1601.20 END OF THE BIRTH OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Many years ago when few were on the internet and it ran at a snails pace (remember 56K modems?) there came about a website that offered to put us in touch with old friends from our school days or even those friends we just lost touch with. There was of course a cost, they charged a subscription to communicate with our lost friends (it was free to put your details on).

Then came Facebook. Same sort of thing but free. Facebook also let you share information with your current friends too. Did I mention it was free? Friends Reunited eventually stopped charging but by then I think it was too late.

Today I got an email stating they were closing down, I'd all but forgotten about them let alone that I still had an account with them. I've probably still got an account with MySpace too (I have, I just checked). I don't think I'm about to lose any sleep about the passing but it is worthwhile remembering one of the early pioneering web services and social network before the term had even been coined.