Οld internet museum 2000-2004

Old Internet Museum · fan-made educational recreation2000–2012 · before the endless feed

Part I · The social web is born

OLD INTERNET MUSEUM

Walk through the social web before likes, shares, views and algorithmic feeds became the center of everything.

2000–20042005–20082009–2012

2000–2004: the internet started becoming social. The key idea was simple: find a person, open their profile or chat window, and communicate directly.

20002001200220032004

MSN Messenger

1999–2013

Instant messaging, contact lists, custom status messages and the legendary nudge.

Communication was direct: you opened a conversation with a person, not a feed.

Yahoo! Messenger

1998–2018

Chats, status, webcam culture, emoticons and chat rooms.

A major part of early online social life before modern social apps.

Friendster

2002–2015

One of the first major social networks built around profiles and real-world friend connections.

Helped establish the idea of an online social graph.

MySpace

2003–

Profiles became personal pages with music, HTML styling and Top Friends.

A profile could look completely different from everyone else's.

hi5

2003–

Profiles, friends, scraps, photos, gifts and Fives.

You visited people directly instead of scrolling one universal feed.

Orkut

2004–2014

Scrapbook, testimonials and communities; especially influential in Brazil and India.

Community identity was often as important as individual posting.

What defined the first social web?

PERSON
Choose who you want to talk to

→

PROFILE / CHAT
Go directly to that person's space

← Part IIIContinue to 2005–2008 →

Historical fan recreation for education and nostalgia. Brand names belong to their respective owners.

Exhibit