studiVZ and more
Who else knows these social media platforms?
Long forgotten? Some of the first social networks on the Internet are still online.
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studiVZ ushered in the age of social networks for people in Germany. These are the pioneers of Instagram and Co.
Being a member of popular social media is a must for many today. But long before TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Co., there were platforms on the web that had exactly the same aim: to attract users to the site and enable them to share unique content. Some of the first social media platforms are still online today, even if they can hardly see any users. You should know these precursors of today’s social media channels.
Six Degrees
One of the very first social networks was Six Degrees, launched in 1997. It owes its name to the so-called small world phenomenon. The concept goes back to the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy (1887-1938) and states that every person in the world knows everyone else at most six corners. In 2001, the site went offline for a while, and the comeback followed in 2010. Since then, Six Degrees has been online again90s look included.
Jappy
The first social network launched in Germany is still online. Jappy was founded in 2001 as a flirt portal under the name Singletreffen.net, before it was given a new name and look in 2002: The flirt function was retained, but the name changed to Jappy. Under this title is the first social network in Germany online until todayIt is not known how many users are still active, in 2019 the company spoke of around a quarter of a million users.
MySpace
MySpace was the first “real” social media experience for many people. The network recorded up to a quarter of a million new users every day at peak times. In 2006, MySpace broke the 100 million user mark, becoming the first major social media player. But then came Facebook: as early as 2008, the Zuckerberg network overtook MySpace, which only knew how to help itself with more and more advertising. MySpace is still online todaybut only about seven million people used the site in 2019.
Localists and StudiVZ
In the 2000s there was still room for regional offers: In Germany, the two networks Lokalisten (2005) and studiVZ (2007) were launched. Localists targeted the broad masses of the population city by city, while pupils and students were the target group of schulerVZ and StudiVZ. Because the design of studiVZ was strongly reminiscent of the beginnings of Facebook, a lawsuit was filed and an out-of-court settlement was subsequently reached. StudiVZ was able to last until 2016. At its peak, the network had 17 million active users. Standing up to the competition with the offshoots SchülerVZ and MeinVZ did not work: In September 2017, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Vine
Twitter launched the short video platform Vine in 2013 and attracted more than 200 million active users by 2015. One of the most famous is Brittany Furlan (35), who was simply known as the “Vine Girl” for years. Her comedy videos have garnered billions of clicks over the years. In 2016, Tommy Lee’s (59) wife left the platform despite her ten million followers, anticipating the decline of Vine. Operations ceased just a year later. From 2017, Twitter offered the Vine content in an archive, but this service also went offline in 2019.