Social media includes the different forms of online communication used by people to create networks and communities to share information, ideas, messages and other content such as videos and photos. It consists of user-generated content and covers a wide range of methods including:

  • Messaging apps (WhatsApp, Marco Polo, Viber)
  • Social Networks or Profile-based platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)
  • Video portals (YouTube, Vimeo)
  • Email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, AOL)

The history of social media began with the emergence of the internet in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until the personal computers of the 1990s became the norm that the stage was set. When blogging (online journaling) was established in the mid-90s, the world began to see the full significance of the internet. Social networks started to explode in popularity in the early 2000s with sites like MySpace and Photobucket. YouTube opened the door to video sharing in 2005 and by 2006 Facebook and Twitter jumped on the bandwagon.

Content from:
Drew Hendricks, Complete History of Social Media: Then And Now, at smallbiztrends.com; Keith Terrell, The History of Social Media: Social  Networking Evolution!, at historycooperative.org; Karen Evans, What is a Blog: Blogging Basics, at startbloggingonline.com, updated June 1, 2019