Social networking has become such a
popular trend in recent years that one would think that Twitter, Facebook and
MySpace were the introduction of social networking to the world. In reality,
social networking has been around much longer than we would imagine.
In 1985 The America Online (AOL)
service opened for use to the public. Those in my generation probably remember
this as the first means of communication with your friends, other than email or
your home telephone. In 1997 AIM (instant message) was introduced to the public
and became all the rage. This was easier than sending an email because it was
instant and normally received an instant response. It is similar to what we now
know as text messaging, except for using the computer instead of a cell phone.
As the years passed and more and
more people began using the Internet, more sites were created and within those
sites, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook were all created as well. By 2005
Facebook had launched a version of their web page for high school students to
use. Social networking was sky rocketing and people of all ages were becoming
users. Facebook was most popular amongst college and high school students, but
as it became more popular older people became members as well.
In 2012 Facebook reached a billion
users, which constitutes for half of the 2 billion people using social media
and the Internet worldwide. Social networking not only helps people stay
connected with loved ones, old friends and new acquaintances but also is now
being used widely with businesses and employees. Thanks to the invention of
these websites we all so commonly use, we are able to do many things we
otherwise would be unable to keep up with.
http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html
Author: Samantha VanDuyne
Author: Samantha VanDuyne
