Professional network service History

In 1997, professional network services started up throughout the world and continue to grow. The first recognizable site to combine all features, such as create profiles, add friends, and search friends, was SixDegrees.com. According to Boyd and Ellison's article,
"Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship", "[f]rom 1997 to 2001, a number of community tools began supporting various combinations of profiles and publicly articulated Friends." Boyd and Ellison go on to say that the next wave began with Ryze.com in 2001. It was introduced as a new way "to help people leverage their business networks