Six Degrees (SIXDEGREES)

Six Degrees

SixDegrees was the first social network service web site that initially lasted from 1997 to 2000 and was based on the Web of Contacts model of social networking. It was named after the concept of six degrees of separation and allowed users to list friends, family members and acquaintances whether registered on the site or not. External contacts were invited to join. People who confirmed a relationship with an existing user but did not go on to register with the site continued to receive occasional email updates and solicitations. Users could send messages and post bulletin board items to people in their first, second, and third degrees, and see their connection to any other user on the site.

SixDegrees was one of the first social networking sites that later became highly popular. It was followed by more successful sites based on the "social-circles network model" such as Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn, XING, and Facebook.