Explore the dynamic history of social media from its humble beginnings to its current global influence. Learn how platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram reshaped historycommunication and culture.

2. Table of Contents
 When Did Social Media Marketing Start?
 Was IRC a social network
 Evolution of social media marketing & social media
o AOL chat rooms in 1998
o Facebook:
o YouTube: YouTube was launched in 2005
o Twitter started in 2006
o Snapchat
o Pinterest (2011)
o Twitch (2011):
o Instagram:
o Discord (2015):
o TikTok (2016):
 Last Words:

3. The evolution of social media marketing began during the rise of platforms like Friendster and
MySpace in 2003.
If you’re like me, and you’ve been in the digital marketing space, it’s hard to believe that the
platforms have been around for over 2 decades!
Many marketers and business owners didn’t really use social media until about 2012 when it
finally became clear how big of an impact it could have on their businesses and marketing
efforts.
When Did Social Media Marketing Start?
One website which started social media was Myspace. It was launched on August 1, 2003 [2].
Myspace facts:
 It had 15 million monthly visitors in 2016
 It had 150 employees in 2018
 MySpace had 14.2 million active users in 2019
 In 2014 it had 300 million video views
 MySpace was purchased in 2005 for $580 million
Social media marketing has exploded in popularity over the last few years. It has become one of
the most sought-after skills in the modern job market. In addition, it’s one of the most popular
ways to connect with customers and expand your business reach online.
So when did social media marketing start?
It turns out that SMM is a relatively new type of marketing and it has been around almost as
long as the Internet itself!
Marketers have so many options for reaching their target audience because nearly 2 billion
people use social media every month.
WEBSITE NAME MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS (in billions)
Facebook 3
YouTube 2.5
WhatsApp 1

4. WEBSITE NAME MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS (in billions)
Instagram 1
WeChat 1.31
TikTok 0.8
QQ 0.554
Telegram 0.8
Traffic of social media site
At first, companies used social media to reach out to friends and family. Over time, it has grown
into an important tool that businesses use to market their products and services.
Introduced in 1994, IRC was the medium to communicate in those days. I started using mIRC in
2000. I used to go to a nearby internet cafe to use mIRC.
Was IRC a social network
Before we move any further, let’s answer this question. Was the famous IRC (Internet Relay
Chat) a social network?
Internet was slow and expensive—PKR 30/hour—in Pakistan. But it was all available, then.
IRC had some features of a social network, but it also lacked a few. One had to be ‘available’ or
‘online’ on the network to receive a reply to any message [1].
Evolution of social media marketing & social media
Social media started in 1995 as an ide
People thought it was a good idea, but no one really understood what social media would
eventually look like or have on our society.
A global forum where people could share information and communicate with each other.
It wasn’t until 1998 that later caused three major events to occur that gave social media its face
and paved a clear path for how it’s used today:
1. Introducing Friendster in 2003(closed as a company on June 30, 2018) [2] and
2. The birth of Myspace in 2003 [3].

5. 3. The birth of Facebook in 2004
AOL chat rooms in 1998
AOL offered chat rooms with their program called AOL Instant Messenger, more commonly
known as AIM.
This was at a time when most people didn’t have access to computers, and those who did had
dial-up modems that connected them to AOL via telephone lines.
AOL in 2010
The AIM feature allowed users to connect in real time over these phone lines, offering instant
communication between friends and family members for free.
You know, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was discontinued on December 15, 2017. However,
AOL's chat rooms and instant messaging services paved the way for the social media platforms
we see today. Thus, laying the foundation for online communication as we know it.
Facebook:

6. launched in 2004 and became the leading site by 2006
The core platform of Facebook boasts an impressive 3 billion monthly active users.
Additionally,
Meta Platforms owns other major social media platforms, each with 1 billion monthly active
users. These platforms include:
1. WhatsApp
2. Facebook Messenger
3. Instagram
YouTube:
YouTube was launched in 2005
 The video-sharing giant has 2.5 billion monthly active users12
.
On Fevruary 2005 [4], Kevin Systrom and his Stanford roommate, Mike Krieger, began to think
of a way they could document their daily lives and share them with friends.
They created a video sharing site where users can upload their own videos. In 2006, YouTube
was launched as a private beta.
The following year YouTube officially rolled out their video sharing platform for public use.
Twitter started in 2006
While people have been connecting online for years through forums and chat rooms, it wasn’t
until 2006 that social media took off. On March 21, 2006,

7. Twitter was born when co-founder Jack Dorsey sent out his first tweet.
Snapchat
Snapchat came on board from 2011 to 2012
As one of the newest social media platforms on our list, Snapchat is also a popular marketing
platform for B2C and B2B brands alike.
You can post your video or image for a set period or until viewers take a screenshot.
This is perfect for real-time marketing and taking advantage of current events. For example, if
you’re launching a new product and want users to know about it immediately, Snapchat is an
ideal platform to use.
Pinterest (2011)
started operations in 2011:
Pinterest debuted on July 2011 and surpassed 20 million monthly users by November 2013.
The platform showed a growth rate of 150% in less than two years. In contrast, Twitter hit 10
million users by October 2009 and 100 million by May 2012: a growth rate of 1,000% in five
years. Facebook didn’t reach 50 million users until three years after it was launched.
Twitch (2011):
Primarily focused on live streaming for gamers, Twitch has become a platform for businesses to
reach specific audiences through sponsorships, product placements, and influencer
partnerships.
Instagram:
Instagram hit 150 million monthly active users by May 2012 and 400 million by August 2016.
This is an incredible milestone for the social media platform and shows the popularity of
Instagram among its users.
Instagram has continued to grow in popularity because of its unique features and the ability to
share photos and videos with friends and family.
Instagram has become a go-to platform for sharing photos and videos with friends and family,
and its popularity is only continuing to grow.
Discord (2015):

8. This communication platform allows businesses to create branded communities to foster
customer engagement, loyalty programs, and product feedback directly with their target
audience.
TikTok (2016):
This short-form video platform exploded in popularity and offers marketing opportunities
through influencer marketing, in-feed ads, and branded hashtag challenges.
Last Words:
Social media started simple, but look at it now! From posts to pictures, live streams to
communities, the ways we connect keep growing. Businesses gotta keep up to grab the best
marketing tools for their crowd. The future's wide open, so stay tuned!
Bibliography
1. Lehmann, A. (2019, May 5). Is IRC considered a social network, and is it still used? –
Quora. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://www.quora.com/Is-IRC-considered-a-
social-network-and-is-it-still-used
2. Friendster. (2022). Retrieved May 27, 2022,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendster
3. MySpace. (2022). Retrieved May 27, 2022,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace
4. YouTube ((2022), Retrieved May 28, 2022,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube