9781422273906

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Twitter. Of course, this list may have changed by the time you read this—such is the fast-moving nature of the online world, where “Internet years,” like “dog years,” are much shorter than regular human years. When people talk about the history of social media, they often point to 1997 as the starting point, because that was the year that the site Six Degrees was created. The name is a reference to the concept of “six degrees of separation”—the idea being that every person on earth can be connected to another person by six or fewer personal contacts. Users of the Six Degrees site could post profiles of themselves, make connections (“friends”) with other users, and send themmessages. If this reminds you of Facebook, you’re right; Facebook was an evolution of concepts pioneered by both Six Degrees and another early player in social media, Friendster. These sites—as well as MySpace, which was popular in the mid-2000s—all centered on creating an online profile and connecting with other users who share your interests. But in another sense, social media is a lot older than Six Degrees. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, certain universities began offering Internet connections—albeit primitive ones by today’s standards. Almost immediately, users began finding ways to communicate with one another. In 1973, computer engineers at the University of Illinois created PLATO Notes. Initially, it was simply a way for users to notify engineers about problems with the computer system itself. But it wasn’t long before people were using it to chat about all manner of topics. The greater public got into the act beginning in 1979, when engineers in Chicago

Social Media Basics

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