Foremost, people used the telephone for communication, then the fax machine, and then social media (a revolutionary way of communicating). People have been able to connect with each other like never before since its creation. Family and friends can connect at any instant, and marketers have been able to reach consumers in a completely new manner. Actually, people use social media every single day, for an average of 144 minutes. In 2010, on June 30, Social Media Day was initiated because of its impact on society over the years, and ever since it has continued to grow in popularity.
History
On June 30, 2010, world Social Media Day was launched by Mashable. This day was born as a form to recognize social media’s influence on global communication and to bring the world together to celebrate it. Almost every person uses social media every day; it is how we connect with people throughout the globe in an easy and fast way. Mashable uses social media to link various movements, cultures, and fandoms, that is the reason why they wanted a day to celebrate it. Every year people use the hashtag #SMDay, and this year is your time to get engaged.
In 1997, the first social media platform named Sixdegrees was launched. Andrew Weinreich was the founder of this platform. The website allowed users to list friends and family members and had features like profiles, school affiliations, and bulletin boards. Sixdegrees, at its peak, had over a million users but it was finally shut down in 2001.
Friendster was the first modern social media platform that was launched in 2002. On this website, people could safely make new friends, and now it has over a hundred million users, most of the users are in Asia. The first business-focused social media platform, LinkedIn, was launched in 2003. MySpace was launched in 2004, the exact same year as Facebook, but initially, MySpace had much greater success than Mark Zuckerberg’s product. MySpace was the largest social media platform in the world, by 2006. Its users loved the customized profiles that also allowed them to post their music.
In 2005, YouTube launched its website dedicated to video, and in 2006 Twitter followed with its limited characters platform. As both rose in popularity, Facebook did as well, and for the next five years, the most popular social media platforms were being established.
In 2010, Instagram was launched and saw fast growth, within the first couple of months gaining over a million users. In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion, and in 2014, for $16 billion Facebook purchased the encrypted messaging platform WhatsApp. Facebook failed to buy a platform called Snapchat, which became popular due to its disappearing stories feature. Snapchat was launched in 2011 and reportedly, in 2013, rejected a $3 billion offer from Facebook. The most recent social media among others is TikTok. It was launched in 2016 and has become extremely popular due to its vast music and video editing features.
Together with social media evolution and growth in popularity, the scrutiny that the platforms come under also has grown. The platforms are under more pressure than ever to be transparent with what happens behind the scenes, with controversies surrounding their use of data, impact on mental health, hate speech, fake news, and election results.
Social media has become a method of instant connection, often with family and friends, but also with total strangers. It has become a massive source of news, finding influencers for businesses, shopping, and general entertainment. Social Media Day is for us to appreciate the positives that these platforms have conveyed into our lives and perhaps like or share a photo or two.
Calculate days from today here
Timeline of Social Media Day
1940s (The Birth of the First Super Computer) – Scientists and engineers were interested in building new ways to network, which ultimately led to the birth of the internet as we know it.
1997 (The First Social Network is Created) – SixDegrees was the first-ever social network, where users could create profiles, upload photos, and connect with others for the first time.
2004 (Facebook Went Live to the World) – Created in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it was founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
2005 (YouTube was Developed and Launched) – YouTube was born in San Mateo, California. It became the most popular platform to share video content.
Social Media Day Traditions
On Social Media Day, there is one main tradition that is celebrated and that is, posting about it on social media. Numerous people upload stories or photos that reflect the role that social media has played in their lives. Other individuals choose to repost their favored uploads from the past and in general, it is an opportunity for people to share some love online.
Multiple websites use Social Media Day as a chance to collect lists of some of their favorite social media moments. If you have some spare time, it is well worth your time to find some of these lists and enjoy some of the most viral, funniest social media posts knocking around.
FAQs about Social Media Day
Why is Social Media Day celebrated?
In 2010, on June 30, Mashable started Social Media Day to celebrate the incredible realm of social media, which revolutionized the way we interact with the world. Social media has considerably changed our lives and got people together, which is worth celebrating.
What is the most popular social media platform?
Currently, compared to any other social media platform, Facebook still has the most amount of users.
Activities on Social Media Day
Post as much as you want – Use this occasion to add your voice to the celebration! Post a Tweet, a selfie, or go live on Facebook or Instagram.
Try new platforms – Many social media sites exist out there that wait for you to discover them. You can join various platforms and share your greatest travel adventures, make a video, or join in fun trending topics. Give some Social Media platforms a try and see if you enjoy them.
Take it offline – Social media is most special when your Internet friends become your IRL friends. In order to celebrate Social Media Day, hang out with a friend in the real world! Go on a walk, catch a flick, or get a drink. But do not forget to take a pic to put on social media afterward.
Find out today’s date in numbers here
5 Interesting Facts about Social Media
300 hours every minute – Every minute, on YouTube, over 300 hours of video are uploaded, and the average person watches 40 minutes daily.
Small and medium businesses – To stay connected with their customers, 81% of small and medium businesses use at least one social platform.
Food-stagram – Pizza is the most famous Instagrammed food followed by sushi and steak.
Eggscellent – On Instagram, the highest-liked photo is a picture of an egg, uploaded by world_record_egg as a way to break the record of the photo with the most likes.
Quick fingers – 500 million tweets are sent every day which is 6,000 tweets every second.
Check out when is National Defense Transportation Day
Why We Love Social Media Day
It is entertaining – Social Media is utterly entertaining because it allows you to follow the things you are interested in the most. Whether you like the day-to-day lives of journalists, the inner lives of parents, cat videos, or cookies, this is the place for you. Using hashtags, explore millions of videos and posts to see what users have posted around the world. Or make your own content. Picture social media as the production team for your own show. Puch the record and let the good times roll.
It is accessible – There are no limits on social media to who you can connect with. Life coaches, your favorite stars, or even your managers can be contacted through a direct message. This gives you the chance to reach out to anyone and make a connection.
It is ripe for discovery – The wonderful thing about social media is it gives everyone a platform to display their talents, document their daily activities, or voice their opinions. Future entertainers have the ability, without going through the Hollywood struggles, to show the world what they are made of. With a simple click of a button, users have leveraged platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to help start their careers.
