You can list off a bunch of failed startups that predate Facebook, but you totally ignored AOL.
AOL in many ways was the Facebook of its time. In a lot of ways people had MORE interaction using AOL instant messenger (or ICQ) than people do using the Facebook wall posts and messages combined. The major difference between Facebook and AOL is that Facebook allows you to share photos. But given the bandwidth constraints in the 90s I don't think photo sharing was viable.
If AOL had survived the broadband explosion we might not even have Facebook today. People talk about how powerful Facebook and Twitter are becuase companies are willing to put their brand after them (i.e. facebook.com/brand or @brand on twitter). But there were plenty of advertisements where people said 'AOL Keword FooBarBrand' rather than their .com address.
This is in no way a 'I Loved AOL' post, but a lot of people really dismiss its significance because of its subsequent failure.
AOL in many ways was the Facebook of its time. In a lot of ways people had MORE interaction using AOL instant messenger (or ICQ) than people do using the Facebook wall posts and messages combined. The major difference between Facebook and AOL is that Facebook allows you to share photos. But given the bandwidth constraints in the 90s I don't think photo sharing was viable.
If AOL had survived the broadband explosion we might not even have Facebook today. People talk about how powerful Facebook and Twitter are becuase companies are willing to put their brand after them (i.e. facebook.com/brand or @brand on twitter). But there were plenty of advertisements where people said 'AOL Keword FooBarBrand' rather than their .com address.
This is in no way a 'I Loved AOL' post, but a lot of people really dismiss its significance because of its subsequent failure.