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THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: HOW IT STARTED?

The ancestors of social networks were guest books (web applications consisting of a list of messages shown from last to first visitor), forums (messages are grouped thematically, each visitor can leave a message on a given topic in response to the previous one) and blogs (each member keeps a personal diary, where posts are sorted chronologically, and other visitors can leave comments).

Gradually, based on these frameworks, social networks began to form. What are the success stories behind the most popular social networks? Let’s find out.



TWITTER



Who invented Twitter?



Jack Dorsey came up with the idea to develop an online service that would allow friends to quickly exchange short messages. The first implementation of this idea was realized in July 2006. At the time, the new web service was called twttr.com because the twitter.com domain was already taken.



A brief history of Twitter



At first, Twitter was not widely spread: its users were only the creators themselves, as well as members of their families.

In March 2007, during the South by Southwest festival, the number of “tweets” (messages on Twitter) tripled in just one day: from 20,000 to 60,000. Then there were the MTV Music Awards and Apple WWDC 2007, which brought global popularity to Twitter.

By 2008, Twitter had acquired an audience of 1.3 million users; in 2009, the number of Twitter users was already 6 million. In 2010, the growth rate of the social networking has made a spike to 105 million users.



Why is Twitter so popular?



At first, users liked the idea of posting short messages of only 140 characters. It was a quick and convenient way of posting from any device, including mobile ones. Being active Tweeter users, many celebrities have contributed to its success. Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Elon Musk (now owner) – are among them.



How many Twitter users are there in 2022?



Today Twitter has 396.5 million active users.



FACEBOOK



Who invented Facebook?



Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of Facebook. Some believe that Zuckerberg is a selfless genius who managed to make people happy. Others are convinced that he is a thief who has no principles and thinks only about how to get his hands on more money. Finally, some people see just a lucky guy who managed to create a cool service and eventually promoted it, reaching global heights.



A brief history of Facebook



Facebook was created in 2004 on February 4th. Mark Zuckerberg studied at Harvard University, lived in a hostel and created the facebook.com website for Harvard students. In a few hours, the site gained several hundred users who could register, create their own pages, post information, share it with other users, and leave comments.

On September 26, 2006, Facebook became a public social network. From that moment, anyone in the world can register and create their own page, sharing an email address during registration.

In 2010, Zuckerberg was featured in the March issue of Forbes magazine, where he was named the richest man in the world. Zuckerberg's capital was estimated at $ 4 billion. He was 25 years old. Six months after that publication experts estimated Mark's fortune at $ 7 billion.



Why is Facebook so popular?



Besides great product usability and UI, Facebook is famous for constantly rolling out new features. Some of them (like Facebook's Messenger) made a hit, some (like Facebook Beacon) have failed, but there’s always something new from the Facebook. Now it is the Metaverse, that we all keep our eyes on.



How many Facebook users are there in 2022?



Today Facebook has 2.96 billion active users.



INSTAGRAM



Who invented Instagram?



Kevin Systrom, who worked as a marketer at Google, was obsessed with creating his own successful startup. He studied programming, went to all kinds of seminars and conferences, met with hundreds of venture investors and other young startups.

As a result, Systrom came up with the idea of creating a new social network with elements of an online game. Kevin even came up with a name for his application –Burbn.



A brief history of Instagram



Over time, the options in the Burbn app have been reduced to the ability to post geotagged photos. At this stage, Systrom and his then partner Krieger asked themselves a million-dollar question – how to make something bright and unique out of ordinary and boring photos? Filters were the answer.

Instagram saw the world on October 6, 2010, when the app became available in the AppStore. On the first day, Instagram was downloaded by 25 thousand users. After one month, the number of users reached 1 million people.

Anticipating the future success and prospects of the application, Mark Zuckerberg made an unprecedented offer to its creators. On April 9, 2012, he bought Instagram for $ 1 billion.



Why is Instagram so popular?



Because a picture is worth a thousand words. Text is optional, when it comes to satisfying a natural desire for a bright visual.



How many Instagram users are there in 2022?



Today Instagram has 1.44 billion active users.



IN A NUTSHELL



Social media is the main reason why we spend so much time on the Internet. Not only is it a means of communication, but also a powerful marketing tool. Moreover, researchers believe that social networks are the future of any business.