Before Facebook took control of social media, several pioneering platforms paved the way for what you know and experience today.
These early social media sites provide unique opportunities for users to connect, share, and discover new people and content worldwide.
This article will explore some of the most popular social media sites before Facebook and how they shaped modern online communication.
One of the most influential social media sites before Facebook was MySpace.
Launched in 2003, MySpace quickly gained popularity, attracting millions of users who connected with friends, discovered new music, and customized their profiles with personal touches.
Its success even surpassed giants like Google and Yahoo regarding monthly users.
As you learn more about these pre-Facebook platforms, you’ll better understand how social media has evolved.
Another early social media platform is LunarStorm, a Swedish-based website launched in 1996.
LunarStorm provided users with a space to connect and interact in an innovative and groundbreaking way at the time.
As you delve deeper into the history of these social media sites, you’ll appreciate how they have paved the path for Facebook and other platforms you use today.
This knowledge will enrich your understanding of social media evolution and give you a fresh perspective on the current online landscape.
1. Friendster
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California, United States Founder(s): Jonathan Abrams Year Founded: 2002 Year Closed: 2015
Before Facebook solidified its dominance on the social media scene, Friendster was the star of the early Internet era.
Launched in 2002 by Canadian computer programmer Jonathan Abrams, Friendster became popular and had an adoption rate of 3 million users within just a few months.
As you dive into the Friendster story, you’ll notice that it has similarities with other contemporary social networking sites like MySpace, SixDegrees, and Hi5.
On Friendster, users could create profiles, share photos, and connect not only with their friends but also with friends of friends, establishing a sense of a vast online community.
Friendster was ahead of its time, providing features now common on social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Users could share personal updates, upload music, and customize their profile pages for a unique look.
Friendster was one of the earliest platforms that allowed users to showcase their interests and personalities online.
However, despite its popularity and innovative features, Friendster faced stiff competition from other social media networks such as MySpace and Facebook.
As these new networks emerged, they offered an improved user experience and better functionality, eventually leading Friendster to lose its user base.
One of the main challenges Friendster faced was its inability to scale up and meet the growing demands of its users.
The platform struggled with server issues and slow page loading times, decreasing user satisfaction.
As Facebook launched in 2004, it rapidly gained popularity due to its user-friendly interface and advanced features, further overshadowing Friendster.
In response, Friendster tried to pivot and transform into a gaming platform, but the effort did not achieve the desired success.
Ultimately, Friendster was shut down in 2015. While it may not be around today, it’s important to remember that Friendster pioneered social networking and contributed to shaping the online landscape we know today.
2. MySpace
Headquarters: Beverly Hills, California, United States Founder(s): Brad Greenspan, Chris DeWolfe, Tom Anderson Year Founded: 2003 Year Closed: still active
MySpace was a dominant social media platform before the age of Facebook.
Launched in 2003 by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, MySpace quickly became a popular destination on the internet for networking and connecting with friends.
As an early user of MySpace, you may remember the customizable profiles, where you could personalize your page’s appearance with unique backgrounds and avatars.
Using avatars was a fun way to represent yourself and your interests, bringing creativity and individuality to the platform.
Interaction on MySpace primarily took place through groups, which allowed users to connect with others who shared similar interests or passions.
This feature helped drive MySpace’s growth, promoting community building and a sense of belonging among its users.
At its peak, MySpace recorded around 100 million monthly active users. Its popularity even had MySpace surpassing other major websites like Google and Yahoo.
In 2005, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp saw the potential in MySpace and acquired it for a whopping $580 million. However, MySpace’s reign didn’t last for long.
MySpace eventually lost its competitive edge compared to other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
One of the reasons for MySpace’s decline was the rise of Facebook, which drew many users away from MySpace with its cleaner interface, stronger privacy settings, and a focus on real-life connections rather than avatars and customizable profiles.
Though MySpace’s popularity eventually waned, it holds a special place in internet history as one of the first major social networks to shape the digital landscape.
It serves as a nostalgic reminder of the early days of social media and how the internet has evolved since then.
3. Second Life
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States Founder(s): Philip Rosedale Year Founded: 2003 Year Closed: Active
Second Life is a fascinating virtual world launched by Linden Lab, a California-based company, in 2003.
In this virtual environment, you can create your avatar and interact with other users in real time.
Here, you’ll find a platform quite different from social media networks like Facebook.
As a user of Second Life, you can design and customize your avatar, explore the 3D environment, and meet other avatars that people worldwide control.
Unlike traditional social media platforms, second Life strongly emphasizes 3D modeling and creative expression.
You can build and design your virtual spaces and objects or engage in the in-world economy.
Linden Dollars, the platform’s virtual currency, drives the economy in Second Life.
You can buy goods and services and earn Linden Dollars by offering services or creating content for other users.
This facilitates a thriving marketplace within the virtual world, providing an interesting contrast to the more advertisement-driven formats found in most social media networks.
While Second Life may not have the immense user base that Facebook boasts, it offers users a unique opportunity to engage in a more immersive and interactive experience.
The platform also fosters a sense of community, where people can collaborate and socialize in various ways, connecting on a level that goes beyond simple status updates and photo sharing.
Second Life offers a distinct and engaging alternative to traditional social media platforms like Facebook.
By immersing yourself in a virtual world with other avatars, you can explore new dimensions of social interaction and creativity, making it a unique experience among internet-based networks.
4. SixDegrees.com
Headquarters: New York City, New York, United States Founder(s): Andrew Weinreich Year Founded: 1996 Year Closed: 2000
SixDegrees.com, widely considered the first social media site, pioneered the internet’s history.
Launched in the late 1990s, it was based on the six degrees of separation concept, which means that you are six or fewer social contacts away before encountering a mutual connection.
This platform laid the groundwork for future social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The founder of SixDegrees.com, Jonathan Abrams, had a strategic vision for connecting people online.
He created a platform that allowed users to create personal profiles, make friends, and communicate with their networks.
At its height, SixDegrees.com had around one million unique visitors, a significant achievement.
However, timing played a key role in the site’s eventual decline. Social media was still a relatively new concept, and the internet landscape differed vastly from what we know today.
Aside from SixDegrees.com, other social media platforms emerged around the same time.
Sites like Friends Reunited and Habbo also aimed to connect people online through various features such as message boards, blogs, and chat rooms.
These websites contributed to the evolution of social media, shaping what we know today as thriving online communities where users can share experiences, opinions, and ideas.
SixDegrees.com’s legacy as a trailblazer in the world of social networks remains an important part of the history of social media.
Although the site eventually shuttered in 2000, its innovative features laid the foundation for the social media landscape we’re familiar with today.
As you navigate the current social networks, it would be worth remembering how it all started with SixDegrees.com and its vision of connecting people across the globe through the power of the internet.
5. Orkut
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States Founder(s): Orkut Büyükkökten Year Founded: 2004 Year Closed: 2014
Orkut, a social media platform, appeared in the early 2000s, before the rise of Facebook.
Created by a Google employee and named after its Turkish developer Orkut Büyükkökten, the site became a significant social networking platform before Facebook came into the picture.
As an early internet user, you might remember Orkut as a popular site for connecting with friends and acquaintances.
At its peak, the platform attracted users from various countries, with a notable user base in Brazil and India.
Similar to other platforms like Classmates.com and Bolt.com, Orkut popularized the concept of creating communities around shared interests.
Users could join multiple groups, participate in discussions, and explore new connections.
What set it apart from other sites was its association with Google.
The search engine giant saw potential in Orkut as a social media platform and supported its development.
While pursuing his master’s degree at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg noted this phenomenon. He created his version of a social networking site, which we know today as Facebook.
Unfortunately, Orkut struggled to keep up with Facebook’s exponential growth and eventually shut down in 2014.
Yet, its impact on social media networks remains notable, particularly in Brazil and India.
In its time, the platform successfully introduced internet users to the world of online communities, setting the stage for the era of social media that we know today.
6. Hi5
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States Founder(s): Ramu Yalamanchi, Akash Garg Year Founded: 2003 Year Closed: still active
Before the days of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, there was a social media platform called Hi5.
Launched in 2004 by Youthstream Media Networks, Hi5 quickly gained popularity among teenagers and young adults looking for a virtual space to connect with friends and make new acquaintances.
As a user on Hi5, you could create a personal profile to showcase your interests and hobbies, upload photos, and send messages to other users.
Like today’s popular social media networks, Hi5 allowed you to grow and maintain your network of friends and see how your connections were linked.
One of the main attractions of Hi5 was its games and interactive activities.
From quizzes and virtual gifting to user-created groups and discussion forums, Hi5 offered a wide range of engagement opportunities.
The platform also featured a ranking system, where you could gain points and status based on your interactions and activities on the site.
Although Hi5 couldn’t compete with the meteoric rise of Facebook, it still managed to carve out a niche for itself as a social gaming platform.
Over time, it shifted its focus towards providing a space for users more interested in gaming and virtual interactions than traditional social media networking.
Today, Hi5 still exists but with an emphasis on social gaming rather than being a primary social media destination.
As a social media enthusiast or history buff, exploring the roots of social media by revisiting platforms like Hi5 can help you appreciate how far the internet and social networking have evolved.
So, the next time you browse Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, remember that even giants like these once had humble beginnings in the digital world.
7. LinkedIn
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California, United States Founder(s): Reid Hoffman; Eric Ly Year Founded: 2002 Year Closed: still active
When considering social media before Facebook, you may not immediately consider LinkedIn.
However, LinkedIn has always been a different social media platform, primarily focused on connecting professionals and facilitating communication in the corporate world.
Launched in 2003, LinkedIn began to fill this niche in the internet landscape, providing a space for people to showcase their professional aptitude and network with others in their industry.
Unlike Facebook, which focuses on personal connections and multimedia sharing, LinkedIn prioritizes more formal connections and emphasizes career advancement and job search functionalities.
With LinkedIn, you can build your professional profile and effortlessly connect with colleagues, employers, and potential business partners.
Additionally, the platform offers features such as job postings, company pages, and discussion groups tailored to specific industries or professional topics.
While Facebook is known for sharing updates about personal lives and YouTube is mainly centered around video content, LinkedIn stands out by dedicating its platform to professional development and connections.
This distinction has led to the success and longevity of LinkedIn as a major social media site.
In conclusion, LinkedIn has played a vital role in the social media landscape, predating Facebook and offering functionalities catering specifically to professionals.
Its unique focus on the professional world makes it an essential platform for many individuals, enabling them to cultivate their careers, expand their professional network, and tap into a vast reservoir of collective knowledge and experience.
8. Digg
Headquarters: New York City, New York, United States Founder(s): Kevin Rose Year Founded: 2004 Year Closed: still active
Digg was one of the social media sites before Facebook that allowed users like you to discover, share, and discuss unique content on the internet.
Founded in November 2004, Digg was a pioneer in the social media world, well before other popular platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Tumblr became widespread.
The primary functionality of Digg revolved around users submitting interesting content in the form of web pages or news articles.
The community would then vote on these submissions, promoting the most popular content to the front page.
This voting system established a quality control method, ensuring engaging and relevant information reached other users.
Digg’s interface consisted of lists, providing an easy-to-navigate format for users to browse through popular and recent submissions.
This list-based format resembles what you can now find on Reddit and Pinterest.
However, Digg faced challenges over the years, such as competition from other social media networks and changes in its user base.
Eventually, the platform shifted its focus from being a user-centered network as it struggled to maintain leadership in the ever-evolving social media landscape.
Nonetheless, Digg played a significant role in shaping the development of social media as we know it today.
Platforms like Reddit and Twitter have since adopted similar content curation methods, enabling users like you to easily find and share interesting and valuable information on the internet.
