CSI Blogs about Insurance in Technology

History of Social Media

Our daily routines have rapidly adapted to the daily Facebook updates, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn requests and YouTube video searches.  There was a time, not so long ago, when social media did not exist in the form which we know today.  There was a time people did not carry around smartphones with instant email and social media access.  Hard to believe, given that these communication tools have become integral to the way in which we interact with our communities of friends, family, and coworkers. 

Origins of social networking stem back to the 1970’s.  Social networking as we know it today didn’t take form until the mid 1990’s with some of the earliest social network sites being dating websites.  America Online (AOL) was one of the first to streamline online communication with their easily accessible chatrooms and their Instant Messenger service, which is still used by many to this day.

Social networking came to fruition in the 2000’s with the creation of Friendster, LinkedIn and Myspace.  Friendster began as a way to connect friends of friends through social media. The website is still in operation to this day with over 90 million active users, the majority of which are in Asia.  LinkedIn was one of the first social networks developed specifically for business networking.  In this dismal economy, LinkedIn has become an effective way for jobseekers to market themselves and find job opportunities through networking with business associates.  Myspace was launched in 2003 and by 2006 was at the top of the social media stratosphere.  Myspace distinguished itself from other networks by allowing users to customize profile pages to their own preferences.

For those in college during the early-mid 2000’s, you may recall that Facebook started as a college student only social network.  In fact, it started as a social network specifically for Harvard students, quickly branching out to other schools and colleges, and in 2006 became available to anyone in the world.  Facebook has become the most popular social networking website to date.  The website has undergone a few facelifts since inception, and now allows users to create Fan pages and has become a tool for businesses to market their products or services.   

Real time updates are a must for a social networking website to succeed today.  Twitter was started in 2006, but did not increase in popularity until very recently when they gained celebrity endorsements.  Daily updates by the likes of Demi Moore, Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, and Oprah have brought the network to the forefront.  Obama’s presidential election race of 2008 used both Facebook and Twitter to provide live campaign updates to supporters.  This was the first time in history that social media was used as a powerful and effective political tool.  Check out this article on Conversation Agent regarding how Obama’s social media changed political campaigns forever: http://www.conversationagent.com/2009/01/obamas-social-media-campaign.html.

There is no denying that social media is here to stay.  While its evolution has been rapid and has seeped into many aspects of our daily lives, the concept behind social media has always remained the same.  What is social media giving us that we didn’t already have thirty years ago besides instant access to the thoughts, pictures, and news of friends and family?  In 1954 we’d simply walk next door to gossip with our fellow neighbor.  Today, we can log onto Facebook and do virtually the same thing, instantly, quickly, and any place in the world.

CSI will be the first to offer a Office Package policy exclusively for social networking companies.   We expect the application to be available in early April, so in the meantime visit our Technology section at http://www.costelloandsons.com/technology.html