Internet platforms whose content is made by their own audiences: profiles, posts, shares and feeds. From the first recognizable social networking sites of the late 1990s, social media grew into the most used media category on earth, remaking news distribution, celebrity, advertising and public debate, and raising the questions of moderation and misinformation that now dominate media policy.
Facts
Origin Year1997 marks SixDegrees.com, commonly cited as the first site combining profiles with traversable friend lists; bulletin boards and online communities are older. OriginSixDegrees.com, launched in 1997, is widely regarded as the first social media site, letting users build profiles and friend networks under their real names. 1 Place of OriginNew York City, United States 1 Primary FormatForms of electronic communications, including websites and applications, that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. 1 Typical DistributionAccessed through web-based or mobile applications. 1 Connections
Associated With
Co-founded Twitter in 2006, one of the defining platforms of the social media medium.
Social media, streaming video and podcasting are all internet-era media forms built on the freely available Web this milestone records.
Source Wikipedia
Media Entries
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationSocial media, Social media platforms section
Social media started in the mid-1990s with the invention of platforms like Classmates.com, and SixDegrees.com. While instant messaging and chat clients existed at the time, SixDegrees was unique as it was the first online service designed for people to connect using their actual names instead of anonymously.
Overview section
SixDegrees was one of the first social networking sites that later became highly popular.
SixDegrees.com, lead section
the company that developed the site, was founded by CEO Andrew Weinreich in May 1996 and was based in New York City.
Social media, Definition section
Forms of electronic communications, including websites and applications, that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.
Social media, opening section
Users access social media through web-based or mobile applications.
History, Social media subsection
The term social media was first used in 2004 and is often used to describe social networking services.
- Associated With: World Wide Web Enters the Public Domain, History of the World Wide Web, CERN and the public domain release
- Associated With: Andrew Weinreich
- Associated With: SixDegrees.com
- Associated With: Launch of SixDegrees.com
- Media Entries: Social Networking Site
View the Source Encyclopedia Britannica
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