Several years ago, the early days of the internet opened up a variety of new ways for users to communicate: email, websites, forums, and more. However, the creation of the first social network was undeniably a turning point in how we communicate. Do you know what the first social platform was, or how it came to be? We’ll tell you all about it in this article.
The History of Social Networks: Table of Contents
To start, we need to look back at the birth of the Internet around 1947, during the Cold War‘s initial stages, which divided the world into Western capitalists (led by the United States) and Eastern communists (led by the Soviet Union).
This power struggle led to numerous technological advances. Among them was the USA’s creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which laid the groundwork for what would later become the Internet through its ARPANET network, enabling information exchange between institutions.
As a result, over time, people from different parts of the world began connecting through emails (the first was sent in 1971) or Project Gutenberg (a free online library), also in 1971. A few years later, in 1991, the global Internet network became publicly accessible with the World Wide Web (commonly known as “www”), marking the true emergence of the Internet.
SixDegrees
So, what was happening at that time? Despite all these advancements, there was no element, tool, or application that allowed users to socialize beyond exchanging emails or using online chat programs like IRC.
This changed in 1997 with the creation of SixDegrees, the world’s first social network. It allowed users to find other network members and create friend lists based on the six degrees of separation theory, which suggests that any two people in the world are connected through just six steps.
As Andrew Weinreich, its creator, explained at its launch: “The challenge is to build a community, to spark something. This service can make people’s lives more efficient, but like buying an address book, it needs to be filled with names to have value. It’s like buying an address book but never adding any contacts to it—it’s useless.”
The app, which was essentially a network linking friends and “friends of friends,” might be considered unsuccessful commercially, but it undeniably laid the groundwork for what we now call Social Networks. It shut down in 2001.
When SixDegrees was discontinued in 2001, it didn’t take long for new social networks to appear, offering digital users a fresh experience. By 2002, Friendster was launched as a network for video game fans, followed by MySpace and LinkedIn in 2003, which were more business-oriented. Some older networks have vanished, but not all.
LinkedIn made an immediate impact on the corporate world, growing to over 25 million users by 2008 and spanning 150 industries. Today, it boasts over 900 million users.
MySpace User Profile
In 2004, a Harvard student created what is now the world’s most significant social network: Facebook. That student, who might be labeled a “nerd” today, is Mark Zuckerberg.
The story of Zuckerberg and the creation of Facebook is intriguing. Initially, he developed a site named Facemash to connect Harvard students, allowing them to share views on who was the most and least attractive on campus. This caught the administration’s attention and led to his expulsion.
However, his evident programming skills ensured that the application quickly grew into what Facebook is today, with over 2.958 billion active users monthly.
A year later, in 2005, a new phenomenon emerged: YouTube, which remains a major social network. Created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in San Bruno, California, the idea for YouTube reportedly came from their difficulty sharing videos with friends after a party in San Francisco.
On April 23, 2005, the first video, “Me at the Zoo,” was uploaded, which you can view below:
The platform quickly gained popularity as users worldwide began uploading various videos, slightly diverging from its original purpose. Traffic surged even more when YouTube links appeared on MySpace profiles. The YouTube story is packed with surprising milestones, gaining further momentum when Google acquired it in 2006.
Today, YouTube has over 2.500 million active users.
In 2006, Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams launched the microblogging site Twitter, originally named twttr, in San Francisco. It revolutionized communication with its “short burst of inconsequential information“—the tweet, akin to a bird’s chirp.
Today, Twitter’s influence is so profound that media outlets dedicate entire segments to discussing the impact of tweets, trends, or mentions on current events.
Every tweet, trend, or special mention about any current news item has been shared. While it has its critics, many attribute its success to its ease of use, which remains the same as when it was first introduced: a limited number of characters that enable users to communicate with each other. Today, the platform boasts approximately 556 million monthly active users.
On October 28, 2022, after a dramatic saga, Elon Musk went from being the majority shareholder to the owner of this social network. By May 2023, Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino as CEO of Twitter, passing the torch to the former head of advertising at NBC Universal.
Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has undergone various changes that have not been well-received by its users, such as the new account verification policy, its exit from the EU’s code of good practices against disinformation, and the restrictions on the number of tweets that can be viewed daily. Its most recent (and unexpected) change: a rebranding. Now Twitter is no longer Twitter, but X.
What is now considered the most famous instant messaging app was launched in 2009, created by the Ukrainian Jan Koum. Initially, it was designed as a smart contact book—hence its connection with the contact list on our mobile devices—allowing users to see what others were doing at any given time to decide whether to start a conversation. Hence its name: WhatsApp (“What’s up?”).
Currently, it has over 2 billion users, surpassing apps like Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and TikTok. In 2014, it was acquired by Mark Zuckerberg—the creator of Facebook—for an astounding 19 billion dollars.
In 2010, Instagram entered the market, quickly establishing itself as the leading photographic social network, surpassing other options like Flickr. Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and its initial uniqueness (which persists today) was its treatment of images and photos in a square format, as a nod to the Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid cameras, contrasting with the vertical aspect ratio used by most mobile device cameras today.
Moreover, it was one of the pioneering networks, along with Twitter, in popularizing hashtags in January 2011, aimed at helping users discover photos shared by others on particular topics that might otherwise go unseen.
Instagram gained significant popularity in its first few months, surpassing 100 million active users by April 2012 (just two years later), and over 300 million in 2014. Nowadays, it continues to grow—reaching 2 billion active users—primarily because it is a social network focused on the new generations, who constantly share their activities 24/7 through photos on their Feed or in their Stories (a format where content expires after 24 hours, pioneered by Snapchat and later adopted by Instagram and Facebook).
This move, launching their own stories, was pivotal for Snapchat, the social network that once enjoyed worldwide popularity but eventually waned, overshadowed by the power of Instagram.
Since then, new social networks with various functionalities or targeting different groups have emerged annually. Pinterest, for instance, a social network focused on collecting images—primarily for inspiration—allows users to store them on boards and assign “pins” to them. It was created in 2010 and, nine months after its launch, already had 10,000 users. The network now has more than 445 million monthly active users.
Meanwhile, Google+ was the major failed attempt by the online giant:
Google’s ill-fated foray into social networking: In 2011, Google launched its own social network, which rapidly attracted 10 million users within the first two weeks. By the end of the third week, the user base nearly doubled to 20 million. Despite its initial success and efforts to compete with platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Vimeo, and Tumblr, Google+ ultimately shut down in April 2019.
Twitch made its debut in the social networking world in 2011, quickly becoming a trendsetter by tapping into the burgeoning gaming market. Its founders, Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt, had previously developed Justin.tv (2007), a live-streaming video platform. Initially conceived as a reality show centered on Kan’s life, where he filmed his daily activities with a camera mounted on his cap, it failed to attract a substantial audience. Consequently, the creators opened it to the public in October of the same year, which piqued significant interest online.
The platform rapidly gained followers and established a distinctive community, with gamers playing a pivotal role. Observing the impact and market potential within the gaming community, the four friends decided to spin off Twitch from Justin.tv.
Within two years, Twitch solidified its presence in the industry, securing $35 million in two investment rounds. This attracted the attention of tech giants like Google and Amazon, with the latter acquiring Twitch in September 2014 for $970 million. Post-acquisition, this leading platform for gamers continued to grow and diversify its offerings, adding a royalty-free music library, new categories, and fresh broadcasts. The pandemic in 2020 further accelerated its growth, with more than 5 billion hours of viewing and an increase in streamers to 8.5 million.
In July 2023, Twitch set a record for the highest number of live viewers for a single broadcast. This milestone was achieved by Ibai Llanos during the event La Velada del Año 3 at the Civitas Metropolitano stadium, featuring musical performances and amateur fights among content creators, garnering 3.4 million live viewers.
The story of TikTok deserves its own chapter. Launched at the end of 2016 and known as Douyin in China, it has become a major hit among teenagers and beyond.
In 2018, TikTok acquired Musically, positioning itself as a social network reminiscent of both Vine and Snapchat. It allows users to create, share, and discover very short videos, ranging from 15 seconds to a maximum of 10 minutes. Young users can showcase a variety of content, enhanced by the app’s robust editing tools.
This social network’s overwhelming success has prompted competitors like Instagram and Facebook to adapt some of its features. However, TikTok has also been inspired by others, exemplified by TikTok Now, a September 2022 app clearly imitating BeReal. Nonetheless, it was short-lived, closing in June 2023 due to dwindling user interest.
Despite being a contemporary social media powerhouse, TikTok has not been free from controversy or challenges. It has been banned or restricted in several countries due to security and privacy concerns.
In 2020, Alexis Barreyat, a former video producer for GoPro and independent iOS developer, introduced a new social network focused on genuine connections. The idea is straightforward: to capture the spontaneity of the moment, steering clear of the superficiality and artificiality that pervade other platforms.
BeReal sends a daily notification at unpredictable times prompting you to take and upload a photo (using both the front and rear cameras) within a two-minute window. If you miss the deadline, you can still upload the photo, but it won’t be marked as “real.” Plus, you can only view your friends’ posts if you’ve shared your own. Since spring, if you post within the time limit, the app allows you to share two more photos that day.
In 2022, BeReal hit its stride with 10 million active daily users, topping the iOS app download charts in the U.S., the U.K., and Spain, and gaining significant traction in Italy and France.
Some brands have tried marketing on this network, but its focus on smaller, more private follower groups has made it less appealing for promotional activities.
Today, as evidenced by TikTok’s move with TikTok Now, this format’s novelty seems to have waned. To keep its user base engaged, BeReal will need to continue innovating.
Threads was launched by Meta on July 6, 2023, in the United States, and the impact was immediate: within the first 7 hours, Threads attracted over 10 million users, and within a week, it surpassed 100 million. However, the initial excitement waned, and a month later, user numbers dropped by 79%.
In Spain and Europe, the app was introduced on December 14, after adjustments were made to comply with European regulations, especially the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, which took effect this year. It achieved notable success: 350,000 downloads in its first three days and 2.6 million across Europe.
At launch, Threads was described as an app for independent conversations but connected to Instagram, linking to your profile on that network.
The similarity to Twitter is unmistakable, mirroring its text post format with a character limit (500 here) and other features, yet it is positioned as a more user-friendly alternative. Threads seeks to foster a positive environment for expression, moving away from the negativity often found on Twitter.
Initially, Twitter reacted defensively, sending a letter to Meta threatening legal action to protect its intellectual property. Musk’s platform accused Zuckerberg’s of hiring former Twitter staff to develop Threads, using their insights into confidential Twitter information.
The lawsuit didn’t succeed, nor did Threads in overtaking Twitter. While the platform remains stable, it hasn’t yet outshone Twitter…
Over time, new social media innovations have emerged, each focusing on a unique theme and increasingly covering various social aspects. Vinted and Wallapop, for instance, are social networks that facilitate the buying and selling of clothing and second-hand items, directly connecting users without intermediaries. Meanwhile, platforms like Tinder, Meetic, Grindr, and Badoo target users seeking to date.
There are, of course, many other social networks we’ve not explored here, but you’ve likely encountered them. The sheer variety is such that this article could go on indefinitely (for instance, have you heard of Likee?)
Likee, often referred to as the Singaporean version of TikTok, has gained popularity. However, we’ve focused on the most popular social platforms in our country.
Different countries have their unique social media networks: For instance, China is known for platforms like QZone, Baidu Tieba, and Sina Weibo, while Russia has Odnoklassniki and Vkontakte, each boasting hundreds of millions of users on networks that are largely unfamiliar to us.
Photo: ChatGPT
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