What was the first social networking site?

Trivia 26 of 30

What was the first social networking site?

Six Degrees

Six Degrees is often recognized as the first-ever social networking site. Launched in 1997, the site combined popular features such as profiles, friends lists, and school affiliations. However, since people at the time had limited internet access, the site’s growth was constrained. It wasn’t until a few years later that the internet infrastructure could keep up with the concept of social networks (cbsnews.com). The name “Six Degrees” refers to the concept that everyone is connected to each other by no more than six degrees of separation. Six Degrees allowed users to list their friends, family members, and acquaintances both on the site and outside of it (nyu.edu). In December 2000, Six Degrees was sold to YouthStream Media Networks for $125 million (nytimes.com).

Friendster

Although there were social networks before Friendster, none of them reached the mainstream in the same way (cbsnews.com). Launched in March 2002, Friendster allowed users to connect with strangers and made meeting people less daunting. However, the site struggled to scale its service in line with demand, and technical difficulties caused many users to migrate away from Friendster and onto its rival, MySpace. Despite its challenges, Friendster is credited with giving birth to the modern social media movement (cbsnews.com). In 2011, Friendster was rebranded as a social gaming site (wikipedia.org).

LinkedIn

LinkedIn started as a platform to post resumes online. Launched in May 2003, it quickly evolved into a business networking site, offering solutions for companies to hire employees (cbsnews.com). As of March 2023, LinkedIn has over 900 million members and over 58 million registered companies. More than 50% of adults in the U.S. who hold a bachelor’s or advanced degree are LinkedIn users (LinkedIn.com).

MySpace

MySpace was founded by employees of the internet marketing firm eUniverse in August 2003. Known for its band pages, customizable profiles, and a culture of online stalking, MySpace was the most popular website in 2006 and was valued at $12 billion in 2007 (techcrunch.com). In 2005, News Corporation bought MySpace’s parent company for an unprecedented $580 million. However, by April 2008, Facebook had taken over as the number one social network on the web (britannica.com). Despite several redesigns, MySpace was unable to regain its dominance. News Corp. eventually sold the site for $35 million to the advertising firm Specific Media, which had teamed up with Justin Timberlake to acquire it (reuters.com).