Facebook was one of the first social networking platforms, allowing users to connect and engage with friends and family online. Facebook users create a profile with their personal information, giving them the ability to connect with other users, upload images and share content. Since launching, Facebook has diversified the range of services offered to its members, by developing gaming, shopping and payment applications, among others. Additionally, the company has acquired other high-profile companies such as Instagram and Whatsapp. Facebook went public in 2012 and currently has more than 2 billion monthly active users.
Alternatives to Facebook
Twitter
Company: Twitter, Inc. | Founder: Noah Glass, Jack Dorsey, Ev Williams, Biz Stone | CEO: Jack Dorsey | Since: 2006
Twitter is a global real-time communications and social networking platform whose users post and interact with “tweets”, messages restricted to 140 characters. As of 2016 Twitter had more than 300 million monthly active users, including world leaders, major athletes, and…
Linkedin
Company: LinkedIn Corporation | Founder: Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Konstantin Guericke | CEO: Jeff Weiner | Since: 2003
LinkedIn is an online professional network. Rated by Alexa Internet as the 20th most popular website in 2016, LinkedIn has 500 million active members in as many as 200 countries. Users create profiles that act as an online resume or…
Youtube
Company: YouTube, LLC | Founder: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim | CEO: Susan Wojcicki | Since: 2005
YouTube is a video-sharing platform that allows its users to upload, watch, explore and share online videos. YouTube features a wide variety of user-generated content such as music videos, documentary films, video blogs, educational videos and live streams. The company…
Instagram
Company: Instagram, Inc. | Founder: Mike Krieger, Kevin Systrom | CEO: Kevin Systrom | Since: 2010
Instagram is a platform that allows users to edit and share photos for free. Instagram users can take pictures, apply filters and share their pictures on Facebook, and other social media. The company was launched in 2010 and was acquired…
Pinterest
Company: Pinterest, Inc. | Founder: Paul Sciarra, Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp | CEO: Bill Ready | Since: 2009
Pinterest is a visual discovery platform where you collect ideas on boards: recipes, interiors, outfits, weddings, DIY projects and more. Each "Pin" is an image or video that links to the source. Pinterest was founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra…
Reddit
Company: Reddit, Inc. | Founder: Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian | CEO: Steve Huffman | Since: 2005
Reddit is an online platform that provides a forum for individuals to create and share content on a wide variety of topics such as politics, beauty or entertainment. The site features discussion areas where users can comment, discuss or vote…
Snapchat
Company: Snap Inc. | Founder: Bobby Murphy, Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown | CEO: Evan Spiegel | Since: 2011
Snapchat is a social mobile application that provides its users with photo, text, video, and audio sharing features. Snapchat has several functionalities that had made the app enormously popular among millennials. Amon them: the photo processing tools that enable users…
Tumblr
Company: Tumblr, Inc. | Founder: David Karp | Since: 2007
Tumblr is a blogging and social platform where people post short pieces of text, images, GIFs, video and audio, and share other people's posts with a single "reblog". It was founded in 2007 by David Karp and is known for…
Flickr
Company: Oath Inc. | Founder: Caterina Fake, Stewart Butterfield | CEO: Tim Armstrong | Since: 2004
Flickr is an online and mobile platform that allows users to embed, manage and share personal photographs. Flickr users can securely share their photographs to their network and post them to a blog. Flickr’s features have made it popular among…
Meetme
Company: The Meet Group, Inc. | Founder: Catherine Cook, David Cook | CEO: Geoff Cook | Since: 2005
MeetMe is a social network focused on social discovery and meeting new people. MeetMe’s platform facilitates meeting and interacting with new people through social games and applications. The company offers its services both on online and mobile interfaces. The company…
Tagged
Company: Ifwe Inc. | Founder: Johann Schleier-Smith, Greg Tseng | CEO: Greg Tseng | Since: 2004
Tagged is a California based social networking website geared toward meeting new people. Originally only open for teens, the site expanded to allow users of all ages in 2006. Criticized for sending deceptive emails to users’ contacts to get them…
Final edit: Jan Willem Beumer, editor-in-chief of Mindbogglingmedia