Social Media - The Beginning of an Era




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Hello!

Today we're going to look at how the whole craze of social media began and a general history of how we got to where we are today. Nowadays we have Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Youtube and Instagram easily accessible to us. But people only ten years older than I am have had a completely different experience to me. So lets take a look back on some of the earliest social media, how they rose to fame and how they're doing at this current time.

The Original Social Media

Most sites agree that the first proper social media is SixDegrees. Now I have never heard of this social media before but it has a pretty similar concept to a current day Facebook. SixDegrees was launched in 1997 and it was based off of the concept of Six Degrees of Separation - stating that all things and people are connected by six or less 'links'. It allowed people to send messages to each other and put up posts, referred to as 'bulletin board items'. Both messages and posts are two things which are the basis for most social media; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram are just a few examples of this.

America Goes Online

Another original social media is AIM, America Online's Instant Messenger. Now AIM was much different to any of the modern social media. It was more of a message system than it was a social media, but it was definitely a popular social media. It's popularity peaked around the early 2000s and it gradually declined until this current day. It is still around right now but is nowhere near its former popularity. However, it did pave the way for other messenger based social media, such as MSN and the messaging system that has been implemented in countless social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.

There's one more original social media that I didn't touch on - Facebook. Now Facebook was an early social media but it provides us with much more information than just history, so stay tuned for a special casestudy on Facebook.

Stay connected.

~Matthew.


Information from sixdegrees.com, digitaltrends.com, aim.com, mashable.com

An Introduction to Social Media

Hello!

Every day, millions of people use social media to connect with each other and inform people about what is going on in their lives. Most of us have used at least one form of social media before, be it Facebook or Youtube, Instagram or Snapchat or even Google+. But have we ever stopped to think, just what is social media? 

Well, the Oxford Dictionary defines social media as

'Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.'

And I completely agree with this definition. Social media is all about finding people with similar interests, connecting with them and sharing content with them. When used correctly, social media can be such a positive thing and it has so many benefits, including:

• Connecting with people you know and finding new friends
• Educating yourself via blogs and Youtube videos
• Informing yourself quickly and efficiently about world news

However, social media can have its disadvantages, some of which include:

• Cyberbullying
• Identity theft and security issues
• Addiction

Social media has the power to be something great. It has completely changed the way we communicate with one another and it is causing a worldwide revolution. We need to use it correctly to make sure that it stays a positive thing.

Stay connected,

~Matthew.


Information from the Oxford Dictionary and socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com

Welcome to the Blog.

Hey guys, welcome to my blog on the geography of social media. I'm going to talk about all things social media all around the world, including the origins of social media and its influence on the world.
Stay connected,
~Matthew.