The History of Social Media Since 2003

Can you believe it’s been almost 20 years since Facebook was founded? It probably seems to many of you like it was just yesterday when “friend” was a noun.

The same applies to YouTube, which has made the ability to access and share online videos as simple as possible. And Twitter, for that matter – sponsored tweets have only existed since 2010!

It’s interesting to look back at these iconic moments from the last 20+ years of social media. In this post, we’ll look at a complete timeline of social media history and what each network’s usage statistics look like now.

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What is the history of social media?

The history of social media is characterized by constant innovation, technological progress, and change.

the early years

The early years of social media (1970–1990) created the fundamental elements of the platforms we know today.

• 1971 – Ray Tomlinson begins modern electronic mail by sending the first email.
• 1978 – the Bulletin Board System (BBS) is introduced, which allows users to upload and download software and data, read online news, and exchange messages with people in online communities.
• 1985- America Online (AOL) was founded, and it lets users communicate online through email and messaging.
• 1997- six Degrees Is launched, and it is one of the first recognizable social media platforms than those. Users can create profiles, make friends, and send messages.
• 1999- livejournal became available, allowing people to share information about themselves with friends and other users. It is one of the earliest blogging platforms and is still operational in 2023.

Birth of the original social network

The platforms that came after the first wave of “social networks” are the platforms we know today, or the early stages and first versions of which we use today. Friendster, founded in 2002, is one of the first. It lets users connect with friends, share photos, and discover new content. A steady stream of forums followed.

• 2003- Linkedin Launched as a professional networking platform that connects people in a business context.
• 2003- my place Introduced to the world as a platform for customizable profiles, music sharing and blogging. When it was at its peak it became the largest social media platform.
• 2004- FacebookOriginally established for Harvard students. Users connected with their friends and shared their views. Facebook is now the world’s most popular social networking platform, with 2.9 billion monthly active users. The image below is what the first Facebook profile layout looked like.

  

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• 2005- youtube Launched and became the first video-only sharing platform and the first visual-first network. It lets people upload, share, and watch other videos created by others. One of its founders, Jawed Karim, shared the first video on the platform titled “Me at the Zoo”. Eighteen years later, it has received over 287 million views.

• 2005- reddit People was launched as a text and community-based platform for people to interact and discuss topics with like-minded people. It was the first discussion-forwarding website of its kind.

microblogging era

• 2006- Twitter (now X) Launched, introducing microblogging and real-time communication. Initially it was meant to be an SMS-based platform for people to share brief updates with their friends. Jack Dorsey, one of its founders, sent the first tweet, and it said, “Just setting up my Twitter.”

• 2007- Tumblr, another microblogging platform, launched and became popular among people engaging in specific fan communities. It gained 75,000 users in two weeks and currently hosts approximately 500 million blogs.

Visual and mobile era

An important moment in the history of social media came in 2007 when the first iPhone hit the market. This highlighted the future possibilities of social media, as people could now access the platform on the go from a device in their pocket.

During this same era, we saw the creation of more platforms that prioritized visuals over all else.

Instagram was the first social media app available on iOS, and was the first mobile-only platform and the second visual-first platform. It gained 100,000 users in a week, 5 million in 8 months, and now has 2 billion global monthly active users. Social media marketers say Instagram has the highest ROI and engagement compared to all other apps in 2023.

The image below is the first layout of the Instagram profile.

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From 2007 to today, we have also seen the creation and advancement of social media algorithms that offer personalized experiences, specific social media platforms that cater to specific interests and communities, and mergers and acquisitions. Let’s look at the timeline of events.

• 2010- Pinterest was launched as another photo-dominating platform, letting users upload and save images for curated mood-board-type experiences.

• 2011- snapchat Instagram adapted as a mobile-only experience and was the first app to popularize disappearing messages and ephemeral content.
• 2011- Google+ was created where users could create circles of people they wanted to connect with and share content exclusive to that micro-network. It closed in October 2018.
• 2011- see, another video-sharing social media service, is launched. Its Prime had 45 million users and was only available on mobile devices.
• 2011- Twitch Launched as a live-streaming service for broadcasting video game gameplay.
• 2012 – Facebook bought Instagram.
• 2012 – Twitter purchases Vine pre-launch.
• 2013- Bell Launched to popularize snackable, short-form video content on mobile devices. While YouTube and Kik were for videos, it was the first to come into existence for short-form content. Vine significantly influenced pop culture, popularizing phrases such as “do it for the vine”. Many of the most popular videos are still quoted today.

• 2013- YikYak Released as a local message board for college students. It was shut down in 2017 after a decline in its user base.
• 2014- musical.ly Launched, allowing users to create short lip-sync videos.
• 2015 – discord Launched as an instant messaging and voice chat platform for gamers.
• 2016- TIC Toc Launched in China as a short-form video platform, attracting millions of users.
• 2017 – TikTok became available in the United States in late 2017 and has since reached over 130 million downloads. Vine shut down in January 2017, leaving TikTok as the dominant app for short-form video content. Our consumer trends report shows that 73% of Gen Z currently use TikTok.
• 2017 – TikTok’s parent company ByteDance purchased Musical.ly.
• 2018 – Merger of TikTok and Musical.ly.

• 2020 – club house Launched as an audio-chat networking app. It was initially invite-only and its popularity skyrocketed during the pandemic as it offered a new way to interact. When social distancing rules were relaxed, its user base fell.
• 2020 – be natural It launched as a ephemeral picture-sharing app focused on letting users showcase unedited real-life snippets of their lives.
• 2020 – lemon8 Launched as a lifestyle app that blends elements of Instagram and Pinterest.
• 2021 – YikYak Has been relaunched.
• 2023 – Meta launch threadsA text-based conversational app similar to Twitter (now X).

How might social media evolve further?

According to the above timeline, other important moments in social media history include competing applications adopting similar features, such as adding photos to Facebook, Instagram launching “Stories” (a feature similar to Snapchat), and Twitter Spaces users. Allows voice-chat rooms. Like the clubhouse.

We can’t also forget the rise of social media as a marketing platform, offering businesses a new and unique way to build brand awareness, interact with audiences, and drive sales.

Let’s look at some ways in which social media may evolve further.

1. Social media will become search engine:

31% of consumers use social media to find answers to their questions, and one-quarter of 18 to 54 year olds prefer searching on social media.

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Google has taken notice of this change, with one of its executives even saying that Google Search and Maps have lost searchers to the younger generation, who turn to apps like TikTok and Instagram to look for places to eat. We do.

Takeaway for marketers: With the rise of social search, brands will need to adapt to this desire by making it easy for consumers to find them on social media, using relevant hashtags on posts and content, and creating easily recognizable and searchable profiles and usernames. .

2. Social shopping is the new frontier for ecommerce.

One of the biggest new waves of social media is the rise of social shopping. Consumers of all generations browse products and make purchases within social media apps, with Millennials and Gen Z taking the generational lead. Social media marketers predict consumers will buy more products on social media than on brand websites in 2023, and social sellers say their companies are selling more on social media this year than last year.

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Takeaway for marketers: As consumers continue to use social media as a search engine and search for products, brands will need to embrace social selling and leverage the platform’s tools to make it easier for consumers to buy from those apps. Have to consider lifting what they already use.

3. Social Media Customer Service

With the rise of shopping on social media, consumers look to those same platforms for customer service when purchasing products. Nowadays, 76% of social media marketers say their business offers customer service on social media, and as time goes on, this offering will become more important for brands.

Takeaway for marketers: When it comes to providing service on social media, businesses that already do so either have a dedicated customer service representative to handle it, or leave it to the marketers in charge of the platform.

over to you

Social media is always evolving and will continue to impact the way we communicate, drive social movements, and connect around the world. Each development brings new opportunities for marketers and consumers alike.