When A Social Media Dies

Hello!

Vine logo
(http://bit.ly/2lEjDgd)

We have explored some of the original social media, such as SixDegrees, AIM and Facebook. However, while they seem like timeless social media, they are not necessarily going to be there until the end of time. Many social media have already shut down due to inactivity and declining usage rates. As more and more social media appear, the race to have the next hot and innovative idea heats up. An example of a social media gone wrong is Vine.


Vine's Time to Go
Vine was a modern social media that let you create videos that were 6 seconds or less and share them with friends. While it was initially a hot idea, its idea was stolen by Instagram and Snapchat. As a result, Vine stars fled to these websites, along with Youtube. Managerial issues also occurred, all of which led to Vine's demise.

Now that Vine is dead, the question is what next? Many people are predicting Twitter is the next social media that will go, due to a lack of new features. Thinking about this myself, I have also noticed that a lot of other social media are constantly adding new features, some of which are unnecessary, but Twitter is trailing in that area. Is Twitter the one to go next? Time will tell.

Stay connected~
Matthew.

Information from theverge.com and forbes.com

Modern Social Media - Snapchat

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Snapchat Logo
(http://bit.ly/2kJcRXm)

Previously, we discussed Facebook: its history, global reach and cultural impact. While Facebook is still modern and up to date, it isn't a relatively new social media. What we're looking at today is one of the newest social media that has taken the world by storm - Snapchat.

What is it?
In my own words, Snapchat is a social media based around the concept of disappearing messages, with a focus on pictures and videos as opposed to chat. Users can send 'snaps' (photos and videos) to each other, or use chat which includes voice messages.

History
Snapchat first launched in 2011 under the name 'Picaboo". Its concept was the exact same with the initial photo and video snaps. It changed its name to Snapchat in 2012 to avoid copyright issues. Snapchat rolled out its Stories feature in 2013 which allowed people to share series of photos and videos to all of their friends. It launched its Chat feature in 2014.

Differences
Now, compared to Facebook there are quite a few differences, showing just how unique each social media can be. For one thing, Snapchat's main demographic is millennials, whether as Facebook's age range is much more varied. Snapchat also is message based as opposed to Facebook's posting system. Snapchat also has a unique point in its disappearing messages.

Stay connected
~Matthew.


Information from mashable.com, fortune.com and snapchat.com

Case Study : Facebook

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Facebook's global usage
(http://bit.ly/2kwdbL4)

Now there is only one social media that rules over all of the rest, the undisputed king. That social media is Facebook. It seems like Facebook has been around as long as I can remember but in fact, it's only been around for under 15 years. So let's delve into all things Facebook.

History

Facebook first came to be in 2004, launched as a social networking site for Harvard University. In under a day, over 1000 students had signed up. The service was gradually rolled out to other Ivy League Universities and then all US universities, before being accessible to anyone by 2006. By late 2016, Facebook had over 1.7 billion active users; over a fifth of the world's total
 population!

Facebook Around The World
As we all know, Facebook is widely used around the world. While it was initially available in the US, it has taken the world by storm. There are over 190,000 users in the USA alone. However, not all countries are all for Facebook. Several countries have temporarily banned Facebook and currently North Korea, Iran and Vietnam have it blocked.




Cultural Impact
Facebook has changed the way we live our lives. It has revolutionised how we communicate, how we share our lives and how we consume information. It has had a great impact on politics, with more politicians turning to social media to build their platform with younger voters. This move was first used by Barack Obama, sealing him 70% of the under 25 vote. While Facebook has changed so much for us positively, it has also changed the way that people get bullied.


(video by Facebook on Facebook) >





Stay connected
~Matthew.

Information from facebook.com, socialbakers.com and digitaldoughnut.com

Social Media - The Beginning of an Era




SixDegrees Logo

(http://bit.ly/2jGmg3H)

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.