Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Major Milestones in the Evolution of Virtual Communities
The following timeline of "significant developments in the evolution of virtual communities" is based on Karyn Y. Lu's article "Virtual identity and virtual community".
1975: Electronic mail and mailing list
According to Keith Lynch's timeline of net related terms and concepts, the first mailing list was the MSGGROUP for those on ARPANET. However, Lu does not identify the MSGGROUP as the first virtual community. Instead, she gives that honor to the ARPANET mailing list SF-LOVERS, which Lu says was created in 1978; however, Lynch gives SF-LOVERS a 1979 launching. Regardless of which was truly the first virtual community and what is the correct date of the creation of SF-LOVERS, there appears to be general agreement that the first virtual communities were mailing lists on ARPANET, which included
HUMAN-NETS, NETWORK-HACKERS, SF-LOVERS, and WINE-TASTERS.
1978: Bulletin Board System (BBS)
The first BBS was created in 1978 and was called the Computerized Bulletin Board System.
1978: Multi-User Domain/Dungeon (MUDs)
A MUD is a multi-player computer game. According to www.livinginternet.com, the first MUD was created in 1978. However, Wikipedia claims the first MUD was created in 1977. Lu's timeline lists the beginning of MUDs as 1979.
1979: Usenet
Usenet is a "distributed Internet discussion system" that was conceived in 1979 and implemented the following year.
1986: ListServ
ListServ is an automatic mailing list server/system, which was developed in 1986 for BITNET.
1988: Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
An IRC is where people can get together on the Internet to have an online text conversation in real-time. The first IRC was created in 1998 in Finland as an alternative to a BBS.
1989: America On-Line (AOL)
In 1989 the Bulletin Board System company Quantum Computer Services changed its name to America On-line. The company's aggressive marketing strategy has greatly increased the number of people online and as members of online communities.
1991: Webcam
The Trojan Room coffee shop was the first online group to use a Webcam to send a live image.
1993: Doom
In 1993, Doom introduced the world to networked multiplayer gaming.
1994: ThePalace.com
An avatar is an image or graphical representation of a person online. According to Lu, when ThePalace chat software was created in 1994, it became the first site in cyberspace to create an avatar world. However, Wikipedia does not seem to support that view. Regardless of when avatars were created, they have become commonplace in online communities.
1995: Wiki sites
In 1995, WikiWikiWeb became the first wiki site. In a wiki, anyone can change or create new pages.
1996: Instant Messaging
The use of instant messaging exploded after November 1996 when Mirablis introduced ICQ, a free instant-messaging utility that anyone could use.
1999: Live Journal
Live Journal, which was created in 1999, is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a diary, journal, or blog. What made Live Journal stand out was its friends list.
1999: EverQuest and Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)
EverQuest was not the first MMORPG; however, its fancy graphics and "sheer scale ... was just something else." According to wikipedia, an MMORPG is "an online computer role-playing game in which a large number of players can interact together or against another in the same game at the same time."
1999: Napster
The original Napster was released in June 1999, and it was the first first peer-to-peer music sharing service. At that time it allowed community members to trade MP3 files free of charge.
2003: Friendster
Friendster is a free online community that is a social networking site. Although it was not the first social networking site, it was the first to be "based on the Circle of Friends technique for networking individuals in virtual communities and demonstrates the small world phenomenon" (Wikipedia).
According to Keith Lynch's timeline of net related terms and concepts, the first mailing list was the MSGGROUP for those on ARPANET. However, Lu does not identify the MSGGROUP as the first virtual community. Instead, she gives that honor to the ARPANET mailing list SF-LOVERS, which Lu says was created in 1978; however, Lynch gives SF-LOVERS a 1979 launching. Regardless of which was truly the first virtual community and what is the correct date of the creation of SF-LOVERS, there appears to be general agreement that the first virtual communities were mailing lists on ARPANET, which included
HUMAN-NETS, NETWORK-HACKERS, SF-LOVERS, and WINE-TASTERS.
The first BBS was created in 1978 and was called the Computerized Bulletin Board System.
A MUD is a multi-player computer game. According to www.livinginternet.com, the first MUD was created in 1978. However, Wikipedia claims the first MUD was created in 1977. Lu's timeline lists the beginning of MUDs as 1979.
Usenet is a "distributed Internet discussion system" that was conceived in 1979 and implemented the following year.
ListServ is an automatic mailing list server/system, which was developed in 1986 for BITNET.
An IRC is where people can get together on the Internet to have an online text conversation in real-time. The first IRC was created in 1998 in Finland as an alternative to a BBS.
In 1989 the Bulletin Board System company Quantum Computer Services changed its name to America On-line. The company's aggressive marketing strategy has greatly increased the number of people online and as members of online communities.
The Trojan Room coffee shop was the first online group to use a Webcam to send a live image.
In 1993, Doom introduced the world to networked multiplayer gaming.
An avatar is an image or graphical representation of a person online. According to Lu, when ThePalace chat software was created in 1994, it became the first site in cyberspace to create an avatar world. However, Wikipedia does not seem to support that view. Regardless of when avatars were created, they have become commonplace in online communities.
In 1995, WikiWikiWeb became the first wiki site. In a wiki, anyone can change or create new pages.
The use of instant messaging exploded after November 1996 when Mirablis introduced ICQ, a free instant-messaging utility that anyone could use.
Live Journal, which was created in 1999, is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a diary, journal, or blog. What made Live Journal stand out was its friends list.
EverQuest was not the first MMORPG; however, its fancy graphics and "sheer scale ... was just something else." According to wikipedia, an MMORPG is "an online computer role-playing game in which a large number of players can interact together or against another in the same game at the same time."
The original Napster was released in June 1999, and it was the first first peer-to-peer music sharing service. At that time it allowed community members to trade MP3 files free of charge.
Friendster is a free online community that is a social networking site. Although it was not the first social networking site, it was the first to be "based on the Circle of Friends technique for networking individuals in virtual communities and demonstrates the small world phenomenon" (Wikipedia).
