Ten years ago (2006), Twitter was initially named stat.us and the working prototype was changed to Twttr. The very first tweet was on March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, indicating “just setting up my twttr“. He was definitely sticking to the 140 characters or less restriction. Twitter was officially launched on July 15, 2006.
Twitter can be compared to public SMS text messaging. Everyone can see it if they follow someone who sent out the tweet or re-tweeted it. Unfortunately there is a lot of noise out there. I would compare Twitter to The Soapbox and Breaking News. If you want to find out about the very latest news, Twitter is the place to go. Last year (2015) Google started adding tweets to the search engine results which had added major value to tweets. Posting something in 140 characters or less, which includes any hyperlinks added to tweet, is definitely some creative writing.
I have established myself as a source on Twitter for technology and social media links. If you are serious about Twitter, there are many ways to manage and automate your posts using free tools available. I find Twitter quite enjoyable because of the 140 character limit, how easy it is to scan headlines, and click for more information on only topics of interest.
Never thought about the character limit as being such a positive until now. You’re right, key facts or details that can be quickly scanned is great for digesting a lot of news, then from there reading further into things
As somebody addicted to Twitter, let me say that the idea of Twitter being a news source is absolutely spot on. I have actually stopped using more traditional methods of getting news in favor of Twitter, because it is simply faster.
Twitter has become one of the most important social media platforms, it seems to be really in among celebrities and most younger people. Sadly, I have never been able to really get into it. I see it as a big soap opera, lots of drama among celebs and such. I don’t find it interesting one bit, I just can’t see it as something truly useful to be honest :/ Maybe I’m too old?
Honestly, as a avid Twitter supporter and fan, I can see why you would think that. Twitter is great, but only if you curate your timeline correctly. Do you have a passion or a hobby? If so, follow people related to that field. I follow almost exclusively people related to music and video games because I enjoy both of those hobbies. It is a great way for me to stay up to date on news in those fields and to get some behind the scenes looks into the lives of industries I enjoy. Don’t count twitter out just yet!
You can still tweet the “Just setting up my Twitter” tweet when you create a new account and go to your profile. It suggests to tweet the above tweet.
Also agree how the latest news comes flowing done in a matter moments. I start getting notifications on my phone and boom I know whats going on.
To automate Twitter or other social media sites in general, I have used Hootsuite and Buffer. They work really great for me.
I use Click To Tweet on my blog for my audience to share the content on my blog and it also helps me to spread the word about my content.
Cheers
Zander
Just retweed the first tweet in Twitter’s history, haha! It’s fun to look back on what Jack was doing when Twitter was non-existant, only if he knew what a beast he was going to unleash.
The character limit is vital for Twitter, otherwise it would just turn into Facebook. Simple and easy to read posts, without people going on rants for no reason at all.
Wish I could work for them one day!
Twitter is a really unique social media platform. The character limit makes it so you can digest it in small bits. If you have a few minutes you can breeze through a lot of tweets and even respond to some of them. Seeing they still enforce the character limit means they really understood what platform they really are.
Yeah, I am glad they haven’t changed that 🙂 I think the character limit is what sets this platform apart from the others, like for example Facebook (which is losing audience). I think it’s refreshing, and the best way to send updates to friends, families and followers in general. Who knows, maybe in the future I will join 🙂 The character limit makes it so appealing when you start seeing that limit as something positive.
Another blog about Twitter and cannon but comment on it. Yes, Twitter has been the single most comprehensive tool of social media interaction. If you know how to use it and get familiar with it, I assure it will be an extraordinarily amazing tool for anybody to come across. Everything from business to work at home, from entertainment to in-depth knowledge of any topic-Twitter has it all and that also withing those 140 words!!!That’s creative and lots of fun.
I can’t believe Twitter has been around for 10 years. Feels like just last year. I think Twitter is an interesting take on social media. I think that the 140 character limit makes it easier to scroll through the feed and quickly understand what users are talking about without spending a long time reading.