Twitter is a free online microblogging service that allows users to post statuses or updates no longer than 140 characters. These updates are known as "tweets". Users can follow other accounts, and other users can follow them. The following on Twitter doesn't have to be mutual, unlike being friends on Facebook.
Contents
History
Twitter was launched by Jack Dorsey in July of 2006. It rapidly gained users worldwide. Currently, it has over 300 millions accounts and generates over 300 million tweets per day. People often refer to Twitter as "the SMS of the Internet". [1]
The company that operates Twitter (Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco. The word "twitter" was a perfect name for the site according to Dorsey. He explains that its definition is 'a short bust of inconsequential information' and 'chirps from birds'. [2]
Dorsey remained the chief executive officer of Twitter until October 16, 2008 when Evan Williams took over the CEO role, and Dorsey became chairman of the board. Williams stepped down as CEO 2 years later and Twitter's chief operating officer, Dick Costolo became the new (and current) CEO.
Now is when the rapid growth took place. It went from 400,000 tweets posted per quarter in 2007, to 100 million tweets posted per quarter in 2008, and by March 2010, users were sending 50 million tweets per day. [3]
The Twitter interface remained the same through much of this growth, but in late 2010, the company began rolling out a revamped Twitter. The new site now had the ability to see pictures and videos without leaving Twitter itself by supporting websites including YouTube and Flickr.
Features
Twitter encourages you to "follow your interests". [4] It's common to follow your friends, industry experts, and celebrities. Once an account is set up, your tweets are publicly visible by default. However, there is a setting that allows people to restrict their viewers by privatizing their account. People can "tweet" from a computer on the website, from smartphones/tablets, or by texting (SMS).
Tweets
Not only can you tweet whatever you want, you can also reply to others tweets simply by mentioning the other user in your tweet. Mentioning someone can be done by using the "@" sign followed by their Twitter username. Users have the ability to mention more than 1 user in a tweet, too.
"Retweeting" is common on Twitter as well. If users want to copy someone's tweet so that one's own followers see it, they can do so by retweeting it and either adding text to the retweet (if you have enough characters left) or simply retweet it with no additions.
To help with the small character limit in tweets, there are tons of URL shortening services that are commonly used. Some include: bit.ly, Twitpic, and Twitter has it's own t.co domain that shortens all URLs posted on the site.
Trending Topics
One of Twitter's main features is the trending topics feature on the right sidebar of the site. Here you'll find that users will group together topics by the use of "hashtags". Hashtags are words or phrases starting with a "#" sign. Users can see the trending topics divided by locations, so it's possible to see what is trending in cities or countries.
Direct Messages
Other than tweeting, users have the ability to direct message or "DM" other users. Direct message are privately send message that only the person you send it to can see. The only way 2 users can DM each other is if they are both following each other.
