Let’s talk about 12 old social media apps and websites that make us nostalgic because they are officially closed or forgotten.
Although social media looks like a daily thing nowadays, there are apps that are supposed to come and go after some time. We have to bid them farewell after some time. For instance Sixdegrees was the first social media app but nobody knows it today. There was a time when youngsters were obsessed with using Facebook. But stats tell that now they don’t pay much attention to Facebook for entertainment purposes. TikTok and Instagram have taken an edge over Facebook when it comes to watching entertainment content. This blog is about those old social media apps.
It was reported in July 2023 that over 1.29 billion people go to Facebook every month. Even though that’s a lot of people, it’s not very good because young people are using other websites instead. Facebook has dominated the social media industry for many years, while numerous other old social media apps and sites have come and gone but now other platforms have taken the edge over it when it comes for people to watch entertainment stuff.
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Below we have listed the top 12 old social media apps we forgot about today based on the populatiry they had.
BBM means BlackBerry Messenger. The first one in our list of old popular social media apps, BBM started in 2005 and had 43 million users around the world. It allowed people to video call and message each other. You could update your profile picture using a special code. At first, BBM was only for BlackBerry phones, but in 2013, it became available on iPhones and Android phones too.
It began to lose users after it was downloaded over 100 million times on various platforms. This happened because BBM couldn’t keep up with the technology at that time and faced competition from other messaging apps. The company in charge of BBM, Creative Media Works (CMW), announced that BBM was closing down because of these difficulties, and it officially ended on May 31, 2019.
One of the best old social media sites 2000s, Bebo was a popular American site that started in 2005. It was very popular with young people in the early 2000s. It was a great way to stay in touch with friends and people all over the world. You could make a profile, upload pictures and videos, and share information about yourself. You could also follow news about many different topics.
In 2013, Bebo went bankrupt. Despite its skins and quizzes, Bebo struggled as it was seen as less mature compared to its rivals. In an attempt to revitalize Bebo, the site was temporarily taken offline to undergo changes. The goal was to relaunch with a fresh approach to compete with giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It never fully revived though. As of 2023, Bebo.com now redirects to Poply, an online invitation tool. While it’s nostalgic to remember Bebo’s early days, the reality is that it was one of those old social media apps that couldn’t compete with today’s platforms.
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Tumblr, an extremely popular social media platform, was launched in 2007. Users could post text-based or visual content and interact with others. They also had the option to customize the design of their blog to fit their preferences. At its peak in 2014, Tumblr had over 100 million active users, who used the platform to share text, images, videos, and GIFs. It was particularly popular among young users and celebrities due to its unfiltered, creative atmosphere, and it provided a unique space for self-expression and diverse communities.
After being bought by Yahoo in 2013, Tumblr’s situation got worse when Yahoo couldn’t make enough money and sold it to Verizon in 2017. Even with Verizon, Tumblr couldn’t keep up with newer apps like TikTok and started losing users. In 2018, Tumblr banned adult content, which upset many people because they thought it went against what Tumblr was all about. Now, Tumblr is still around, but it’s not doing well financially and is facing problems with the stuff people post and privacy. Even though people have good memories of Tumblr, not as many people use it now and there are still problems.
GeoCities was a web hosting service founded in 1994. It allowed users to create pages or “Cities” for specific communities. By 1996, GeoCities had up to 29 neighborhoods covering various topics like conspiracy theories and pet lovers. It was a centralized area for people to interact and share information, similar to BBS but with a more targeted approach.
Around 2001, new websites like Blogger and WordPress began offering easier ways to make websites. Also, social media sites like MySpace and Facebook became very popular, and people stopped making their own personal websites. GeoCities couldn’t keep up with these changes on the internet. It was bought by Yahoo for a lot of money, but then it lost its importance. Even though it became less popular, GeoCities was still used in Japan. In 2009, Yahoo said it would close GeoCities, except for the version used in Japan. GeoCities Japan stayed open until 2019, when it finally closed for good.
In 2012, Vine was created as a platform for sharing and watching 6-second videos that played on a loop. Users could follow other creators, like videos, and use hashtags. Every month, 100 million people actively use the app. However, creators found it hard to earn money from their videos because of difficulties with making profits. As a result, many creators switched to YouTube and Instagram for better money-making options.
The platform was closed for a few reasons. Firstly, because it faced competition from other social media sites. Secondly, it didn’t properly support its popular users. Twitter, which owned Vine, had its own money and leadership problems at that time. The lack of support and clear direction from Twitter made it hard for Vine to come up with new ideas and compete well. As a result, Vine couldn’t keep its users or get new popular users, so it had to close down.
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There was a messaging app called ICQ that had a bright and fun look. It allowed users to talk to your friends all the time, which made many parents unhappy. It started in 1996 and was one of the first messaging and old social media apps to have things like group chats and messages that you could read later. AOL bought it in 1998, and then it got really popular.
ICQ used to be a popular messaging app, but it couldn’t keep up with newer apps on phones. It was sold to a Russian company in 2010, but then it became less popular as time passed. Even though it briefly became more popular again in 2021, its mobile apps were stopped in 2022, and the whole platform was shut down on June 26, 2024. This was the end of a big part of the history of talking to people online.
If you want to know what was before facebook that helped people talk to each other online, it’s MSN. In 1999, MSN Messenger, which later became Windows Live Messenger, started. Many people used it to talk to their friends and family with messages, calls, and games. Before Snapchat, MSN Messenger was a fast way to chat when email was too slow. You could also choose who could see if you were online.
The platform was stopped in 2013 and Skype took its place as Microsoft’s instant message communication platform. In 2009, it had about 330 million active users worldwide, but it became less popular as smartphones and social networks became more popular. Facing tough competition and a changing digital world, Microsoft decided to retire MSN Messenger. It officially shut down on October 31, 2014, as users switched to Skype, another service owned by Microsoft. The story of MSN Messenger shows how quickly popular services can be replaced due to the fast evolution of technology.
Back in 1998, Yahoo made a messaging app called Messenger. It got really popular in the early 2000s. With this app, people could chat, talk on the phone, and have video calls using a Yahoo ID. It worked on computers, phones, and also on Yahoo Mail. People could send files, pictures, GIFs, and more with it.
2016 was the year when Yahoo announced its shut down. There were very few people using Yahoo Messenger because there were other and better mobile messaging apps out there. Although Yahoo offered features like video calls and file sharing, it couldn’t keep up with newer technology and competition. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp gained more users and they were offering people the same things. Before deciding to shut down in 2015, Yahoo attempted to revamp the app, but was unsuccessful. In 2018, Yahoo permanently closed Messenger.
You can think of Friendster as the LinkedIn of the past. It was a good social media platform just like Myspace and Facebook. But unlike these two, it was also used professionally. Not only web chat, it offered its users options to share media files which was pretty helpful in offices. It also lets people talk to each other online like Yahoo messenger. Users could also comment on media files shared.
Entering the mid-2000s, it started becoming less popular. MySpace and Facebook were introduced and they both outshined Friendster. Facebook introduced the news feed and MySpace focused on user profiles and customization. Friendster did nothing and more people switched to Facebook for its easier social interaction, as a result. In June 2015, Friendster closed its doors and MySpace also couldn’t keep up and eventually shut down most of its original functions.
Myspace started in 2003 and was one of the first big websites where people could connect with each other. It became really popular by 2006. Users could make their pages look different and talk to each other and share music. What made Myspace special was that it let people make their own page with pictures and writing. Musicians could make pages for their bands with 4 songs people could listen to. Myspace was where many famous musicians started out.
Myspace was created for musicians and regular users, but it had several problems. The site was hard to use, had many ads, and raised safety concerns about registered sex offenders. When Facebook launched with a simpler design, it quickly became more popular. Myspace tried to make changes and focus on music, but it couldn’t keep up with newer platforms like Twitter. In 2019, a server error caused the loss of years of content, leading to its decline. Although Myspace still exists, it has lost most of its users and is no longer a major player in the market.
Check: Why is Social Media Bad for Kids? – Teens and Social Media
The second last one in our list of old social apps, Google Plus was launched in 2011 as a social network to compete with other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Users could make profiles, connect with friends, and share content such as photos, videos, and status updates. One of its key features was Circles, allowing users to organize contacts into groups and share posts with specific audiences.
Google+ didn’t achieve the same success as its rivals, and it was discontinued in 2019. It faced tough competition in the crowded social media landscape and struggled to provide anything unique enough to attract users. Google also made it integrate with its other services, which frustrated many people. Eventually, its shutdown five years ago was due to low engagement and poor decisions.
The last one in our list of old social media sites. So why we have stated Facebook? Because more and more young people are using apps like TikTok and Instagram. They find them more fun and interesting. This change is making some people think that Facebook is not as popular anymore. Also, companies that sell things are starting to use TikTok and Instagram to advertise because they know that these apps are owned by the same company that owns Facebook.
Facebook has faced privacy issues, such as the Cambridge Analytica case, where user data was misused for politics. People worry about their safety using the platform. Facebook also spreads fake news, hate speech, and misinformation. Although the company has tried to fix these issues, many users feel that Facebook isn’t doing enough to control harmful content. Even though it has a lot of strings attached to it, there were people who didn’t know social media before Facebook. Means it was the pioneer of social media for people globally and that’s why there’s no sign of it disappearing anytime soon.
Read: The Best Time to Post on Facebook in 2024 (Guaranteed Results)
So, now you know a couple of famous and old social media apps we forgot about today. Social media attracted youngsters in the past. Now we see people of all ages and backgrounds using social media apps. Some websites and apps stay, while others disappear. Even though these old social media apps are not popular anymore, they were important in shaping how we communicate today and we feel nostalgia today whenever we see them anywhere online. It’s interesting to think about the apps we used to use and like, as new ones replace them.
Hi, I'm Aaqil Abdul Rehman, one of the key individuals behind the success of First Growth Agency. With a spirited blend of marketing savvy and a dash of technical genius, I've dedicated myself to catapulting brands into the spotlight where they belong.
- Aaqil
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