When Did Social Media Begin?

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In the twenty-three years I’ve been maintaining this blog more than 800 posts wound up in the INTERNET category, making said category almost useless. And do I make SOCIAL MEDIA a tag, or a sub-category under INTERNET? To sort this out I am reviewing each of those 800+ posts. During today’s lunch break I asked GPT 4o when SOCIAL MEDIA became a thing.

While it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact starting point, social media as a component of the Internet has evolved over time. It depends on how you define it—whether as any form of online interaction or as modern profile-based networks. Here are some key milestones:

1. 1970s–1980s: Early Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and Usenet

  • BBSs (1978): Allowed users to post messages, share files, and engage in discussions.
  • Usenet (1980): Functioned like a decentralized forum, organizing discussions into topic-based newsgroups.

2. 1990s: The Web and Early Social Networks

  • AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy (late 1980s–90s): Introduced chat rooms, forums, and member profiles.
  • GeoCities (1994): Gave users personal webpages in themed “neighborhoods.”
  • Classmates.com (1995) & SixDegrees.com (1997): Often cited as the first modern social networks, with SixDegrees offering profiles, friend lists, and messaging.

3. 2000s: The Boom of Modern Social Media

  • Friendster (2002), MySpace (2003), LinkedIn (2003), Facebook (2004): Refined the model, with Facebook becoming dominant.
  • Blogs, LiveJournal, Twitter (2006): Expanded social networking beyond direct connections, introducing microblogging.

Conclusion: The “beginning” of social media depends on the criteria:

  • If looking for early online social interaction, BBS and Usenet were the start.
  • If considering profile-based networks, SixDegrees.com is a strong candidate.
  • If marking the moment social media became an Internet-defining force, the mid-2000s explosion with Facebook and Twitter is key.

I remember the modem screech that connected me to my first BBS. Posting to a Usenet group. My first CompuServe email address. And all that followed. Here on smays.com SOCIAL MEDIA started getting some ink in the mid-2000s.