Social Media, All Grown Up

[#1]

Happy Birthday, World Wide Web! You’re 30!


Google’s Doodle for the 12 of March

The World Wide Web is 30 years old! Many of us take the Internet for granted, relying on it for almost everything- especially to stay connected to the Internet community. As we have grown through the years, let’s take a look at the websites that grew together with us!

Facebook

Facebook is so big that it has its own movie. Originally called [thefacebook], the website was created by Mark Zuckerberg for his peers at college as a side project. The simplistic, basic website was also originally only open for Harvard students. 15 years later, over 2 billion people are on Facebook- that’s almost a quarter of the total world population! Now, Facebook is almost a necessity to have- just so that people know that you are real!

YouTube

Did you know that YouTube originally started as a dating site? The founders actually built the video-sharing site for singles looking for love. However, they didn’t have a single video upload after five days, so the founders rethought their idea and opened the platform up to all kinds of videos. As such, the first video ever uploaded on YouTube was titled “Me and the Zoo”. Today, that love for animals continue on… in the form of cat videos! (Among other things, of course.)

Instagram

Of all the social media platforms mentioned, the Instagram of today is most recognizable from its humble beginnings in 2010. Instagram simply upgraded their looks from the old-school-cool style reminiscent of Polaroid pictures and photo albums to a sleek modern digital collection of pictures. Nowadays, the large variety of content on Instagram means that there’s always something exciting and fresh to see. With the introduction of new features like Instagram Stories, we have never felt closer to our favourite content creators for sharing bits of their lives that we would otherwise not be privy to!

Twitter

Back in 2006, Twitter only allowed 140 characters per tweet. The dictionary definition of ‘twitter’ is "a short burst of inconsequential information.”, which was exactly what it delivered. Since then, Twitter has shedded its bubbly font and gossipy looks for a more polished layout- and double the character limit.Yet despite the fact that there is limited character count, Twitter is one of the best places for political and social discussions globally, as the online community is quick to respond to news and controversy. The Twitter of today is certainly far from inconsequential!

Thanks to the Internet, these social media platforms have helped us keep in touch with friends, share photos, learn new skills, and even bring about social change. Be a part of the pulse of the online community with Internet Cili Padi XL, and stay connected on social media anytime, every day!

[#2]

I can barely remember the days when i stopped using ICQ and MSN Messenger (which were both the go-to messengers in their prime times). And Facebook has been the reigning champion after that for year after year.