Social Media, 1999 - Present

Although technology and my preferred means of messaging have changed since my earliest years of social media, I can still remember my dad summoning my nine-year-old self to his computer to set up my first email address.  As Hotmail’s account information recalls, “Jendancer62” joined the World Wide Web on July 1st, 1999.  Quite anti-climactically, at that, seeing as my only four 'contacts' lived under my same roof.  At the time, I was jealous of my friends who connected to the Internet via AOL and were immediately told, "You've got mail." As much as I tried, Hotmail never spoke to me. It was pretty upsetting for a kid.

The social media ballpark became much more exciting when I set up my own AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) account, which provided endless opportunities to chat and exchange silly emoticons with my fellow fifth-grade peers.  After four years of glitzy buddy icons, calculated away messages, and the occasional conversation with SmarterChild, MySpace sparked my Internet interest.  I probably created and deleted three different accounts before deciding that MySpace was not only my space, but also the space of every creep on the planet.  I can’t condemn the site in its entirety, however – MySpace Music has been incredibly helpful over the years.

            After MySpace, naturally, came Facebook.  My two older brothers, who were in college and could log in with their school email addresses, dangled the website in front of my intrigued Facebook-less face.  When the site eventually opened up to high school students, I was ecstatic to see what all the fuss was about.  Now, five years later, Facebook has become a staple of modern communication.  As one of my primary daily social media technologies, Facebook has completely taken the place of AIM (aside from iChat/AIM video features) and, as an informal system of messaging, some aspects of email.  I continue to use Gmail to communicate with family members, work contacts, professors, and fellow students, but Facebook is undoubtedly the easiest way to keep in touch with those in other states and countries.  Although unlike MySpace, once Facebook has you, it’s hard to imagine a world without.

I recently joined the iPhone bandwagon, which allows emails and Facebook notifications to be delivered and received with the ease of text messages.  Such features have helpfully cut down the amount of time I spend on my laptop.  Aside from the occasional tweet and a neglected Tumblr, I’ve found myself habitually perusing Reddit and Digg, user-based social websites where members upload amusing/interesting content and vote to determine whether said content is deserves ‘front page’ popularity.  Reddit, particularly, has a well-defined sense of humor and inside jokes comparable to those one might have with a small group of friends, except with one billion page views a month.  As a source of content for my internship, I’ve found social news websites as such becoming my most-frequented social media hubs of the semester.

 

Jen Lewis