The Museum of Digital Influence has launched, and it’s a fascinating place that explores the early days of blogging all the way up to the fully-fledged influencers of today.
Cast your minds back to MySpace, LiveJournal and Facebook. There was once a time when being an influencer was simply posting a picture for your friends to see. Nowadays, brand collaborations, #ad posts and carefully curated Instagram dumps drown out these origins in favour of profits.
From a curiosity to a career path, the internet and influencers have evolved beyond what anyone could have predicted. And now, it finally has a home, and influencer marketers can learn a lot from it.
Introducing the Museum of Digital Influence: the first online archive dedicated entirely to chronicling the rise and evolution of digital influence across nine defining eras of time. From the early days of blogs and forums to the algorithm-driven age of TikTok, the museum is a living record of the internet’s culture.
Launched as a non-commercial, freely accessible platform, the museum invites visitors to explore nearly 100 curated digital artefacts, spanning platforms, posts, videos, and campaigns that have defined and redefined influence on the internet.
My favourite part about the website is the way the history is split up into eras. As a Gen Z who only became old enough to use the internet AFTER MySpace died down, it was fascinating to learn about when the internet was a simpler time.
The nine eras include the early internet, platform personalities, the mobile-first era, and the short-form video boom.
Each era is presented with historical context and narrative insight, showing how digital platforms have continually reshaped identity, social interaction, and the concept of attention itself. It's part archive, part cultural commentary.
I learnt a lot about MySpaceism - I couldn’t quite believe how many famous YouTube influencers started out there. For example, I was watching Jeffrey Starr’s makeup tutorials in 2016, completely unaware that he was once the most popular MySpace user back in 2003. The internet really is bigger than I thought.
For influencer marketers, the museum gives some great historical context and strategic insight. Once you’re in, you’ll notice how audience behaviour has shifted over time, and what a nostalgic renaissance could do for the brand you’re marketing. Which campaigns resonated? Which made history? Which were the first of their kind?
So, whether you’re a marketer tracking the roots of influencer branding, a researcher studying online communication, or simply someone who’s been on the internet long enough to remember Tumblr GIF wars, there’s something here for you.
Visit the museum and take a guided scroll through the story of the internet.
