Randy Suess, co-creator of the first public dial-up bulletin board system, which was a forerunner of today's social media services, has died at 74 (Cade Metz/New York Times)

Cade Metz / New York Times:
Randy Suess, co-creator of the first public dial-up bulletin board system, which was a forerunner of today's social media services, has died at 74  —  The messaging system that he and a friend created in 1978 was a forerunner of social media services like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.