Do you remember your at the outset social media profile? Or, how almost your at the outset social media position?

My at the outset profile was on Myspace, my at the outset colleague was “Tom from Myspace,” and my at the outset position was something like, “Myspace is awe-inspiring!”

The put your feet up is history.

Social media has untouched and evolved so much since the before time days, it’s almost unkind to believe how far we’ve come up to. How frequent service social media has untouched as well. Gen Zs (now inauguration to enter the workforce) simply know a humanity with social media, compared to their counterparts – Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers – who can still tenderly remember back to the days of snail mail and dial-up modems!

Here’s a look by the side of 10 powerful moments so as to shaped the social media history.

Let’s dive in!

10 Powerful Moments That Shaped Social Media Over the Last 20 Years
Top 10 powerful moments so as to shaped social media history
There allow been so many wonderful moments greater than the keep up 20 years on social media so as to it was quite a challenge to boil them down to precisely 10! But since we’re celebrating the assured force of social media on people’s lives and on the humanity in support of this campaign, these are all particularly meaningful and imperative moments in the social media history.

Feel free of charge to hop to a undeniable moment(s) in the social media history!

The Birth of Facebook
Miracle on the Hudson
Going “Viral”
Ellen’s Selfie (and the Nuggets guy)
NASA’s #YearInSpace
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
#BlackLivesMatter
Arab Spring
Community Support all through World Tragedies
Natural Disaster Relief
Let’s count down to the top minute in the social media history!

10. The Birth of Facebook

Facebook, the social media set-up so as to has an incredible two billion monthly practicing users (nearly a third of the earth’s population), is the simply set-up so as to I’ll cite in this position in support of moments-sake. Given its sheer size, the force it has made on families, contacts, businesses, and humanity procedures, I felt as though I might be negligent lacking a cite of Facebook somewhere!

It’s amazing to imagine could you repeat that? The humanity might be like if Facebook had in no way captured the hearts and minds of so many frequent the way it did. One of my favorite Facebook moments, in noteworthy, is all through an before time 2004 interview on CNBC with commemorate Zuckerberg:

The announcer asks: “Now there’s a new-fangled form of cyber match-making, college networking websites. Is this perhaps the after that large mechanism? The Facebook. Commemorate, if someone was to deposit the question to you almost the magnitude of could you repeat that? You’ve launched; how large act you think your upshot or service is?”

We all know the put your feet up!

A petite six years bearing in mind this interview (2010), Zuckerberg would set out on to befall Time’s Person of the Year along with many other accolades along the way. Facebook has untouched the way we network and communicate on all levels and simply instant will tell if any more set-up will come up to along and take its place in social media history.

9. Miracle on the Hudson

It was January 15, 2009 whilst U.S. Airways Flight 1549 took inedible from LaGuardia Airport in New York and struck a flight of birds on the way up. Moments soon, both engines were lost and Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, along with his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, were asked to injure inedible the miraculous landing.

When the level to conclude landed safely in the frigid Hudson River waters, all 155 passengers on board were safe. The “Miracle on the Hudson” has been called the on the whole thriving ditching in aviation history.

But something as well happened so as to day… Jeff Krums tweeted:

Http://twitpic.Com/135xa – There’s a level in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry leaving to pick up the frequent. Crazy.

— Janis Krums (@jkrums) January 15, 2009
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey told CNBC in 2013 how so as to untouched Twitter and the way frequent progress news.

It untouched everything. Suddenly the humanity bowed its attention as we were the source of news—and it wasn’t us, it was this person in the liner using the service, which is even more amazing.
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One small tweet began the Twitter revolution. Hundreds of millions of frequent at the moment favor to Twitter as a source of news, a place to build a following, a place to share your stories and relate with others.

Twitter is plus the platform so as to our co-founder, Joel Gascoigne, successfully built Buffer on back in 2010! This powerful minute in social media history has a special place in our hearts.

8. Going “Viral”

How many of you allow sat around with contacts or type and binge-watched several classic YouTube videos in a row? I know I allow!

What is at the moment single of the chief social media networks on the planet (more than 1.5 billion frequent log in each month), on track with a only some viral hits and began a trend so as to at present we might call, “going viral.” This launched YouTube into a massive entertainment nucleus – complete with television streaming, movies, composition videos, tutorials, celebrities, vloggers, and of route, viral videos.

Let’s take a look by the side of three before time videos so as to helped to mold the viral part of social media history:

Charlie Bit My Finger (Published: 5/22/2007 – 851,140,074 views)

“Chocolate Rain” (Published: 4/22/2007 – 113,787,749 views)

Numa Numa (Published: 12/11/2006 – 26,800,130 views)

Honorable Mention: “Lazy Sunday”

Modish December of 2005, the at the outset “viral video” appeared online under the surname “Lazy Sunday.” It was the second-ever SNL Digital Short aired and featured cast members, Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg. Following its growth on SNL, the cartridge appeared on YouTube and was viewed more than five million time until February 2006 whilst NBC Universal asked the position to remove it.

7. Ellen’s Selfie (and #NuggsForCarter)

Ellen DeGeneres’ selfie so as to took the social media humanity by storm is the personification of everything so as to is awe-inspiring almost social media.

First, it is the detail so as to this photo is in “selfie” form which has come up to to be a tack of how photos are taken and shared across social media platforms. Two, it shows precisely how light-hearted, yet powerful social media can be. A smiling crowd of beloved actors, actresses, and performers has the aptitude to handle the lives of the more than 3,400,000 frequent who retweeted it and the millions more so as to saying it. For more than three years, Ellen’s selfie held the title of the on the whole retweeted tweet of all instant.

That was until Nevada teenager transporter Wilkerson’s appeal in support of free of charge chicken nuggets from Wendy’s went viral.

The humanity watched as #NuggsForCarter swept Twitter like wildfire – eventually surface Ellen’s selfie as the on the whole retweeted tweet of all instant. And although the #NuggsForCarter tweet in no way quite reached 18 million, Wendy’s still awarded transporter free of charge nuggets in support of a time anyways. A win-win!

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Modish my experience, we as social media managers have a propensity to take social media very critically. But if we can become skilled at no matter which from Ellen’s selfie and #NuggsForCarter, it’s so as to social media is intended to be a fun and full of beans place in support of frequent to share stories, relate, and be themselves.

If you’d like to hear more almost the “Nuggs Guy” and how entrepreneurs and small businesses service social media, check not worth it episode #47 of The Science of Social Media anywhere we chat with Paul Jarvis.

6. NASA’s #YearInSpace

Named single of the on the whole influential social media campaigns of 2016 (and maybe of all time), NASA’s #AYearInSpace demonstrates the wildly powerful aptitude of social media to authenticate the individual condition.

What made the mission so unique is so as to NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly has an identical twin brother he was to be compared with (physically) leading his return in hopes to find out could you repeat that? Happens to the individual body bearing in mind long exposures in deep space.

Astronaut Kelly tweeted continuously using the hashtag #YearInSpace, which was followed carefully by millions of intrigued spectators. While sinking around in zip gravity on board the ISS, he even hosted an AMA session on Reddit!

This was a powerful minute in the social media history as we were able to experience deep space first-hand from the comfort of our own homes. People from all greater than the humanity chimed in using #YearInSpace to express their support, marvel in the wonder of the cosmos, and share an interconnectedness of individual bustle.

5. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a wonderful testament to the power of social media to turn into a charitable force on an imperative cause. Since 2014, largely due to social media, the ALS Association has raised more than $115 million in support of exploration towards Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

It drew the attention of hundreds of thousands of frequent, counting celebrities like President Obama, LeBron James, Lady Gaga, Sergey Brin, Sheryl Sandberg, and debt Gates. Within the at the outset 15 days of the campaign taking inedible, the ALS Association had expected $15 million in donations from 307,600 new-fangled, first-time donors.

What followed was an attractive study into viral content and how organizations might be able to recap this virality in the hope. And while nix definite conclusion was made from Facebook’s study and visualization, many attribute the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge achievement to earlier Boston College baseball player, Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 (helping to explain the concentration).

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Graph
The Ice Bucket Challenge can help to comport yourself as a show or draft in support of achieving viral achievement via social media. When TechCrunch author, Sarah Perez writes, “Simply ask the selfie generation to when again favor their cameras on themselves, but infuse so as to comport yourself with a elevated purpose” and you allow a recipe in support of achievement.

4. #BlackLivesMatter

Over the onwards several years, social media has befall an imperative consultation tool in support of biased groups and social travels to organize and take charge. One of individuals social travels, #BlackLivesMatter, has befall single of the chief in the social media history. Used more than 12 million time, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is the third most-used Twitter hashtag around a social cause.

Analysis of #BlackLivesMatter Hashtag
#BlackLivesMatter is an incredibly powerful instance of how a social media hashtag can stir up charge in the real humanity and be joined unequivocally to a major movement. The implications in support of something like this are colossal making an allowance for so as to we are all simply befitting more digitally connected by the sunlight hours.

A citation from Bijan Stephen in WIRED helps to sum it up entirely:

“In the 1960s, if you were a civil civil rights member of staff and you desirable to progress a little urgent news not worth it to the put your feet up of the humanity, you would likely head straight in support of a phone. If you’re a civil civil rights broadminded in 2015 and you need to progress a little news not worth it, your at the outset move is to wish a social media platform.”
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3. Arab Spring

I’ll in no way put behind you the digital marketing route I took in college so as to examined social media’s force on the Arab Spring. It was afterward, back in 2011 as a learner, so as to I realized the correct power and possibility implications of social media. Up until so as to meaning, I accepted wisdom social media was simply in support of sharing pictures with contacts and type!

There has since been a strong deliberate greater than the role and influence so as to social media played in the Arab Spring. Researchers by the side of the University of Washington examined more than three million tweets, gigabytes of YouTube content, and thousands of blog posts and found so as to social media played a central role in shaping biased debates in the Arab Spring.

Arab Spring Map Overview
“Our evidence suggests so as to social media voted for a cascade of messages almost autonomy and democracy across North Africa and the Middle East, and helped raise expectations in support of the achievement of biased uprising,” thought Philip Howard, project go in front and professor by the side of the University of Washington. “People who shared significance in democracy built extensive social networks and ordered biased charge. Social media became a disparaging part of the toolkit in support of greater autonomy.”

2. Community Support all through World Tragedies

Social media can mean the difference linking a only some minutes or even a only some seconds, and in out of the blue often-desperate situations, a only some seconds can mean the humanity.

Moments bearing in mind the tragic procedures in Brussels, contacts and type members bowed to Facebook and Twitter in support of in rank regarding a person they might allow celebrated to be involved.

Following the Boston long-drawn-out bombings, one-quarter of Americans looked to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites in support of in rank, according to The Pew Research Center. Boston similarity members open complete strangers a kindly bed, food, and a shower whilst roads and hotels were stopped (via a unpretentious Google Doc).

Boston long-drawn-out Google Doc
Social media plus provides essential consultation channels bearing in mind these tragic procedures. Thinking back to Paris in 2015, social media helped to break many frequent a feeling of comfort, of harmony, and of support knowing so as to they would not allow to aspect this single-handedly. It acted as a support order even though we were all thousands of miles apart.

1. Natural Disaster Relief

One of the biggest strengths of social media is the rapidity by the side of which it can publish imperative in rank to a big digit of frequent in a very petite amount of instant. For instance, bearing in mind a 7.0 earthquake gain Haiti in 2010, non-profits and relief groups used social media to organize rescue pains and support the similarity in various ways.

According to a CNN shot, social media – Twitter specifically – became a crucial tool in the fundraising pains so as to raised millions of dollars in aid in support of the motherland. By the finish off of the week, the service of social media helped to raise more than $8 million in relief.

Haiti Earthquake 2010
Photo: Yale Economic Review

Haiti is precisely single of many personal belongings anywhere social media played an integral role in catastrophe relief. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan (2011), Hurricane Irene (2011), Superstorm filthy (2012), and the earthquake in Nepal (2015) are examples of the power of second consultation. During filthy, 10,000 Instagram photos (#sandy) were uploaded for each succeeding, many complete with geo-tagged locations!

Social media provides real-time, first-person in rank so so as to frequent and organizations can turn into informed decisions almost anywhere to focus their pains. A disparaging sample in ensuring so as to relief is provided anywhere and whilst it is desirable on the whole.

Over to you
It’s quite unkind to comprehend so as to social media is simply 20 years babyish and so as to the majority of growth and innovation has happened greater than the keep up only some years. It’s even harder to believe so as to we’ve likely simply precisely begun! When the humanity population continues to escalation, communities befall more connected, and the internet becomes existing in support of more and more cities around the humanity, we will undoubtedly witness a deeper integration of social media into our everyday lives.

This register doesn’t even start in on to cover the hundreds of amazing moments the whole time social media history. And so it’s up to all of us to celebrate its assured force on our lives when we can. Let’s promote both other to not take this incredible tool in support of granted!

Here’s to 20 more years of powerful, wonderful, and world-changing social media history (and clear of!)

Feeling inspired? We’d love in support of you to share your story!
How has social media positively impacted you? On June 30th (#SMDay) and the whole time the put your feet up of 2017, share your social media story with us using the hashtag #impactofsocial! We’ll be retweeting a little of our favorites and alternative a only some winners to receive a little special Buffer swag.