X Corp.
Twitter, Inc. described as a social networking tool and has rapidly emerged as a new medium of online news distribution. The free microblogging website of 140 characters or less was co-founded by Jack Dorsey. Twitter is a privately funded startup established by Obvious.com in San Francisco, March 21, 2006. [1] [2] Twitter is a new kind of technology that uses multiple methods of communication to help keep you in touch with people to find out what's happening right now. More than half of all Twitter users connect with the service via their cell phones. As a simple messaging tool, the website states:
| “ | Twitter asks one question, "What are you doing?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. The result of using Twitter to stay connected with friends, relatives, and coworkers is that you have a sense of what folks are up to but you are not expected to respond to any updates unless you want to. | ” |
Per 2011 figures, they are a fast growing company with over 200 million registered users worldwide, with an average of 65 million posts daily, called tweets. [3] As of 2009, the major search engines integrated tweets into the search results. Twitter achieved its first profits by signing search engine contracts with Google and Bing. [4] The company has an enormous market capitalization over 10-15 billion dollars. Twitter has rejected takeover offers worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Google and Facebook. Many celebrities, national sports figures and members of Congress [5] have Twitter accounts and anybody can follow their posts.
About The CEO
Evan Williams, a Jack Dorsey's partner, started the website Blogger, which he sold to Google.
Twitter Phenom
The site is such a popular destination that new news articles about Twitter appear daily. First for FBI arrests, Daniel Knight Hayden, 52 had Twittered that he would massacre hundreds attending an Oklahoma City Tax Day Tea Party. [6]
Prominence
Republicans dominate the social networking site. Republicans occupy 18 of the top 20 spots in terms of followers for politicians on Twitter. [7] The study, "Twongress: The Power of Twitter in Congress," [8] showed twice as many Republicans use Twitter even though there were far fewer Republicans in Congress at the time. "Republican (members of Congress) are outpacing their Democratic rivals in nearly every single category that was measured" [9] This has ushered a markedly different trend to Democrats who for years have outmatched its opponents online.
Iranian Protesters
Iranian protesters angered by the results of Iran's disputed presidential election started to tweet marches on the government. This forced the Islamic Republic to block all cell phone messaging in June 2009. At the request of the U.S. State Department, they asked Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance to allow tweets from Iranians.
In a separate incident, a group calling itself Iranian Cyber Army hacked into Twitter and defaced their homepage. They replaced the page with a bold pro-Iranian and anti-American message. [10]
References
- ↑ Happy Birthday Twitter! Mashable
- ↑ Twitter: Free Microblogging Service Perhaps the Perfect Mobile Blogging Tool, About.com, August 16, 2008
- ↑ Twitter as Tech Bubble Barometer, Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2011
- ↑ Content-Search Deals Make Twitter Profitable, BusinessWeek, December 21, 2009
- ↑ Members of Congress who Twitter Source Watch Encyclopedia
- ↑ FBI accuses Twitter user of massacre threats CNet, April 26, 2009
- ↑ Study: On Twitter, Republicans Dominate Dems, NewsBusters.org, January 14, 2010
- ↑ Twongress: The Power of Twitter in Congress (PDF), Eyeonfda.com, January 2010
- ↑ Republicans Gain the Twitter Edge on Democrats, Study Shows, Fox News, January 15, 2010
- ↑ Twitter Hack: Part Of Broader Iranian Strategy, Techcrunch.com, December 18, 2009