Social Network: The Revolutions

Technology Revolutions

Over the past decade, many innovations have been made in the world of information and communications technology. The introduction of Wikipedia in 2001 led to a surge in user-generated content. In 2004, the search-engine Google went public, solidifying itself as a permanent presence in how information is found and retrieved. In 2006, Nintendo introduced the Wii, revolutionizing the video game industry and changing the way popular culture perceives "gaming”. In 2007 saw the introduction of the Apple iPhone, triggering the smartphones frenzy. 

The invention of computer and sparks of Internet has boost the technology revolution.

Each year saw a great technological event, but perhaps not a year had an event with such significance as that of 2002, which saw the launch of Friendster, the website that gave way to the beginning of the greatest change in media information and communications to date: the social-networking revolution.

Rise of Social Network 

Friendster emerged with success after the .com stock bubble burst in 2000. Past attempts at social networking had lacked any ability to hold connections with real world "friends," and thus can only be called distant ancestors to the modern social network. Friendster was first social network to allow people to make profiles and "friend" others members. By the end of it's first three months, Friendster had gained about 3 million users, a little less than 1% of all internet users at the time. After Friendster came the first mega-social-network, MySpace. MySpace was intended to be a clone of Friendster, but rapidly outgrew it's "big brother" website as more and more internet users opened MySpace accounts. Soon after MySpace launched, several other social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Jaiku sprang up, and the social-networking frenzy began. Myspace dominated the social-networking landscape until 2008, when it was surpassed by arguably the most famous and well know social network of all: Facebook. 

The chronology of social networking. Source: FindAndConvert

It's difficult to remember a time without "status updates" and "friending," just two of the urban verbs introduced into social norm by Facebook. Developed in 2006 at Harvard College, Facebook was originally intended to allow for communication between college students, but quickly grew into much more than just a tool for reminding fellow peers when the final paper was due. After anyone aged 13 and up with a valid e-mail was permitted to have an account, the Facebook craze exploded. Facebook's member count has expanded to more than 300 million, a population larger than that of most countries. Members have the ability to connect with friends, both old and new, share information through web links, photos, and video, and chat with others anywhere in the world in real time. 

While most modern social-network users have a Facebook account, there is also Twitter, which allows members to "follow" other members and receive short and simple updates from other accounts. Not only can members of social networks like Facebook and Twitter send and receive virtually any form of media (typed updates, photos, videos, etc.) at the click of a mouse, but members can provide feedback and respond to others' media, creating a global network capable of moving hundreds of billions of individual pieces of information anywhere in the world in less than 1/100th of a second, and all for free! 

This ability has allowed normal people to become news reporters, with several media corporations,(CNN, MSNBC, and FOX) using social networks as a source for many of their current news articles. News stations have also turned to social-networking as a tool to help provide more information on significant world events, such as the recent uprisings in almost every country in the Middle-East. Such a feat was nearly impossible to imagine seven years ago. Now, however, it is achievable by anyone with an internet connection and a voice. 

Life Changing Innovations

It's astounding to consider how four websites have changed the entire landscape of global media in less than a decade. Friendster. Myspace. Facebook. Twitter. The revolution of social-networking has led to an evolution in how people interact, both online and in person. Of course, some people just use these sites to talk about "last night's big play" or "that hot chick at the beach." However, such technology can be used to a much greater effect. Scientists who were once limited to mail and conferences to report new findings can now send videos and photos of research to their colleagues from anywhere in the world. News stations which once had to wait for a reporter to arrive on the scene of a big story can now turn to videos posted by ordinary people witnessing the action as it happens. 

Variety of social network that has become a trend nowadays. Source: Leverage New Age Media

Yes, Nintendo changed video-games forever. Yes, Apple's iPhone raised the bar for cell phone producers worldwide. Even so, neither of these innovations can come close to the vast and permanent mark on world media made by one little website founded in Morgan Hill, California has done to the way we as people view and process information. Though many leaps and bounds have been made over the last decade in the virtually limitless universe of information and communications technology, nothing can compare with the impact of social-networking and the effect that it has had on the modern world today.

Click on picture for bigger size. Source: Creativo

Article Source: BBGcommunications