating a share price of $38 apiece, valuing the company at $104 billion, the largest valuation to date for a newly listed public company.[60]
2012 Launch Snapchat launches video sharing, allowing users to share 10-second videos.[61]
2012 Launch Tinder, a dating-oriented social networking service, launches.[62]
2012 Acquisition Facebook acquires Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock.[63]
2013 Launch, Acquisition Vine, a video-sharing and social media service, launches shortly after being acquired by Twitter for $30 million.[64][65]
2013 Launch Twitter files for its IPO, and begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The share closed at $44.90, giving the company a valuation of around $31 billion.[66]
2013 Launch Instagram launches video sharing.[67]
2013 Acquisition Tumblr is purchased by Yahoo! Inc. for $1.1 billion.[68]
2013 Launch Slack, an instant messaging service designed for internal use by organizations and professionals, launches.[69]
2013 Launch Yik Yak, a social media app for local discussion, is launched.[70]
2013 Launch 8chan, a decentralized English-language imageboard, is launched by Fredrick Brennan.[71]
2013 Launch Patreon, a crowdfunding site that would later become a subscription service for content creators on social media sites, is launched.[citation needed]
2013 Acquisition Bebo is purchased from Criterion Capitol Partners for $1 million by Bebo's founders.[72]
2013 Launch Instant messaging and video/voice calling service Google Hangouts launches.[73]
2013 Launch Telegram, launches service for exchange messages, share media, files, live location, hold private and group voice or video calls, as well public livestreams.[citation needed]
2013 Launch * Myspace re-launches, coming out with a re-designed website, and a mobile app.[74]
2014 Defunction Justin.tv shuts downs to focus work on Twitch.[75]
2014 Launch Musical.ly, a lip-syncing app, launches.[76]
2014 Launch Snapchat launches collaborative timelines based on events.[77][78]
2014 Acquisition Amazon acquires Twitch for $970 million.[79]
2014 Defunction Orkut is shut down by Google.[80]
2015 Defunction, Milestone Friendster shuts down due to "the evolving landscape in our challenging industry" and lack of engagement by the online community.[81]
2015 Launch, Acquisition Periscope, a live video sharing app, launches shortly after being acquired by Twitter.[82]
2015 Launch * Bebo re-launches as a messaging app for iOS and Android.[83][84]
2015 Launch Beme, a short video-sharing app, launches. The creators are Casey Neistat and Matt Hackett.[85]
2015 Launch Discord, a free instant messaging and video/voice calling service (VoIP) designed for the gaming community, launches.[86]
2015 Launch Meerkat, an application similar to Periscope, launches.[87]
2016 Launch Triller, a video editing app, is converted into a social networking service by allowing users to follow each other and share their videos publicly.[88]
2016 Acquisition Microsoft acquires LinkedIn for $26.2 billion on 8 December 2016.[89][90]
2016 Acquisition Time Inc. buys Myspace and its parent company.[91]
2016 Defunction, Milestone Yahoo! discontinues its services for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris clients in early August 2016. It will now only support Yahoo! Messenger on Android, iOS, and web clients.[92]
2016 Defunction Vine announced that Twitter would be discontinuing the Vine mobile app, later renamed to "Vine Camera".[93]
2016 Acquisition CNN acquires Beme, with the terms of acquisition remaining undisclosed.[94]
2016 Launch Mastodon, a free and open-source software for self-hosting interlinking social networking services, is launched.
2017 Launch Gab, an alt-tech microblogging site,[95] is launched publicly on May 8, 2017.[96]
2017 Acquisition ByteDance acquires Musical.ly for $1 billion.[97]
2017 Launch Pillowfort, a microblogging and social networking service, is launched, and is billed as an alternative to Tumblr.[98]
2017 Defunction Yik Yak is shut down following a rapid decline in users, accusations of rampant bullying, and the app's banning from some schools.[99]
2017 Milestone Snapchat files for its IPO, and begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The share closed at $24.48, giving the company a valuation of around $33 billion.[100]
2017 Launch TikTok, a short video-sharing and social media service, launches.[101]
2017 Launch Co–Star, an astrological social networking service, launches.[102]
2017 Milestone Tumblr announces a complete ban on adult content after Apple Inc. removes Tumblr from its App Store. The move triggers a massive drop in online traffic for Tumblr.[103]
2017 Defunction AIM is discontinued as a service.[citation needed]
2017 Defunction Beme shuts down on January 31, following its acquisition by CNN in 2016.[104][94]
2018 Defunction Yahoo! Messenger shuts down on July 17, 2018.[105]
2018 Defunction Musical.ly shuts down and migrates its users to TikTok.[76]
2018 Defunction Path announces the termination of its service on September 17, 2018.[106] Its closure takes place nearly a month later, on October 18, 2018.[106]
2018 Launch Parler launches, an alt-tech social media billing itself as an unbiased and free speech alternative to larger social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook.[citation needed]
2019 Defunction Google+ shuts down in April 2019 due to low user engagement and an API flaw.[107][108][109]
2019 Acquisition Verizon Media announces it will sell Tumblr to Automattic, owner of WordPress.com and backer of WordPress for less than $3 million.[110]
2020 Launch Clubhouse, an audio-chat social networking app, launches.[111]
2020 Launch BeReal, a messaging application that encourages users to share a photo or video of their lives once a day during a two minute window, launches.[112]
2021 Launch Gettr, an alt-tech social media platform aimed at conservatives, is launched by Jason Miller, a former aide to U.S. President Donald Trump.[113]
2021 Defunction NK.pl was shut down on 27 July ending a near-15 year history of once the most popular social media in Poland. Arrival of Facebook to the Polish market being cited as one of the reasons for the departure of users and eventual closure.[41]
2021 Launch * Yik Yak relaunches on the App Store.[114]
2022 Launch Truth Social, an alt-tech social media platform, is launched by former U.S. President Donald Trump.[115][116]
2022 Acquisition Twitter is acquired and taken private by businessman Elon Musk in a $44 billion deal.[117]
2023 Launch Nostr, decentralized network protocol for a distributed social networking system, launches[citation needed]
2023 Launch Bluesky, a decentralized microblogging platform, launches in closed beta.[118]
2023 Milestone 2023 Reddit API controversy, in which Reddit announced they would begin charging for use of its API[citation needed]
2023 Launch Threads, a platform that uses a user's Instagram account to create an account in a format similar to Twitter, is launched by Meta. More than 30 million accounts were made in the first 24 hours of the platform's existence.[citation needed]
2024 Milestone Bluesky opens its platform to public registration.[119]
2024 Acquisition Digital World Acquisition Corp. acquires Truth Social[citation needed]
2024 Milestone US president join the fediverse as @[email protected][120]
2024 Milestone First post on X (formerly known as Twitter) through the Neuralink brain-computer interface[121]
2024 Milestone The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was signed into law[122]

See also

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