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| Social Media History |
Social Media History
Blogs are probably the best known example of social media. One of the earliest online journals recorded was www.links.net, the online diary of Justin Hall, which he kept for 11 years from 1994 (Harmanci, 2005). From the very first days of the Internet, early adopters used it to create personal content.
These online diaries were referred to as “weblogs” for “web” and “log”, but in April or May of 1999, Peter Merholz unwittingly coined the term “blog” by adding the following to the sidebar of his web site peterme.com:
“For What It’s Worth I’ve decided to pronounce the word “weblog” as wee’- blog. Or “blog” for short.”
These online diaries were referred to as “weblogs” for “web” and “log”, but in April or May of 1999, Peter Merholz unwittingly coined the term “blog” by adding the following to the sidebar of his web site peterme.com:
“For What It’s Worth I’ve decided to pronounce the word “weblog” as wee’- blog. Or “blog” for short.”
Developers began creating tools that made it easier for anyone to start a blog. Blogger, a popular blogging platform, was launched in August 1999 and acquired by Google in 2003. In 2001, Wikipedia, probably the most well known wiki, was created.
Technorati, which tracks blogs and tagged social media, launched in 2002. As of April 2008, Technorati was tracking 112.8 million blogs and noted in 2007 that 1.4 new blogs were being created every second.
Social media is not just about blogging, though, and several platforms that made sharing other kinds of content easier have come to the fore. Flickr, the online photo sharing tool, launched in February 2004 and was bought by Yahoo! in June 2005.
By this stage, the social media buzzwords and neologisms were being picked up by the mainstream press, and in 2004, Merriam-Webster dictionary chose “blog” as the word of the year.
Technorati, which tracks blogs and tagged social media, launched in 2002. As of April 2008, Technorati was tracking 112.8 million blogs and noted in 2007 that 1.4 new blogs were being created every second.
Social media is not just about blogging, though, and several platforms that made sharing other kinds of content easier have come to the fore. Flickr, the online photo sharing tool, launched in February 2004 and was bought by Yahoo! in June 2005.
By this stage, the social media buzzwords and neologisms were being picked up by the mainstream press, and in 2004, Merriam-Webster dictionary chose “blog” as the word of the year.
YouTube, the online video sharing web site, previewed in May 2005 and launched six months later. It was acquired by Google in November 2006 for $1.65 billion. Twitter, which allows for users to share 140 character tweets, launched in October 2006.
In 2006, Time Magazine named “You” as the Time Person of the Year for “the growth and influence of user-generated content on the internet.”
In 2006, Time Magazine named “You” as the Time Person of the Year for “the growth and influence of user-generated content on the internet.”
