SNAPCHAT
Snapchat is a social media platform founded by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown as Stanford University students. First released as “Picaboo” in 2011, the app was later rebranded as “Snapchat”.
Snapchat’s original feature was the short-term disappearance of sent photos and videos. Users could have the content they sent automatically deleted after a certain period of time. This feature encouraged users to share more spontaneous and natural content.
Snapchat initially gained popularity, especially among teens and young adults. The app allowed users to send each other photos and videos called “Snaps” and provide options to customize this content. Users could personalize their content by adding text, illustrations, and filters.
With the rapid growth and popularity of Snapchat, the app has constantly added new features. These included story sharing, filters, geo-tags, live streams and stickers. These features allowed users to make their content even more enjoyable and increase engagement.
Snapchat was acquired by Snap Inc in 2017. became a publicly traded company. The company has continued to continuously add new features to the app since then and has expanded its user base. It also made it possible to share photos and videos over glasses by launching its smart glasses called Spectacles.
Today, Snapchat remains popular as a social media platform with millions of users around the world. The app is particularly popular among young people, with features such as advanced storytelling, AR (augmented reality) features, and interactive filters.
Facebook is a social media platform founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes as Harvard University students in 2004. Originally called “TheFacebook”, the platform started as a social network among students at Harvard.
TheFacebook quickly gained popularity as a platform that allows users to create their profiles, connect and communicate with other users. Initially open only to Harvard students, the platform was soon expanded to other universities and colleges.
In 2005, the name of the company was changed to “Facebook”, and at the end of the same year Facebook was made accessible to all university students in general. Then, high school students and then everyone had the opportunity to join the platform.
Facebook’s user base continued to grow rapidly, and in 2006 Facebook was made open for anyone to join the platform. In addition, features that allow users to share photos and videos, make wall posts and text messages have been added.
In 2007, Facebook announced a developer platform called “Facebook Platform”. This allowed third-party app developers to create apps on Facebook and make them available to users. This move has contributed to Facebook’s greater engagement and growth and the expansion of the platform.
Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, a major milestone. Along with the popularity of Instagram, Facebook incorporated this platform, which offers image sharing and filtering features.
In 2014, Facebook continued to grow rapidly by acquiring another popular messaging app, WhatsApp. As part of the Facebook family, WhatsApp provided users with instant messaging, voice and video calling.
Facebook introduced the live broadcasting feature called Facebook Live in 2016, giving users the opportunity to share real-time videos. In addition, a shopping platform called Facebook Marketplace was added, giving users the opportunity to buy and sell products.
Today, Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms with billions of users worldwide.
Instagram is a social media platform founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. It was originally designed only as a mobile application that facilitates photo sharing.
Instagram offered a simple interface that allowed users to take photos, apply filters, crop and share them on social networks. These features allowed users to make photos more attractive and shareable.
In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for about $1 billion. This acquisition enabled Instagram to grow rapidly and expand its user base. Also, Facebook’s infrastructure and resources have allowed Instagram to add more features and evolve.
Instagram introduced the “Video Sharing” feature in 2013. With this feature, users can capture, edit and share 15-second videos. The video feature allowed Instagram to increase its content variety and attract more users.
In 2016, Instagram introduced the “Stories” feature. This feature gave users the ability to temporarily share photos and videos. Stories were automatically deleted after 24 hours, while users could use text, stickers and filters on them. This feature was similar to Snapchat’s popular story feature.
Instagram announced the “IGTV” feature in 2018. This feature allowed users to share long vertical videos. IGTV has given users and brands who usually produce creative content the opportunity to create and share more video content.
Instagram introduced a feature called “Reels” in 2020. Reels allows users to shoot, edit and share short 15-second videos. Reels offered an experience similar to TikTok, one of the popular video sharing apps, enabling Instagram users to create more creative content.
Today, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms with billions of users worldwide.
TWİTTER
Twitter is a social media and microblogging platform founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Noah Glass. Originally called “twttr”, the platform was later rebranded as “Twitter”.
Twitter allowed users to share 140-character text messages, or “tweets”. Users can share their ideas, thoughts, links and other content via tweets. These text messages can be followed, liked and shared by other users.
Twitter gained huge popularity at the SXSW Interactive conference in 2007. This event allowed Twitter to grow rapidly and increase its user base. Users started using Twitter to follow updates, interact and share news quickly in real time.
Twitter introduced the “Retweet” feature in 2009. With this feature, users could automatically share another user’s tweet to their followers. The retweet feature allowed the content to spread quickly and increased interaction among users.
In 2013, Twitter acquired a video sharing platform called “Vine”. Vine allowed users to create and share 6-second looping videos. However, Vine was shut down in 2016.
In 2015, Twitter acquired a live streaming app called “Periscope”. Periscope allowed users to stream and watch videos in real time. This feature allowed users to share events, news and other content live.
Twitter increased the tweet character limit from 140 characters to 280 characters in 2017. This change allowed users to write longer and more detailed tweets.
Twitter introduced the temporary story feature called “Fleets” in 2020. Fleets gave users the ability to post tweets that can be viewed 24 hours a day.
Today, Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms with billions of users worldwide. Users follow the news and share their ideas through tweets.
TİKTOK
TikTok is a social media platform launched by China-based company ByteDance in 2016. Originally called “Douyin”, the app was a video sharing platform only available in the Chinese market.
Douyin allowed users to shoot and share short 15-second videos. The videos often included music, dance, comedy and other entertainment formats. Users could edit and share their videos by adding filters, effects and music.
In 2017, ByteDance created the international version of Douyin and renamed it TikTok in order to grow in the international market. TikTok quickly started gaining popularity in other countries and expanded its user base.
TikTok acquired Musical.ly, a popular American music app, in 2018. This acquisition helped TikTok grow its user base and gain popularity in the United States and other countries.
TikTok has given users the ability to edit and customize their videos by offering creative tools, effects, filters and a music library. Also, users can share their own videos on other social media platforms.
TikTok gained immense popularity especially among young people during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Users spent their time at home by creating and sharing fun videos. At the same time, viral dances, challenges and funny content have become popular on TikTok.
TikTok has made a huge impact, especially in the music industry. Users have created videos using TikTok’s music library to accompany popular songs. This increased the popularity of some songs and began to set trends in the music industry.
Today, TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms with billions of users worldwide and a wide variety of creative content. Users have the opportunity to shoot, share, explore and interact with short videos through TikTok.
WhatsApp is an instant messaging application founded in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton. First released for the iPhone, the app allowed users to make text messages, video and voice calls.
WhatsApp quickly gained popularity with its simple use and free messaging feature. Users were able to message, share photos, videos, voice messages and documents over an internet connection. This made it easier for users to communicate and replaced traditional SMS messaging.
WhatsApp expanded to the Android platform in 2011 and quickly spread among Android users as well. In the same year, WhatsApp introduced an annual fee of $0.99 per user, but remained free in many countries.
In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for approximately $19 billion. The acquisition helped WhatsApp grow further and expand its user base. Facebook retained WhatsApp as an independent brand and continued to develop the app.
WhatsApp introduced the voice calling feature in 2015. With this feature, users have the opportunity to make free voice calls over the internet connection.
In 2016, WhatsApp introduced end-to-end encryption to increase user privacy. This feature ensured that users’ messages could only be read by the sender and receiver, and prevented access by third parties.
WhatsApp introduced the group calls feature in 2018. Users can now hold audio and video conferences between groups.
In 2021, WhatsApp announced that it would make an update to its privacy policies. This update included sharing user data with Facebook. However, the update caused users’ privacy concerns and many users switched to other messaging apps.
Today, WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging apps with billions of users worldwide. Users can enjoy messaging, making calls, sharing photos and videos, creating group chats, and more.
PİNTEREST
Pinterest is a visual discovery and sharing platform founded in 2010 by Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp, and Paul Sciarra. Originally designed as an idea board, Pinterest allowed users to discover and share images based on their interests.
Pinterest offered users the ability to organize and share visual content in “boards” in various categories. Users can select images from different sources on the internet, save them on their boards and share them with other users.
In 2011, Pinterest had a rapidly growing user base. People started using Pinterest for inspiration and ideas on fashion, home decor, travel, recipes, art, technology and more.
In 2012, Pinterest introduced the “Pin It” button. This button allowed users to save images directly to their boards from any website on the internet. This made it easier for Pinterest to share content and increased user engagement.
In 2013, Pinterest began offering special accounts called “Business Accounts” for brands and businesses. These accounts allowed businesses to promote their products and services on Pinterest and interact with users.
In 2015, Pinterest introduced the “Buyable Pins” feature. With this feature, users had the opportunity to directly purchase products on Pinterest. This turned Pinterest into an e-commerce platform and gave users the convenience of shopping.
Pinterest announced an image recognition feature called “Lens” in 2016. With this feature, users can scan real-world objects using the camera and discover related images on Pinterest.
Today, Pinterest is one of the most popular visual discovery and sharing platforms with billions of users. Users use Pinterest to explore ideas, get inspiration, plan their projects, and share images of their interests.
