The 140 character, micro-blogging,
social media platform, Twitter just celebrated their fifth birthday. Even though numerous people have just started using Twitter, the networking site has actually been around since 2006.
Jack Dorsey, a co-creator of Twitter, wrote his first tweet on March 21, 2006. The tweet read, “just setting up my twttr.” That one tweet launched and leveraged many people to create accounts and have their very own Twitter. About 500,000 accounts are created on Twitter, every day. And the site recently recorded having 200 million users, or “tweeters.”
Since the beginning days of the site, Twitter’s functions have changed immensely. It could be used to update followers on what a person is doing exactly at that moment, like eating a sandwich or visiting the beach. However, that is pretty mundane compared to how news stations and newspapers use the social media platform. They use Twitter to notify the public of an emergency or something that is going on in the news. The 140 characters in the message are very important in that instance because every letter is precious, to get the incoming news message out to an audience.
There have been many big stories that have first been seen on Twitter. For example, tweets about the BP oil spill, Michael Jackson’s death, and the engagement of Prince William to Catherine Middleton. However recently, a vast amount of people expressed their sorrow on Twitter for those who are in Japan (after the earthquake and tsunami.)
Twitter can be all about catching up with old friends, and getting to know new friends. In addition to writing to your friends, a favorite of Twitter users is to follow various celebrities. Some people feel closer to the celebrities when they follow them on Twitter. They also get an instant feeling of satisfaction when they see the celebrities’ tweets on their timeline. The celebrity that has the most followers is Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber comes in with a close second.
The big question on everyone’s mind is, what will the next five years have in store for Twitter? All of the “tweeters” in the “Twittersphere” will have to wait it out, and embrace the changes that are to come!
