FROM FACEBOOK TO LINKEDIN
Look at the following diagram on different social networks. Can you mention others and their use?
A Chronological History of Social Media
Social media is part and parcel of the modern daily life, but it actually has quite a long history.
Retrieved from: https://interestingengineering.com/a-chronological-history-of-social-media
Let's take a whistle-stop tour of the evolution of social media platforms. You can also check out this helpful infographic history of social media platforms' by Zenesys.
Why are social media platforms so popular?
Human beings are social creatures, we thrive on, and in fact need, social interactions to maintain a healthy life and mind.
Social media taps into these primal needs and so it should come as no surprise that social media sites and social media apps are so popular today.
But there is more to them than that. Social media apps offer users some valuable features.
- They provide a platform to meet new people and make friends across international borders.
- They allow users to join groups of others who share their passions and interests.
- They are free to use (but as we all know "if there is no product to buy you are the product").
- Specialized forums or platforms provide a large network to potentially find a new job.
- Networks like Twitter have become a valuable way to get real-time (occasionally true) news. Often this information can be seen 'raw,' without any traditional media bias or opinion mixed in.
With the rise in popularity of early social media platforms, it was only a matter of time before business took notice of the growing trend.
Savvy entrepreneurs quickly jumped on the wagon to promote themselves and their (or others') products, eventually evolving into the mass social media marketing industry we are all familiar with today.
Businesses and private individuals have seen the importance and reach of social media. Some have even managed to use it to make a pretty decent living.
YouTube launches in 2005
Year or period: 2005
YouTube first appeared in 2005 and launched an entirely new method of communication. The ability to create and share media over very long distances was such a game-changer that it has become something of a behemoth ever since.
Other notable launches this year included Yahoo!360, Bebo, and the "mighty" Reddit. Social media platforms were started to find their legs.
Facebook launches and begins to monopolize the market
Year or period: 2006
2006 saw the advent of Facebook. It remains one of the most popular social media platforms on the internet, and by extension, the world.
Facebook has seen staggering growth since 2006, and it is now one of the most visited sites on the web.
Twitter rises in 2006
Year or period: 2006
Twitter also, launched in 2006, has attained an almost "cult-like" status since inception. Its ability to allow users to interact directly with celebrities was almost unheard of previously.
The market starts to get crowded
Year or period: 2009
Spotify, Ping, Groupon, and Kontain appeared in 2008, continuing the development of niches within the growing social market. Location-based social media also began to take hold in 2009 with the launch of Foursquare.
This was one of the first sites to introduce a "check-in" feature. 2010 saw the birth of Instagram, Pinterest, and Google Buzz.
The former two have grown in popularity and are giants in their own right to
The emergence of Instagram would shake up the social media scene
Year or period: 2010
Yet another important step in the evolution of social media platforms was the launch of Instagram in 2010. A US-based photo and video sharing platform, Instagram is today one of the biggest social media sites in the world.
It was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and is available on jutst about all smart device platforms. One of its standout features in the early days was the ability for users to edit uploaded content within the app and organize material using tags and other location information.
After its release, it quickly became widely popular, acquiring somewhere in the region of 2 million users within its first few months alone. Seeing the potential for the social media platform, Facebook acquired the company in 2012.
Today, it is widely used by private users and businesses to promote themselves and acts largely as an advertising platform.
The ill-fated Google+ is born
Year or period: 2011
Google decided to launch Google+ in 2011 as a fully-fledged social networking tool. Users were able to form group contacts into "circles" and chat via video "hangouts".
It has recently been discontinued.
The birth of TikTok was another important step for social media platforms
Year or period: 2016
In 2016, the now incredibly popular social media platform, TikTok, was first launched by Douyin for the Chinese market, it was later launched on iOS and Android outside of China.
Primarily focussing on uploading and sharing videos, this social networking app has seen an explosion in popularity over the last few years. Most users use it to record short dance, lip-syn, comedy, or other talent videos and it seems to be really finding its stride.
While many videos loaded to the site may be utterly cringe-worthy, there is no doubt that it is a highly addictive social media platform for millions of users around the world.
The future is uncertain
Year or period: 2018 - Onwards
Who can tell what will happen over the next few decades for social media? Will it even exist in ten, twenty, or more years?
We can never know for certain, but given society's rapid uptake of the medium so far it clearly meets a need we all have. We are social creatures after all, and any form of media that makes meeting and talking with others without actually needing to interact with them in the real world is likely to continue in some form or other well in the future.
Despite this apparent benefit, we have all seen the 'dark side' of social media grow over the last few years, especially its potential for being hijacked for political gain and manipulation. Whether people will tire of the constant stream of bile and abuse, as well as the constant advertising, or feel this is just the price we have to pay for social media, remains to be seen.
Graded Version here
TIME TO WORK ON THE TASK 15'
go to: FINAL TASK 10
___________
RECALLING
Use the previous reporting verbs and other learnt during the unit and create sentences in reported speech.
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