While in 2011 social networks such as Facebook are the first thing that come
to mind when you think of social media; blogs are probably the earliest well-
known example of social media. One of the earliest online journals recorded
was www.links.net, the online diary of Justin Hall, which he kept for 11 years
from 1994 (Harmanci 2005). From the very first days of the Internet, early
adopters used the Internet to create personal content.
These online diaries were referred to as “weblogs”, but in April or May of 1999,
Peter Merholz unwittingly coined the term “blog” by adding the following to the
sidebar of his website peterme.com:
“For What It’s Worth
I’ve decided to pronounce the word “weblog” as wee’- blog. Or “blog”
for short.”
Developers began creating tools that made it easier for anyone to start a
blog. Blogger, a popular blogging platform, was launched in August 1999 and
acquired by Google in 2003. In 2001, Wikipedia, probably the most well-known
wiki, was created.
Figure 14.2 Wikipedia, probably the most well-known wiki.