SixDegrees Launches as One of the First Social Networking Sites

SixDegrees was founded by Andrew Weinreich and was based in New York City. The platform was named after the “six degrees of separation” concept, which suggests that any two people are connected through a short chain of acquaintances. The site enabled users to create personal profiles and identify friends, then see friends-of-friends within the network—features that later became standard in social media platforms. Unlike earlier online communities such as bulletin board systems and chat rooms, SixDegrees integrated user profiles with a visible network structure. Members could send messages and post to bulletin boards within the system. The platform launched to the public in 1997 and grew to approximately 3.5 million registered users at its peak. In 1999, SixDegrees was acquired for a reported $125 million. However, the company struggled to maintain growth and engagement, citing limited broadband access and a relatively small online population at the time. The service shut down in 2000. SixDegrees is frequently cited in internet history as one of the first websites to combine user-generated profiles with articulated social connections in a single platform. Its structure influenced later social networking services that expanded significantly in the 2000s. #SixDegrees #SocialNetworking #InternetHistory #AndrewWeinreich #WebHistory