Social Media

Social Media

Social Media are digital channels where users can share, interact, and create various forms of content through networks and virtual communities. Alternatively, it can be seen as an online facilitator of human networks or sites that enhance social connectivity. These sites are usually accessed through web-based applications on desktops or are downloaded on portable devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

Today, there are a variety of social media channels available on the internet. While they offer different services from one another, here are some of their shared features:

  • Social media helps in developing online social networks by connecting a user’s profile with those of other users and groups.
  • User-generated content, like comments, posts, photos, videos, and online interactions are a huge part of this industry.
  • Social media are interactive Web2.0-based Internet applications.
  • Users can create profiles for the social media site or app which is maintained by the social media organization.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter, and Snapchat, are only some of the popular websites that have one hundred million registered users.

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History of Some Popular Social Media Platforms

Facebook (2004)

Facebook is an online social media platform and social networking service that’s owned by the American company, Meta Platforms. This platform was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, along with other Harvard College students, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes. Its name originated from the face book directories given to American university students.

The first version of Facebook was launched in February 2004, initially named TheFacebook, and could be accessed through thefacebook.com. Although membership was exclusively for Harvard students, it later on expanded to other universities in the United States. Later on, in 2006, Facebook opened to everyone who’s at least 13 years old and has a valid email address.

As of 2022, Facebook has 2.93 billion monthly active users worldwide and is considered to be the most visited social media network today.

Full History of Facebook

 

Instagram (2010)

Instagram is a digital media-sharing social networking service that was founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger. It was later on acquired by social media network giant, Facebook. Users can view other users’ content by tags and location, interact with photos and videos through likes, and follow various users to personally add their content to a feed.

The first app in 2010 was originally launched for iOS users only. It quickly gained popularity and has gained one million users in two months, and later on, grew to ten million in its first year. Its Android version was released two years later (2012).

Full History of Instagram

 

Twitter (2006)

Twitter is a microblogging and social networking service that’s owned by Twitter Inc. Registered users can primarily post and interact through small messages called tweets. They can also like and retweet tweets by other users. Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Evan Willams, and Biz Stone in March 2006 and was first launched later on in July.

Years later, it quickly grew its user base in 2012 to more than one hundred million users, where those users also generated 340 million tweets a day. One year later, it was named one of the ten most-visited sites on the internet.

Full History of Twitter

 

TikTok (2016)

 

Snapchat (2011)

 

Other popular social networks include Reddit, TikTok, Poparazzi and Tumblr

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