HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF: The Future of Social Media can be Found in the Past

History Repeats Itself with Michael McClintock

My passion for programming and the Internet has been fueled by endless innovation and an explosion of new technologies. I am lucky to be able to make a living doing what I enjoy. I have seen a lot, and have seen history repeat itself many times. I have seen the same memes reinvent themselves as something else, over and over. One thing never changes: People want to Connect to each other and Do Something. On line Communities and Social Networks have existed for decades and those that exist today have the same themes and human characteristics as all of them.

From USENET toThe WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic League) toProdigy toBulletin Boards toGopher toE-Mail to“User Content is King” toAOL toE-Bay toThe Dot Com Bust toFacebook.

Do the same patterns exist ?

You bet they do.

One of my friends, who ran a very popular Bulletin Board system in 1994 – 1998, had the same debates about “Community Rules” that exist today in popular Social Networks. The exact same arguments have been made. USENET also had these same exact arguments. You can copy and paste them, they are still relevant today. Some people have repeated the mistakes that they could have avoided. It has cost some millions of dollars.It is important to understand the history and how to be successful , along with the pitfalls moving forward. Social Networking and Social Media or whatever theme comes next is not new. Networked communities all need the same things and will organize the same ways. We’ll give them different names and our technology will enable us to do a better job, but the underlying human condition and lessons learned will still be valid. Recognizing the patterns and applying the solutions while avoiding the mistakes is critical to your success.


For more information, please visit Michael's TNNW Bio.


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HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF: The Future of Social Media can be Found in the Past