Social Media Marketing. A Brief History
Cheryl Lawson
Social media is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of online platforms and tools that allow users to connect and share content with each other. The history of social media is long and complex, but it can be traced back to the early days of the internet.
One of the earliest examples of social media was Usenet, which was created in 1982. Usenet was a system of discussion forums where users could post messages and reply to each other. Another early example of social media was Six Degrees, which was launched in 1997. Six Degrees was a social networking site that allowed users to connect with friends and family members.
In the early 2000s, social media began to take off. In 2004, Facebook was launched, and it quickly became one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. In 2005, YouTube was launched, and it revolutionized the way people watch and share videos. In 2006, Twitter was launched, and it became the go-to platform for sharing short updates and news.
In the years since, social media has continued to evolve. New platforms have been launched, and existing platforms have been updated with new features. Social media has also become increasingly important in our lives. We use it to stay connected with friends and family, to learn about current events, and to share our thoughts and ideas with the world.
Social media has had a profound impact on our society. It has changed the way we communicate, the way we consume news, and the way we interact with the world around us. It is still too early to say what the future holds for social media, but it is clear that it will continue to play an important role in our lives and our businesses.
Storytime
Let me tell you about December 2005. I saw a Business Week cover headline, “The Myspace Generation,” and it just clicked. I was only a year into starting my own event planning biz, and my new client was a dance conference who’s audience was 18-25-year-old women. Myspace was their jam – seriously, it was the new mall hangout.
So, what did I do? I hopped on the Myspace train and used it for the dance conference to dish out resources like tryout dates, dance makeup, and clothing recommendations. We became the ultimate one-stop-shop for all things dance and our efforts resulted in the conference being in the black for the first time.
A bunch of us Gen Xers credit Myspace for teaching us HTML back in the day. It’s crazy to think about it now with TikTok ruling the roost, but Myspace was our first taste of being social online.