History of the Social Media Industry
The evolution of popular social media companies over the last decade.
Assembled by the team at [MediaFunnel](http://mediafunnel.com). Sign up for a [free trial](http://mediafunnel.com/pricing-plans/) of our social media management system. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Use MediaFunnel to:;xNLx;;xNLx;• Connect multiple users to multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts without sharing credentials. ;xNLx;• Prevent potentially harmful content from being published. ;xNLx;• Spread out your content for maximum exposure. ;xNLx;• Monitor your brand, engage your audience and support your customers.;xNLx;;xNLx;
2002-01-01 16:33:59
Tumblr
Founded by David Karp.
2002-12-17 16:47:34
linkedin
Founded by Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Lee Hower, Konstantin Guericke, Stephen Beitzel, David Eves, Ian McNish, Yan Pujante, Chris Saccheri.
2003-05-05 02:40:32
LinkedIn
Launched.
2004-02-01 00:24:40
Facebook
Founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin.
2004-02-01 00:24:40
Facebook
Thefacebook launched.
2004-02-01 06:16:37
Flickr
Launched.
2004-02-07 11:37:26
Flickr
Founded by Ludicorp, a Vancouver-based company founded by Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake.
2004-07-01 05:24:40
yelp
Receives $1 million investment from Max Levchin.
2004-08-06 17:10:48
facebook
Peter Thiel makes a $500,000 angel investment for 10.2% of the company. He now owns 4%.
2004-10-01 05:24:40
Yelp
Founded by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons.
2004-10-01 05:24:40
yelp
Launched.
2005-03-01 09:58:54
FLIckr
Yahoo! acquires Flickr.
2005-10-01 08:49:24
yelp
Bessemer Venture Partners invests $5 million.
2006-03-12 09:15:17
Twitter
Founded by Jack Dorsey.
2006-04-01 08:11:55
facebook
Interpublic Group pays $5 million for a share in Facebook. It now owns 0.5% of the company.
2006-07-09 09:15:17
Twitter
Launched.
2006-10-01 16:18:36
Yelp
Receives $10 million from Benchmark Capital in its second round of venture funding.
2007-10-08 09:42:52
Facebook
Microsoft purchases a 1.6% share.
2007-11-01 16:33:59
tumblr
Launched.
2007-11-21 07:13:01
facebook
Li Ka-shing makes a $60 million investment. He now owns 0.75% of the company.
2008-02-18 01:47:27
yelp
DAG Ventures, Benchmark Capital, and Bessemer Ventures invest $15 million.
2008-06-07 13:44:37
LinkedIn
Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and other venture capital firms purchase a 5% stake in the company.
2008-06-13 00:09:27
Cold Brew Labs, Inc.
Cold Brew Labs, creator of Pinterest, is incorporated.
2008-09-01 10:32:34
Foursquare
Founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai.
2009-01-01 05:21:39
twitter
$35 million funding in 2009 comes from Institutional Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital, along with an undisclosed amount from Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital and Insight Venture Partners. Twitter is currently funded by Union Square Ventures, Digital Garage, Spark Capital, and Bezos Expeditions.
2009-01-01 23:42:42
Gowalla
Founded by Josh Williams and Scott Raymond.
2009-01-01 23:53:25
facebook
Eduardo Saverin gains 5% share and reaffirms title of co-founder.
2009-03-11 23:02:09
Foursquare
Launched.
2009-06-01 06:43:50
Quora
Founded by Adam D'Angelo and Charlie Cheever.
2009-06-21 15:18:19
Gowalla
Launched.
2009-12-01 05:16:41
Gowalla
Gowalla raises $8.4 million in a round of venture capital funding led by Greylock Partners and angel investors Chris Sacca, Kevin Rose, and Jason Calacanis.
2010-01-01 14:09:21
yelp
Elevation Partners invests $25 million.
2010-03-01 05:23:33
Quora
Receives $11 million in funding from Benchmark Capital.
2010-03-01 07:59:35
Pinterest
Launched.
2010-06-21 23:42:42
Quora
Launched.
2010-07-20 01:07:28
linkedin
Tiger Global Management LLC purchases a 1% stake in the company.
2010-08-11 12:49:45
twitter
Twitter announces a significant investment lead by Digital Sky Technologies ($800 million). This is reported to be the largest venture round in history.
2010-08-31 23:05:24
linkedin
LinkedIn acquires Mspoke.
2010-11-18 14:48:10
facebook
Accel Partners purchases an 8% share.
2011-01-21 23:45:04
facebook
Digital Sky Technologies and Goldman Sachs co-lead a $500 million investment in Facebook, valuing the company at $50 billion.
2011-03-01 11:30:45
twitter
35,000 Twitter shares sell for $34.50 each on Sharespost.
2011-05-16 10:53:01
linkedin
IPO occurs.
2011-06-28 22:35:51
Google+
Launched by Google.
2011-10-01 07:41:12
pinterest
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz invests $27 million in Pinterest.
2011-12-01 20:00:00
twitter
Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal invests $300 million in Twitter.
2011-12-02 21:54:25
gowalla
Acquired by Facebook for an undisclosed sum.