Audio-only social network that exploded during COVID lockdowns. Now essentially dead.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Lost 90%+ of users, Twitter Spaces and competition killed it.
💭 What We Remember
Invite-only hype, Elon Musk rooms, COVID lockdown phenomenon
News aggregator by Instagram founders. Shut down after just one year.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Market too small, couldn't achieve sustainable growth.
💭 What We Remember
Instagram founders, AI news curation, quick shutdown
Google's cloud gaming platform. Promised to revolutionize gaming but Google abandoned it.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Google gave up, low adoption, competition from Xbox Cloud and GeForce Now.
💭 What We Remember
Negative button, founder leaving, another killed by Google product
Micropayment service for content creators. Founded by Pirate Bay creator.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Competition from Patreon, low adoption, shut down in 2023.
💭 What We Remember
Micropayments for creators, Pirate Bay connection
Major crypto exchange that collapsed overnight. Sam Bankman-Fried arrested for fraud.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Fraud, misuse of customer funds, $8 billion missing.
💭 What We Remember
SBF, effective altruism, fastest collapse of a major exchange
Location-sharing app popular with Gen Z. Snap acquired then killed it.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Snap shut it down to focus on Snapchat, despite protests.
💭 What We Remember
Gen Z location sharing, Snap Map integration, user protests
Microsoft's legendary web browser that dominated the 2000s. Everyone's least favorite browser.
Peak Users
95% market share (2003)
⚰️ Cause of Death
Edge replaced it, Chrome dominated, developer hatred.
💭 What We Remember
Browser wars, ActiveX, IE6 nightmares, "please use Chrome" messages
Carpooling service by Waze. Connected commuters for ride-sharing.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Google shut it down, COVID killed commuting, low adoption.
💭 What We Remember
Commuter carpooling, Waze integration, Google subsidiary
CNN's streaming service that lasted only 1 month. Spectacular failure.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Nobody wanted to pay for CNN content, wrong strategy.
💭 What We Remember
Shut down after 32 days, $300M wasted, fastest streaming death
Anonymous social app for college students. Short-lived Yik Yak successor.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Low retention, cyberbullying concerns, couldn't scale.
💭 What We Remember
College anonymity, Yik Yak spiritual successor
Snapchat clone by Instagram co-founder. Failed to gain traction.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Too similar to Snapchat, no differentiation.
💭 What We Remember
Instagram founders, Snapchat clone, quick death
Community-driven Q&A website where anyone could ask questions and get answers. Known for bizarre and hilarious questions.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Rise of Reddit, Quora, and Google's improved search results.
💭 What We Remember
How is babby formed?, absurd questions, Yahoo! Points
Group video chat app acquired by Epic Games. Exploded during COVID then shut down.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Epic wanted to focus on Fortnite features, COVID bump faded.
💭 What We Remember
COVID lockdown parties, false hacking rumors, Epic Games acquisition
Google's internet balloon project to bring connectivity to remote areas.
Peak Users
N/A (infrastructure)
⚰️ Cause of Death
Couldn't find sustainable business model, Google shut it down.
💭 What We Remember
Stratospheric balloons, Google X project, ambitious failure
Twitter's live streaming app that killed Meerkat. Then got killed by Twitter.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Twitter integrated livestreaming directly, made Periscope redundant.
💭 What We Remember
Live streaming pioneer, killed Meerkat, replaced by Twitter live
Social gaming company behind Farmville, Mafia Wars. Dominated Facebook gaming in late 2000s.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Facebook changed algorithms, mobile gaming took over.
💭 What We Remember
Farmville spam, "send me a cow", Facebook notifications
Short-form streaming service with $1.75 billion funding. Spectacularly failed in 6 months.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Launched during COVID when nobody was commuting, bad concept.
💭 What We Remember
Fastest billion-dollar failure, Jeffrey Katzenberg, TikTok competitor
Live trivia game show app with cash prizes. Viral sensation that faded quickly.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Financial issues, competition, founder's death, declining engagement.
💭 What We Remember
Scott Rogowsky, "HQ-ties", live trivia twice daily
Microsoft's game streaming platform. Paid millions to Ninja and Shroud but still failed.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Couldn't compete with Twitch despite massive streamer deals.
💭 What We Remember
Ninja's $30M deal, FTL streaming, Microsoft's Twitch killer attempt
The original social network before Facebook. At its peak in 2008, MySpace was the most visited social networking site in the world.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Surpassed by Facebook, failed redesigns, and loss of cultural relevance.
💭 What We Remember
Top 8 friends, customizable profiles, music discovery
Google's ambitious attempt to compete with Facebook. Despite massive promotion, it never achieved mainstream adoption.
Peak Users
395 million (claimed)
⚰️ Cause of Death
Low user engagement, data breaches, and inability to compete with Facebook.
💭 What We Remember
Circles, forced YouTube integration, ghost town jokes
Web discovery platform that recommended random websites based on user preferences. The original content discovery engine.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Rise of algorithmic feeds on social media platforms.
💭 What We Remember
The "Stumble" button, random internet exploration
Measured social media influence with a score from 1-100. Obsessed over by marketers and influencers.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Acquired by Lithium Technologies and shut down.
💭 What We Remember
Klout score, influence measurement, perks program
Private social network limited to 150 friends. Beautiful design, focused on close relationships.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Too niche, couldn't compete with Instagram and Snapchat.
💭 What We Remember
150 friend limit, beautiful UI, intimate sharing
Blood testing company website that promised revolutionary technology. Turned out to be fraud.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Company dissolved after fraud scandal, Elizabeth Holmes convicted.
💭 What We Remember
Elizabeth Holmes, black turtlenecks, biggest fraud in Silicon Valley
Short-form video hosting service where users could share 6-second looping video clips. Launched internet celebrity culture.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Competition from Instagram and Snapchat, Twitter failed to monetize it properly.
💭 What We Remember
6-second videos, viral memes, internet celebrities
Pioneer instant messaging platform. AIM defined online communication for a generation of internet users.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Rise of mobile messaging apps and social media.
💭 What We Remember
Buddy lists, away messages, door sound effect, screen names
Social bookmarking service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. Pioneer of tagging.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Changed hands multiple times, lost relevance to browser bookmarks.
💭 What We Remember
del.icio.us URL, tagging system, web discovery
Anonymous, location-based social network popular on college campuses. Users could post anonymously.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Cyberbullying, threats, removed anonymity feature which killed engagement.
💭 What We Remember
College campus gossip, anonymous posts, campus culture
Live streaming app that pioneered mobile livestreaming. Killed by Twitter cutting off API access.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Twitter launched Periscope and blocked Meerkat's API access.
💭 What We Remember
First mobile livestreaming, SXSW 2015 sensation
Pioneering smartwatch company that launched via Kickstarter. First successful smartwatch before Apple.
Peak Users
2 million watches
⚰️ Cause of Death
Apple Watch and competitors crushed them, acquired by Fitbit.
💭 What We Remember
E-paper display, Kickstarter success story, developer community
One of the first social networks to gain mainstream popularity, especially in Asia. Pioneer of many social features.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Technical issues, slow site performance, beaten by MySpace and Facebook.
💭 What We Remember
The original social network, testimonials from friends
Beautiful music streaming service by Skype founders. Many users preferred it over Spotify.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Couldn't compete with Spotify and Apple Music, financial struggles.
💭 What We Remember
Beautiful design, social features, music discovery
Music streaming site where users uploaded songs. Essentially legal gray area streaming.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Lawsuits from major record labels, copyright infringement.
💭 What We Remember
User-uploaded music, free streaming, legal battles
Anonymous secret-sharing app popular in Silicon Valley. Toxic environment emerged.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Cyberbullying, toxic culture, founder shut it down citing negativity.
💭 What We Remember
Silicon Valley gossip, workplace secrets, anonymous toxicity
Google's first social network, massively popular in Brazil and India. Named after Google engineer Orkut Büyükkökten.
Peak Users
300 million (Brazil/India)
⚰️ Cause of Death
Facebook took over, Google shifted focus to Google+.
💭 What We Remember
Scraps, communities, huge in Brazil
Twitter-like microblogging platform with timeline visualization. Popular in Taiwan and Philippines.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Twitter dominated globally, niche regional appeal only.
💭 What We Remember
Horizontal timeline, karma points, Asian market focus
Social check-in app for TV shows, movies, and music. Earned stickers for watching.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Acquired and rebranded to tvtag, eventually shut down.
💭 What We Remember
TV show stickers, check-ins, entertainment social network
Social networking site hugely popular with teenagers in UK, Ireland, and New Zealand before Facebook took over.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Failed to compete with Facebook, poor mobile strategy.
💭 What We Remember
Customizable profiles, "luv" feature, white board drawings
Online DVD rental service by Blockbuster, created to compete with Netflix. Too little, too late.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Netflix dominated, parent company went bankrupt.
💭 What We Remember
Late fees, brick-and-mortar nostalgia
Instant messaging client by Microsoft. An entire generation's first online communication tool.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Merged into Skype, replaced by WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
💭 What We Remember
Nudges, custom emoticons, "what's your MSN?", away messages
RSS feed aggregator that power users loved. Google killed it despite protests from loyal users.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Google shut it down citing declining usage.
💭 What We Remember
RSS feeds, share feature, April Fools 2013 anger
Anonymous Q&A social network hugely popular with teenagers. Ask and answer questions anonymously.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Cyberbullying concerns, competition from Ask.fm, financial issues.
💭 What We Remember
Anonymous questions, teenage drama, cyberbullying issues
Social music listening platform where users DJ for each other in virtual rooms. Highly addictive.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Licensing costs too high, couldn't scale internationally.
💭 What We Remember
Avatar DJs, awesome/lame buttons, music discovery rooms
Social news aggregation website. Users submitted and voted on content. The precursor to Reddit's model.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Digg v4 redesign disaster, mass exodus to Reddit.
💭 What We Remember
The "Digg effect", power users, burying stories
File hosting service that became one of the most visited websites. Known for piracy and Kim Dotcom.
⚰️ Cause of Death
FBI seized and shut down for copyright infringement.
💭 What We Remember
Kim Dotcom, FBI raid, premium accounts
Google's attempt to revolutionize email and collaboration. Too complex and ahead of its time.
⚰️ Cause of Death
User confusion, low adoption, Google couldn't find product-market fit.
💭 What We Remember
Real-time collaboration, playback feature, developer preview hype
Apple's music-focused social network built into iTunes. Failed spectacularly despite Apple's push.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Poor integration, Facebook refused to participate, nobody used it.
💭 What We Remember
Steve Jobs' failed social network, iTunes integration
Photo-sharing app that raised $41 million before launch. Spectacular flop.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Confusing product, nobody understood it, way too much money raised.
💭 What We Remember
$41M funding failure, cautionary tale of overhyped startups
Google's failed social layer built into Gmail. Launched with major privacy concerns.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Privacy violations, forced integration, replaced by Google+.
💭 What We Remember
Privacy scandal, automatic followers from Gmail contacts
Peer-to-peer file sharing program for music, videos, and software. Downloaded by millions of teenagers.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Shut down by court injunction for copyright infringement.
💭 What We Remember
Piracy, viruses disguised as songs, "Limewire Pro"
Free web hosting service that allowed users to create their own websites. Home to millions of amateur websites with questionable designs.
Peak Users
38 million pages
⚰️ Cause of Death
Yahoo shut it down, replaced by modern CMS platforms.
💭 What We Remember
Under construction GIFs, guestbooks, garish backgrounds
The original music file-sharing service that changed the music industry forever. Started the digital music revolution.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Lawsuits from record labels led to shutdown.
💭 What We Remember
Free music, Metallica lawsuit, Lars Ulrich memes
One-hour delivery service for snacks, movies, and games. Ahead of its time but unsustainable.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Dot-com bubble burst, unsustainable business model, free delivery.
💭 What We Remember
One-hour delivery, dot-com era excess, free delivery killed them
Online grocery delivery before people were ready. Burned through $800 million.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Dot-com crash, expanded too fast, people weren't ready for online groceries.
💭 What We Remember
Dot-com bubble poster child, $800M burned, too early
Online pet supply retailer famous for its sock puppet mascot. Iconic dot-com failure.
⚰️ Cause of Death
Dot-com bubble burst, lost money on every sale, unsustainable.
💭 What We Remember
Sock puppet mascot, Super Bowl ads, dot-com crash symbol