Easy come, easy go: When was each social media platform generating its peak search interest on Google?

2/11/21 7:00PM

Remember Myspace? What about Friendster or Bebo? In the short history of the internet, there have been many social media platforms that have shot to fame before fading to black. We've charted the Google search volume for 9 of them since 2005 to see when each was generating its "peak buzz" on Google.

‍Easy come, easy go

‍For the old school platforms the charts offer few surprises — steep rises and sharp drop offs as they were replaced and forgotten (we still love you Myspace Tom).

Some, such as TikTok, ascend to mainstream adoption like a rocket ship. Others, such as Reddit, have had a much more gentle path. Since its launch in 2005 it's never been anywhere near as popular as Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat — but for those 15 years search interest for Reddit has always climbed, and just this week the company raised a fresh round of investment at a $6bn valuation.

‍Twitter turns things around

‍Perhaps the most interesting trajectory of any company in this chart is Twitter. In 2015 the number of people searching for Twitter was dropping off and it was failing to attract new users at the same rate it used to. For most social media platforms, this was usually a one-way street — once a decline had started, no other had managed to reverse it. Then things changed.

Maybe it was the election of President Trump, who used Twitter more intensely than any world leader before him. Or maybe it was simply because Twitter's often text-first content was timelier than the image and video focus of other platforms. Whatever the reason, Twitter has turned things around, and is once again growing — their most recent numbers revealed 192 million active users, up 27% on last year.

So maybe you can turn a social media platform around when it starts to stagnate, but relaunching one completely from scratch — surely that's too hard? We'll soon find out, because it's exactly what the original founders are trying to do with Bebo — which they plan to relaunch this month.

Want us to add more social media platforms to this chart? Hit reply, and we'll add them next time.

Max Knoblauch10h

American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

American Airlines updates bag fees and Basic Economy fares

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Max Knoblauch11h

Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.