Digital media revolution

Sweden has since the beginning of the internet been the home of many innovative websites and programs. This has made the swedish population very open to new possibilities and alternatives. The way Swedes use & share media and socialize has changed constantly throughout the years. I will start all the way back in 1996.

Social

In 1996 LunarStorm was created. It was Europe's first social networking site and was hugely popular in Sweden among an younger audience. It was later left for Facebook. Skype is another Swedish "invention" created in 2003.

Music and Video

The first site program I personally used to obtain media was Kazaa. It was really popular in the early 2000 but was also quickly forgotten. People learned how bit-torrents worked and soon the Pirate Bay (wiki info) gained popularity not only in Sweden but also globally. The Pirate Bay has also been subject for many trials controversy in Sweden. (There is even a political party with connection to the Pirate Bay called, "the Pirate Party")

As of today, the way Swedes consume media has changed drastically. A majority of people still use the Pirate Bay there are some interesting new programs. I would also argue that one of the reasons to why we have all these programs in Sweden is because the major american sites and programs don't work in Sweden. For example the only thing you can buy on iTunes in Sweden is music.

Spotify is a relatively new program and everyone I know now uses it. iTunes has become obsolete when compared to Spotify. Also since movies are not offered in iTunes (neither is hulu) Voddler has become a popular alternative. But we got some revenge! Spotify and Voddler does not work in the US... These sites and programs are of course closely integrated with social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Video on Spotify.