March 27, 2009 - 2:51pm

Making virtual friends: The evolution of social networking

Social networking is not a new concept; the practice has been around forever. But up until a few years ago, it required face-to-face contact - go where other people are. Talk to those people. Establish relationships.

Then came the computer and everything changed. Not only did the basic concept of social networking revolutionize, but it also began to evolve at breakneck speed.

Welcome the bulletin board
The earliest form of online social networking was arguably the bulletin board. These were hobbyist-run online worlds where geeks like me logged in with 1,200 baud modems over telephone lines. Bulletin boards were entirely text-based, and allowed file sharing and simple communication through user forums similar to what we have today.

There were no formal friend lists, no profiles, no walls to write on. But the fact long-distance rates applied meant these early online destinations were usually locals-only affairs, which often led to real-life meetings between members. The online social network found its way into the real world.

Intro to AOL and Email . . .
Soon after came Compuserve and America Online (AOL). These subscription services were the consumer precursors of the Internet, and each of them brought new ways of communicating. Compuserve introduced the public-at-large to email and message forums, while AOL pioneered the concept of "personal profiles" long before MySpace or Facebook ever existed.

Birth of the Internet
Then came the Internet, and a slew of social networking sites followed.

First was Classmates.com in 1995, which allowed you to connect with old classmates all around the world. Next was Six Degrees of Separation in 1997, followed by Circle of Friends in 1999, and Friendster in 2002.