Twitter Facts

Today, social media has created more than just an influence. For example, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have changed society. Social media is a driving force in our lives more and more for various reasons.

Twitter has become one of the premier and most visited social media sites. Some estimates have put over 300 million active users on the site!

Groundbreaking and important as well, Twitter changed the social media world. For example, hashtags were first used on Twitter in 2007 and now are used on Facebook, Instagram, and other advertising platforms.

Moreover, Twitter is known for its 280-character limit for messages. There are a variety of little known facts which most people have not heard about before. As well, the at sign “@” is universally known and identified with Twitter.

Lastly, it is true that Elon Musk has more than a passing interest in Twitter. Learn more about the fascinating world of Twitter in social media and the world.

Twitter was only founded in 2006 and had a quiet beginning

Twitter was only founded in 2006 and had a quiet beginning

Twitter’s beginnings are quiet. This huge social media company was founded mainly by co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2006. As well. Twitter was established in March 2006 by Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Noah Glass and Jack Dorsey. Twitter knew it today was launched on July 15, 2006.

The popular social media site derived from a San Francisco-based podcasting company. Originally the concept and founding of Twitter was unclear and confusing. The purpose and vision of what Twitter is today did not take shape until some developments and brainstorming.

Before the concept of Twitter came into being Twitter grew from being a podcoasting platform, which was free. You would only be able to send messages to a single (40404) until Twitter became a social media platform.


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The iconic @ is one of Twitter’s most well known trademarks

The iconic @ is one of Twitter’s most well known trademarks

The “@” symbol of Twitter is everywhere and means a lot on this social media platform.   For example, there is a requirement to really know the main usage of this symbol.

So, you can use the @ symbol to reply to users on Twitter. For instance, this would be called an @reply. As well, this very same symbol is what represents your username or handle. In general, your name on Twitter that is unique is on your profile page. An example may be @elonmusk All in all, your display name can be found and personalized and tagged uniquely as you to other people with “@.”

Moreover, you can use “@ “to reference or specify other usernames in Tweets. These are called mentions on Twitter, which you can then send as messages, or for linking. Using the classic trademark is one of the most well known and tangible things about Twitter. The at sign, @, is what made Twitter stand out because it created a new  way of communication.


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Elon Musk bought Twitter despite challenges and controversy

Elon Musk bought Twitter

Elon Musk is renowned and well known for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, Musk is the richest person in the world. Elon Reeve Musk is an entrepreneur, investor, and business mogul.

Elon’s background as CEO of SpaceX and Tesla will change Twitter massively. Musk has only recently become the company’s largest shareholder and business owner.  Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, which then would roughly value Twitter around $44 billion.

What comes next for Twitter has made many people nervous and a little excited. It is a wonderful and exciting time for Twitter.


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Flickr inspired Twitter’s name and other Trends

Originally, the name of Twitter was “twttr.” The name was inspired by the Yahoo owned photo sharing site called Flicker. There were trends that inspired the founders of Twitter that are now seen as trendy.

For example, the cool thing to do was to name a new site with a word with few vowels. So, certain names would drop vowels in the name of their companies and services.

In 2006, when Twitter had begun it was named Twttr. The name evolved into Twitter when the name was changed by one of the co-founders early on.


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Twitter created its own language and words

What’s a Tweet? Many may ask that very question because it is a word that has recently come into the English language and the whole world. But, “Tweet” is used as a noun or even a verb. Learning the language and slang of Twitter is what makes this site so unique and special.

So, a Tweet or Tweets are defined as  the messages posted to Twitter. Basically, a Tweet is what is seen and posted to the world and represents the whole Twitter experience. Some other examples of Twitter words in action. So, you could write “Look out my first Tweet”is similar to writing “I tweeted for the first time ever. Twitter language has a few rules. There is a supposed rule that Twitter words like Tweet are capitalized.

All in all, when you look at the slang of Twitter, Tweets could only exist on this social media platform. So, when you can tweet it can include a lot more than a message. The Tweet in question can include of course text, pictures, videos, or links. In the end, the point of the Tweet is to share with other people.


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Posting on Twitter initially only supported 140 characters

Posting on Twitter initially only supported 140 characters

Twitter is known for its limitations. For example, if you want to write a long message or express yourself then Twitter is not the place. In fact, Twitter is about making your point quickly and without too many words. Why? Twitter Initially supported 140 characters only!

However, in November 2017, the letter limit was increased to 280. But, if you were writing in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese then the original 140 character limit was still in place. This is what separates Twitter from every other social media site is its limitations.

However, the whole point of the short message speaks to Twitter’s original intention as an SMS based platform. The growth and development of Twitter insisted it would become more than just a texting or messaging app.


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Barack Obama has the Twitter account with the most Followers

Obama twitter

Many other well known people get a lot of attention and exposure through Twitter. However, it is Barack Obama who gets the most attention because as of today he has over 131 million followers on Twitter!

Twitter has become one of the official and most used social media platforms. For example, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, and prime ministers from around the world. On Twitter, many of these accounts have  millions of followers and are popular places for well known figures to communicate with followers.

In terms of Obama, he tweets about his own activities.These days, Obama mostly tweets about his other activities, such as the work being done by his Obama Foundation to his Twitter followers.


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Twitter was initially going to be an SMS text based tool

Twitter was initially going to be an SMS text based tool

Jack Dorsey, one of the co-founders, had originally intended Twitter as an SMS-based communications platform. However, the idea evolved quickly and changed.

The SMS-based communications platform idea was intended to be a platform for friends to keep in contact. In a way, the point of Twitter as an SMS platform was to keep tabs on each other by updating statuses and more. Why did it change? Essentially, Twitter was too much like texting and not distinct enough to be attractive.

Eventually, it was Jack Dorsey that pushed Twitter to develop beyond being merely an SMS text based platform. In the end, it became something else that was well known.


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The social media hashtag was invented on Twitter in 2007

Twitter hasstag

The concept of hashtags are very important in social media. Well, in terms of Twitter and the world, the person who came up with this concept is Chris Messina. He is the person responsible for giving the world the famous hashtag for the digital world.

The purpose of Hashtags is to guide users to connect to a specific topic. Guidance on social media platforms is key. Moreover, hashtags can be used for events to help users find posts about similar topics or themes. Messina, the founder, could have been very rich in patenting the hashtag but instead the hashtag was shared. Essentially, the hashtag was Messina’s gift to the world to freely share like and similar ideas.

In the beginning when Twitter was young, there were reservations around if the hashtag would ever become popular. However, the worries were wrong because hashtags became popular with internet users despite the obscure and odd made-up language existing on Twitter.


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The Twitter bird is called Larry and was named after a basketball player

The Twitter bird is called Larry and was named after a basketball player

Not many would realize or care that the Twitter bird has a name. However, the bird of Twitter has become as well known and recognizable as hashtags.

In 2006, the Twitter bird was originally thinner and a little different. Moreover, the original Twitter bird was only bought from a stock image site for only 15 dollars.

To many people’s surprise, Larry Bird was the inspiration for the Twitter bird. Larry Bird is a hall of fame basketball player. Twitter director, Biz Stone from Boston, named the bird after his hometown’s biggest basketball star.

Over the years, the Tiwtter the logo has developed and changed a lot. Since 2012, the Twitter bird has morphed into different realms. Twitter’s goal of maintaining a championship pedigree or tradition is what inspired Larry’s name based on a Boston Celtics star.


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Originally Twitter was intended to be a search engine and called, “FriendStalker”

FriendStalker

Twitter had different intentions in the beginning. For example, this is a site that is meant to be a network. So, when Twitter was being formed the main goal of this site was to “stalk” friends and celebrities by scrolling through their posts and seeing what they’ve been talking about.

If Twitter had been called “FriendStalker” it would have been very different indeed. Overall, the idea and theory would have changed the face of this social media giant. Friendstalker as a name was created by Evan Williams, who was one of the original founders of Twitter.

Noah Glass, another co-founder, later began searching a dictionary for words similar to “Twitch” and came across Twitter.

As is noted, Twitter was meant to be for merely texting. However, even though Twitter is a site for posting brief thoughts and ideas it is more than that. The 140 character limit was originally meant for searching friends and keeping messaging to a minimum.

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