Innovations that Shaped Social Collaboration
A Marketing article written by Elle Meech
Most people will be more than familiar with social technology and sharing online with friends, family and colleagues. Facebook, Twitter and LlinkedIn allow anyone online to share and collaborate, however, this is not where it began.
Social collaboration is not only for everyday life and interaction with our peers, it is fundamentally changing the way in which businesses operate. Social media campaigns, sharing blogs on Twitter or connecting on LinkedIn are a vital part of a lot of businesses.
So, where did social collaboration begin? HighQ has devised an infographic charting the rise of such innovations over the last 40 years. Here is a brief overview:
Let's Connect
1969 saw the first ‘hello world’ print across terminals connected across data networks. 1979 saw the rise of the bulletin board in the form of Usenet allowing discussion and sharing of articles amongst users.
Online Communication
1991 is where the modern era of the Internet began with one of the most important ‘go lives’ of the 20th century, the World Wide Web. 1995 paved the way for global corporations to take over with the use of email that single handedly reshaped businesses into what we see today.
1996 - instant messenger ICQ launched and is seen as the grandfather of gtalk and msn. One of the most widely used communication platforms used today was created in 1997 when Six Degrees allowed you to create a profile and connect with friends.
Music P2P Sharing
1999 - Napster changes the way we obtain music with illegal sharing taking off and shaping the future of the music industry.
Dot Com Crash and the Rise of Free Information
2000s - stock markets can’t take the strain off increasing dot com companies going bust. Wikipedia is created in 2001 – what would we have done if that hadn’t happened?
The Reinvention of Social Networking
2002 - Myspace burst onto the scene paving the way for selfies and over-sharing with friends. 2003 saw LinkedIn arrive as a way for businesses and individuals to begin connecting and collaborating. Viral videos burst onto the scene in 2005 with the arrival of YouTube. Without it would ‘the Biebs’ have been discovered? We’ll leave that one alone. The celebrity world was cracked wide open in 2006 with the creation of Twitter.
Modern Technology Glued itself to our Hands
The Apple iPhone started the war that would rage on for years with the first Smartphone in 2007. Cloud software changed the face of business in 2008 allowing SaaS companies to explode onto the scene. In 2010 Apple started a new tablet war to rival the 2007 war of the Smartphones with its iPad.
Where is all this Heading?
According to the inforgraphic, more than $1.3 trillion in annual value is sitting in social technology with 25% of improvement and productivity still to be unlocked. 90% of companies benefit from social technology - are you one of them? We are.
