2010

▪️Apple introduces the iPad.

▪️The podcasting network Earwolf is founded.

▪️Instagram is launched.

▪️GoFundMe is launched.

▪️Flipboard is introduced.

▪️Library media streaming service Hoopla is founded.

▪️Lilly Singh makes her YouTube debut.

▪️PewDiePie makes his YouTube debut.

▪️The “Trololo” song escalates in popularity after appearing on The Colbert Report.

▪️My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic makes its television debut.

▪️The Cooks Source infringement controversy illustrates not only how easy plagiarism is in the internet age but how easy it is for internet users to spot plagiarism and how easy it is for companies like Cooks Source to suffer for it.

2011

▪️Smartphone sales overtake PC sales for the first time.

▪️Google introduces the Chromebook line of laptops, desktops and tablets.

▪️Apple introduces the personal assistant Siri.

▪️Amazon introduces the web browser Amazon Silk.

▪️Facebook introduces Messenger.

▪️Duolingo is founded.

▪️Snapchat is launched.

▪️Video game live-streaming service Twitch is launched.

▪️Letterboxd is launched.

▪️The internet challenge No Nut November is introduced, growing particularly popular among male web users in 2017.

▪️Planking goes viral.

▪️Nyan Cat makes its YouTube debut.

▪️The “Is this a pigeon?” meme first gains popularity on Tumblr.

2012

▪️Android web browser Samsung Internet is introduced for Samsung Galaxy devices.

▪️File-hosting service Google Drive is launched.

▪️Video-hosting service Vine is introduced.

▪️DoorDash is introduced.

▪️Instacart is introduced.

▪️Online dating app Tinder is introduced.

▪️Coursera is launched.

▪️Candy Crush is introduced on the web.

▪️Grumpy Cat is born and becomes an internet star on Reddit the same year.

▪️Dog shaming originates as a meme on Tumblr.

2013

▪️Google Hangouts is introduced.

▪️Amazon introduces virtual assistant Alexa.

▪️Content-based subscription service Patreon is launched.

▪️Telegram is launched.

▪️Giphy is launched.

▪️Logan Paul makes his YouTube debut.

▪️The “Black Lives Matter” hashtag is first introduced on social media as a response to racist police brutality.

▪️House of Cards is released on Netflix and becomes the first online streaming series to receive a Primetime Emmy Award nomination (the series would receive 33 nominations total).

▪️The “This Is Fine” comic makes its internet debut.

▪️The Blinking White Guy GIF originates on Giant Bomb before becoming a widely shared meme in 2017.

2014

▪️Amazon introduces Fire TV.

▪️YouTube introduces their subscription service. Originally branded as Music Key, changes its name to YouTube Red in 2015 and finally becomes YouTube Premium in 2018.

▪️Dubsmash is launched.

▪️Satirical website Clickhole is founded.

▪️The free streaming service Tubi is launched.

▪️Jake Paul makes his YouTube debut.

▪️Serial makes its podcast debut.

▪️The Ice Bucket Challenge goes viral.

▪️Kim Kardashian “breaks the internet” with her ass.

▪️Online harassment campaign GamerGate targets feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and other women in the video game industry due to a largely right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity and progressivism in the gaming world.

2015

▪️Online photo storage service Google Photos is introduced.

▪️Apple Music is launched.

▪️Live video app Periscope is launched.

▪️The Daily Wire is launched.

▪️Discord is launched.

▪️Potato Parcel goes into service, allowing people around the world to send each other potatoes with personalized messages on them.

▪️Distracted Boyfriend photo makes its internet debut and goes viral as a meme by 2017.

2016

▪️TikTok is launched.

▪️Onlyfans is launched.

▪️FaceApp is introduced.

▪️The true crime podcast My Favorite Murder is released.

▪️The “Baby Shark” song goes viral on YouTube.

▪️The Mannequin Challenge goes viral.

▪️”Damn Daniel” goes viral.

2017

▪️Twitter increases character limit from 140 to 280.

▪️Cameo is launched.

▪️New York Times podcast The Daily is introduced.

▪️Pod Save America makes its podcast debut.

▪️The true crime podcast Crime Junkie is released.

▪️The “Me Too” hashtag is introduced on social media as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of sexual abuse that often happens behind closed doors in professional working environments following the exposure of film producer Harvey Weinstein as a predator of Hollywood actresses.

▪️”Despacito” by Luis Fonsi takes YouTube by storm.

▪️The floss becomes the latest dance craze.

2018

▪️Call Her Daddy makes its podcast debut.

▪️Bugs Bunny’s imitation of Elmer Fudd from the 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon Wabbit Twouble is officially dubbed “Big Chungus” for the first time by a GameStop manager in Colorado Springs who shares fictitious cover art for a “Big Chungus” video game on Facebook.

▪️Bowsette makes her internet debut as a fan-made female version of the Mario character Bowser.

▪️The surprised Pikachu meme first gains popularity on Twitter.

2019

▪️Apple and Disney both enter the streaming race with Apple TV+ and Disney+.

▪️Hazbin Hotel is released on YouTube.

▪️The “Woman Yelling at a Cat” meme is first shared on Twitter.

If I kept this list going into the 2020s, I would no doubt be highlighting Sarah Cooper’s lip synching videos, the puzzle game Wordle, ChatGPT, the rise of artificial intelligence and obviously “Skibidi Toilet.” But I think I’ll end it here.