Twitter

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#REDIRECT [[X (social network)]]

{{Infobox Company

| name = X

| former_name = Twitter (2006–2023)

| logo = [[File:X logo 2023.svg|100px]]

| logo_caption = Logo used since July 2023

| type = [[Private company|Private]]

| genre =

| foundation = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[United States]]

| founder = [[Jack Dorsey]]<br /> [[Evan Williams (entrepreneur)|Evan Williams]]<br /> [[Biz Stone]]

| dissolved =

| location_city = 795 Folsom St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94107

| location_country = {{nowrap|United States}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/about/contact |title= Contact Us |access-date= 2017-08-31 |archive-date= 2012-03-11 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/665xzuWqq?url=http://twitter.com/about/contact |url-status= dead }}</ref>

| locations =

| area_served = Worldwide

| key_people = [[Elon Musk]] <small>(Owner, CTO & [[Chairman]])</small><br />[[Linda Yaccarino]]

<small>([[CEO]])</small><br />[[Evan Williams (entrepreneur)|Evan Williams]] <small>(Product Strategy)</small><br />[[Biz Stone]] <small>(Creative Director)</small>

| industry = [[Websites]]

| website = {{Official URL}}

| services = [[Social networking]], [[Microblogging]]

| market cap =

| revenue = {{profit}} US $5.081 billion (2021)<ref name='NYT-Twitter Hacked'>{{Cite news |author= Claire Cain Miller, Brad Stone |title= Hacker Exposes Private Twitter Documents |date= July 15, 2009 |url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/hacker-exposes-private-twitter-documents/?hpw |work= [[The New York Times]] |access-date= July 15, 2009 |archive-date= June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614224058/http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/hacker-exposes-private-twitter-documents/?hpw. |url-status= live }}</ref>

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| intl =

| assets =

| equity =

| owner =

| num_employees = 7,500 (2021)<ref name="pressinfo">[http://blog.twitter.com/2010/10/newtwitterceo.html "Press Info"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322005413/http://blog.twitter.com/2010/10/newtwitterceo.html |date=2012-03-22 }}, Twitter. Retrieved May 27, 2010.</ref>

| parent =

| divisions =

| subsid =

| footnotes =

}}

<!-- Please do not alter this wording. -->'''X''', commonly referred to by its former name '''Twitter'''<!-- Please do not alter this wording. -->, is a [[social network service|social networking]] and [[microblogging]] service. Users use any device with an [[internet]] connection and a [[web browser]] to send and to read messages, called "tweets". For years, tweets could be up to 140 [[character (computing) |character]]s long, then doubled to 280 characters in November 2017.<ref name=max280/> Tweets appear on the user's profile [[webpage]]. Tweets can usually be read by anyone, but senders can also keep messages private. Private tweets only go to their list of friends. Users may [[Subscription|subscribe]] to tweets from other people. This is called ''following'', and subscribers are known as ''followers''. As of late 2009, users can also follow lists of authors.<ref name="lists1">{{cite web |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2009/10/theres-list-for-that.html |title=There's a List for That |publisher=blog.twitter.com |date=October 30, 2009 |access-date=February 1, 2010 |archive-date=April 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429143525/http://blog.twitter.com/2009/10/theres-list-for-that.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="lists2">{{cite web |url=http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/76460 |title=Twitter Lists! |publisher=help.twitter.com |date=November 9, 2009 |access-date=February 1, 2010 |archive-date=December 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222223731/http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/76460 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

All users can send and receive tweets using the X website. They can also use other applications that work with X on [[smartphone]]s. Twitter by [[SMS|Short Message Service]] (SMS) is available in certain countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://help.twitter.com/entries/14226-how-to-find-your-twitter-short-long-code |title=Using Twitter With Your Phone |quote=We currently support 2-way (sending and receiving) Twitter SMS via short codes and 1-way (sending only) via long codes. |publisher=Twitter Support |access-date=2010-06-01 |archive-date=2010-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315200218/http://help.twitter.com/entries/14226-how-to-find-your-twitter-short-long-code |url-status=dead }}</ref> Using Twitter is free, but sending or getting tweets by SMS may cost money. The website is based in [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]]. Twitter also has servers and offices in [[San Antonio, Texas]] and [[Boston, Massachusetts]], and soon in [[Salt Lake City, Utah]].

Twitter has become very popular worldwide since [[Jack Dorsey]] created it in 2006. It now has more than 126&nbsp;million users.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/internet/Twitter-snags-over-100-million-users-eyes-money-making/articleshow/5808927.cms |title=Twitter snags over 100 million users, eyes money-making |access-date=April 15, 2010 |archive-date=April 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418205655/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/internet/Twitter-snags-over-100-million-users-eyes-money-making/articleshow/5808927.cms |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is sometimes described as the "SMS of the [[Internet]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/swine-flu%5Cs-tweet-tweet-causes-online-flutter/356604/ |title=Swine flu's tweet tweet causes online flutter |date=April 29, 2009 |first=Leslie |last=D'Monte |newspaper=Business Standard India |publisher=Business Standard |quote=Also known as the 'SMS of the internet', Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service |access-date=May 28, 2009 |archive-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613003452/https://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/swine-flu-s-tweet-tweet-causes-online-flutter-109042900097_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On April 25, 2022, the Twitter board of directors agreed to [[Elon Musk]]'s [[United States dollar|US]]$44&nbsp;billion offer to buy the company.<ref name=elon>{{Cite web |last=Feiner |first=Lauren |date=2022-04-25 |title=Twitter accepts Elon Musk's buyout deal |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/25/twitter-accepts-elon-musks-buyout-deal.html |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=CNBC |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426185639/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/25/twitter-accepts-elon-musks-buyout-deal.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On October 27, 2022, Elon Musk took control of the company and fired CEO Parag Agarwal along with other top executives.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Duffy|first=Donie O'Sullivan and Clare|date=2022-10-27|title=Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter and fired its top executives|url=https://www.cp24.com/world/elon-musk-has-taken-control-of-twitter-and-fired-its-top-executives-1.6127440|access-date=2022-10-28|website=CP24|language=en|archive-date=2022-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028011804/https://www.cp24.com/world/elon-musk-has-taken-control-of-twitter-and-fired-its-top-executives-1.6127440|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==

[[File:Twttr sketch-Dorsey-2006.jpg|right|200px|thumb| [[Jack Dorsey|Jack Dorsey's]] drawing of an idea for an [[SMS]]-based [[social network]] in around 2006.]]

Twitter started at a [[podcast]]ing company [[Odeo]]. The company board members had a "daylong brainstorming session". During the meeting, [[Jack Dorsey]] introduced the idea of one person using an [[SMS]] service to communicate with a small group. At first, they called this project "twttr". It fit the five-character length of American SMS [[short code]]s and sounded like "[[Flickr]]". At first, the developers planned to use "10958" as a short code. Later they changed it to "40404" because it was easier to remember and type.<ref name=HowTwitterWasBorn>{{cite web|url=http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/|title=How Twitter Was Born|publisher=140 Characters|date=January 30, 2009|first=Dom|last=Sagolla|access-date=June 25, 2009|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508105855/http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dorsey sent the first Twitter message at 9:50 PM [[Pacific Standard Time]] (PST) March 21, 2006. The first tweet was, "just setting up my twttr."<ref name=Dorsey2006>{{Cite journal |title=just setting up my twttr |url=https://twitter.com/jack/status/20 |year=2006 |author=Dorsey, Jack |journal=Twitter |access-date=June 19, 2009 |archive-date=July 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702204321/https://twitter.com/jack/status/20 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=max280>{{cite web |title= Twitter is giving everyone longer tweets, but you probably won't use them |id= Those 280-character tweets are here to stay |author= Kurt Wagner |url=https://www.recode.net/2017/11/7/16615914/twitter-longer-tweets-280-characters-update-available-everyone |date= Nov 7, 2017 |access-date= 2019-03-15 |archive-date= 2019-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330042639/https://www.recode.net/2017/11/7/16615914/twitter-longer-tweets-280-characters-update-available-everyone |url-status= live }}</ref>

{{quote|[W]e came across the word "[[wikt:twitter|twitter]]," and it was just perfect. The definition was "a short burst of inconsequential information," and "chirps from birds." And that’s exactly what the product was.|[[Jack Dorsey]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/02/twitter-creator.html|title=Twitter creator Jack Dorsey illuminates the site's founding document|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 18, 2009|first=David|last=Sano|access-date=June 18, 2009|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502183919/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/02/twitter-creator.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The first version of Twitter was only for [[Odeo]] employees to use. They opened the full version for anyone to use on July 15, 2006. In October 2006, [[Biz Stone]], [[Evan Williams (blogger)|Evan Williams]], Dorsey, and other members of Odeo started a new company called Obvious Corporation. Obvious Corporation bought Odeo and all of its property–including Odeo.com and Twitter.com–from the investors and [[shareholder]]s.<ref name='Odeo RIP'>{{Cite news |first= Om |last= Malik |title= Odeo RIP, Hello Obvious Corp |date= October 25, 2006 |url=http://gigaom.com/2006/10/25/odeo-rip-hello-obvious-corp/ |work= [[GigaOM]] |access-date= June 20, 2009 |archive-date= May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502183300/https://gigaom.com/2006/10/25/odeo-rip-hello-obvious-corp/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> Twitter became its own separate company in April 2007.<ref name='Dorsey Interview'>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailyanchor.com/2009/02/12/a-conversation-with-twitter-co-founder-jack-dorsey |title=A Conversation With Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey |last=Lennon |first=Andrew |work=The Daily Anchor |access-date=June 20, 2009 |archive-date=July 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727073104/http://www.thedailyanchor.com/2009/02/12/a-conversation-with-twitter-co-founder-jack-dorsey/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Twitter started becoming very popular after the 2007 [[South by Southwest]] (SXSW) festival. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000&nbsp;tweets per day to 60,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gawker.com/tech/next-big-thing/twitter-blows-up-at-sxsw-conference-243634.php |title= Twitter blows up at SXSW Conference |access-date= June 20, 2009 |last= Douglas |first= Nick |date= March 12, 2007 |work= [[Gawker]] |archive-date= November 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113121309/http://gawker.com//tech//next-big-thing//twitter-blows-up-at-sxsw-conference-243634.php |url-status= dead }}</ref> The Twitter company set up two very large computer screens in the hallways at the conference. These screens only showed Twitter messages. Hundreds of people at the conference checked on what each other were doing by looking at the many tweets. Panelists and speakers talked about Twitter. Bloggers at SXSW described it to others in a very positive way.<ref name='Newsweek Tipping Point'>{{Cite news |first=Steven |last=Levy |title=Twitter: Is Brevity The Next Big Thing |date=April 30, 2007 |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/35289 |work=Newsweek |access-date=June 20, 2009 |archive-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412120320/http://www.newsweek.com/id/35289 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Reaction at the festival was very good. Blogger Scott Beale said that Twitter "absolutely rul[ed]" SXSW. Social software researcher [[Danah Boyd]] said Twitter "own[ed]" the festival.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9696264-2.html |title=To Twitter or Dodgeball at SXSW? |access-date=June 20, 2009 |last=Terdiman |first=Daniel |date=March 10, 2007 |work=[[CNET]] |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203224143/http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9696264-2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Twitter staff won the festival's Web Award prize. They said, "we'd like to thank you in 140&nbsp;characters or less. And we just did!"<ref>{{cite web |access-date=May 7, 2008 |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2007/03/we-won.html |title=We Won! |publisher=Twitter |date=March 14, 2007 |author=Stone, Biz |archive-date=February 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224170623/http://blog.twitter.com/2007/03/we-won.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Image:Twitter logo.svg |right|200px|thumb|Previous Twitter logo, used until September 14, 2010.]]

[[File:Logo of Twitter.svg|thumb|100px|Twitter logo used from 2012 to 2023]]

On September 14, 2010, Twitter changed the site design and added a new logo.<ref>{{cite news |access-date= September 16, 2010 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/09/16/cashmore.twitter.web/index.html |title= 'New Twitter' shows the Web isn't dead |publisher= CNN |date= September 16, 2010 |author= Cashmore, Pete |archive-date= February 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208114033/http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/09/16/cashmore.twitter.web/index.html |url-status= live }}</ref> On June 5, 2012, the Twitter logo was modified slightly and the text in the Twitter logo was removed.<ref>{{cite web |first=Salvador |last=Rodriguez |title=Twitter flips the bird, adopts new logo |url=https://latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-twitter-new-bird-20120606%2C0%2C2138652.story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712062434/http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-twitter-new-bird-20120606%2C0%2C2138652.story |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=June 6, 2012 |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=Scott |last=Gilbertson |title=Twitter's New Logo Inspires Parodies, CSS Greatness |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/06/twitters-new-logo-inspires-parodies-css-greatness/ |magazine=Wired |date=June 8, 2012 |access-date=May 5, 2017 |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106203523/https://www.wired.com/2012/06/twitters-new-logo-inspires-parodies-css-greatness/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On October 4, 2010, Evan Williams announced that he would not be CEO any more. Dick Costolo became the new CEO. He had been COO of Twitter. Williams will stay with the company and work on plans for the future of Twitter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2010/10/newtwitterceo.html |title= #newtwitterceo |publisher= blog.twitter.com |date= October 4, 2010 |access-date= 6 October 2010 |archive-date= 22 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322005413/http://blog.twitter.com/2010/10/newtwitterceo.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

In April 2022, [[Elon Musk]] became the company's owner after buying it for USD $44 billion.<ref name=elon/>

On July 24, 2023, Musk announced that he was changing the name of Twitter to X. He replaced the blue bird logo with an X.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/tech/twitter-rebrands-x-elon-musk-hnk-intl/index.html|accessdate=July 25, 2023|title=Elon Musk rebrands Twitter as X|publisher=[[CNN]]|archive-date=October 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003061153/https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/tech/twitter-rebrands-x-elon-musk-hnk-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/23/business/elon-musk-twitter-logo.html|accessdate=July 25, 2023|title=Elon Musk Changes Twitter Logo to an X|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|archive-date=July 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725001926/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/23/business/elon-musk-twitter-logo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Overview==

Technology author [[Steven Berlin Johnson|Steven Johnson]] described the basic way Twitter works. He called it "remarkably simple." Following is an important part of Twitter as a social network. Users' Twitter home pages show all of the tweets from people they follow. The tweets appear from newest to oldest. Johnson said:<ref name='twitterchangesthewaywelive'>{{Cite magazine | title=How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live | date=June 5, 2009 |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1902604,00.html | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | access-date=23 October 2010 | archive-date=16 October 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016165348/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1902604,00.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{Quote|If you follow 20 people, you'll see a mix of tweets <nowiki>moving</nowiki> down the page: breakfast-cereal updates, interesting new links, music recommendations, even <nowiki>thoughts</nowiki> on the future of education.}}

===People who use Twitter===

Twitter is mainly used by older adults who might not have used other social sites before Twitter. Jeremiah Owyang studies social media. He said, "Adults are just catching up to what teens have been doing for years."<ref name='teensdonttweet'>{{Cite news |first=Claire Cain |last=Miller |title=Who's Driving Twitter's Popularity? Not Teens |date=August 25, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 18, 2009 |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427151114/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Only 11% of Twitter's users were 12 to 17 years old in September 2009.<ref name='teensdonttweet' /> This may be because Twitter first gained popularity in businesses and news media that attract more older people. Many famous people such as [[Shaquille O'Neal|Shaq]], [[Britney Spears]], and [[Ashton Kutcher]] are Twitter users.<ref name='comscore'>{{Cite news |first= Andrew |last= Lipsman |title= What Ashton vs. CNN Foretold about the Changing Demographics of Twitter |date= September 2, 2009 |url=http://blog.comscore.com/2009/09/changing_demographics_of_twitter.html |work= [[comScore]] |access-date= September 18, 2009 |archive-date= September 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907004801/http://blog.comscore.com/2009/09/changing_demographics_of_twitter.html |url-status= dead }}</ref>

In June 2009, more women than men used Twitter—53% women; 47% men. Only 5% of users made 75% of all tweets. Also, [[New York City]] had the most Twitter users.<ref>{{cite web |author=Cheng, Alex |author2=Evans, Mark |title=An In-Depth Look Inside the Twitter World |date=June 2009 |url=http://www.sysomos.com/insidetwitter |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-date=July 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722002144/http://www.sysomos.com/insidetwitter/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

This is a brief summary of Twitter users as of 3 September 2009.

*Total users: 27 million

*Age: 63% of Twitter users were less than 35 years old

*Race: 60% of Twitter users were [[Caucasian]]. 16% were [[African American]]. That is higher than other Internet sites. [[Hispanic]] users were 11%.

*Income: 58% of Twitter users had a total household income of at least $60K.<ref>{{cite web |author=Bluff Brian |title=Who Uses Twitter? |date=May 2010 |url=http://www.site-seeker.com/_blogs/who-uses-twitter-demographic/ |access-date=Sep 22, 2010 |archive-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531203517/http://www.site-seeker.com/_blogs/who-uses-twitter-demographic/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The United States has the most Twitter users, followed by [[Japan]], [[India]] and [[Brazil]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/twitter-users-by-country|title=

Twitter Users by Country 2024}}</ref>

===Popularity===

Twitter is one of the 10 most visited websites in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/twitter.com | title=Twitter.com – Traffic Details from Alexa | publisher=[[Alexa Internet]] | date=August 26, 2010 | access-date=August 26, 2010 | archive-date=November 4, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104080228/https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/twitter.com | url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Logging in===

People can use software from other companies to access Twitter. These programs are called ''[[third-party applications]]''. The Twitter company changed the way this works on 31 August 2010. Now applications must use [[OAuth]] to connect to Twitter. This method means that users do not have to give their [[password]]s to the third-party applications. Changing the [[login]] system to OAuth did cause some problems. Using OAuth had been optional and programs used to be able to ask for usernames and passwords. However, now third-party applications that try to use a username and password do not work at all. The Twitter company said that using OAuth will give users "increased security and a better experience."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.twitter.com/2010/08/twitter-applications-and-oauth.html| title=Twitter Applications and OAuth| publisher=Twitter| date=August 30, 2010| access-date=Sep 13, 2010| archive-date=April 8, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408025117/http://blog.twitter.com/2010/08/twitter-applications-and-oauth.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Technology==

===Interface===

On April 30, 2009, Twitter changed the way it looks on the web. They added a search bar and a space on the right side of the page with "[[trending topic|Trending Topics]]". That space shows the most common phrases appearing in messages. [[Biz Stone]] explained that all messages are instantly [[Index (search engine)|indexed]] and explained the results of the change. The Trending Topics has made Twitter something "unexpectedly important — a discovery engine for finding out what is happening right now."<ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 7, 2008|url=http://blog.twitter.com/2009/04/twitter-search-for-everyone.html|title=Twitter Search for Everyone!|publisher=Twitter|date=April 30, 2009|last=Stone|first=Biz|author-link=Biz Stone|archive-date=April 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429171643/http://blog.twitter.com/2009/04/twitter-search-for-everyone.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Service problems===

Sometimes Twitter users experience a problem with the service and cannot access the website. They cannot read or write tweets but only see the ''[[Fail Whale]]'' image created by Yiying Lu,<ref>{{Cite news|first=Rob|last=Walker|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15wwln_consumed-t.html?_r=2|title=Fail Whale|work=Consumed|publisher=New York Times Magazine|page=17|date=February 15, 2009|access-date=February 15, 2009|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311125559/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15wwln_consumed-t.html?_r=2|url-status=live}}</ref>

Twitter worked well approximately 98% of the time in 2007. That is about six full days of no service.<ref name="downtime2">{{cite web|access-date=June 17, 2009|url=http://royal.pingdom.com/2007/12/19/twitter-growing-pains-cause-lots-of-downtime-in-2007/|title=Twitter growing pains cause lots of downtime in 2007|publisher=Pingdom|date=December 19, 2007|archive-date=December 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229114042/http://royal.pingdom.com/2007/12/19/twitter-growing-pains-cause-lots-of-downtime-in-2007/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The problems were particularly noticeable during events popular with the technology industry such as the 2008 [[Macworld Conference & Expo]] [[keynote|keynote address]].<ref name="downtime3">{{cite web|access-date=May 7, 2008|url=http://blog.twitter.com/2008/01/macworld.html|title=MacWorld|publisher=Twitter|date=January 15, 2008|author=Dorsey, Jack|archive-date=April 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412200750/http://blog.twitter.com/2008/01/macworld.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="downtime4">{{cite web|access-date=May 7, 2008|url=http://theappslab.com/2008/01/15/macworld-brings-twitter-to-its-knees/|title=MacWorld Brings Twitter to its Knees|publisher=Oracle AppsLab|date=January 15, 2008|author=Kuramoto, Jake|archive-date=July 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716221537/http://theappslab.com/2008/01/15/macworld-brings-twitter-to-its-knees/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

*May 2008, Twitter's new engineering team made changes to the structure of Twitter to handle the amount of growth. Problems with stability caused the service to stop working sometimes and forced Twitter to cancel some features for a short time.

*August 2008, Twitter stopped free [[SMS]] services for users in the United Kingdom<ref>{{cite web |access-date=June 14, 2009 |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2008/08/changes-for-some-sms-usersgood-and-bad.html |title=Changes for Some SMS Users—Good and Bad News |publisher=Twitter (blog) |date=August 13, 2008 |archive-date=June 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618143403/http://blog.twitter.com/2008/08/changes-for-some-sms-usersgood-and-bad.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and for approximately five months instant messaging support via a [[Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol|XMPP]] [[Internet bot|bot]] was listed as being "temporarily unavailable".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://getsatisfaction.com/twitter/topics/twitter_im_down_may_23rd_may24th |date=May 23, 2008 |first=Jack |last=Dorsey |author-link=Jack Dorsey |title=Twitter IM down May 23rd–May 24th |publisher=[[Get Satisfaction]] |access-date=July 29, 2008 |archive-date=July 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080729013427/http://getsatisfaction.com/twitter/topics/twitter_im_down_may_23rd_may24th |url-status=dead }}</ref>

*June 12, 2009, there was a serious problem with the unique number that identifies each tweet. This was called a possible "Twitpocalypse". (This is a combination of Twitter and [[apocalypse]]). The number that labels each tweet went beyond the limit of [[32-bit]] signed [[integer (computer science)|integers]]. That limit was 2,147,483,647 messages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/06/12/all-hell-may-break-loose-on-twitter-in-2-hours/|title=Twitter Moves Up The Twitpocalypse. All Hell May Break Loose Today.|first=MG|last=Siegler|date=June 12, 2009|publisher=[[TechCrunch]]|access-date=July 18, 2009|archive-date=July 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716012110/http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/12/all-hell-may-break-loose-on-twitter-in-2-hours/?|url-status=live}}</ref> While Twitter itself was not affected, some third-party clients could not access recent tweets. Software developers made [[Patch (computing)|Patches]] quickly. However, some [[iPhone]] applications had to wait for approval from the [[App Store (iOS)|App Store]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.news.com.au/techblog/index.php/news/comments/macchat_2009_the_age_of_the_twitpocalypse/56653 |title=The age of the Twitpocalypse |publisher=[[News Limited]] |work=news.com.au |first=John |last=O'Brien |date=June 24, 2009 |access-date=July 13, 2009 |archive-date=July 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090711184032/http://blogs.news.com.au/techblog/index.php/news/comments/macchat_2009_the_age_of_the_twitpocalypse/56653 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

*September 22, 2009, the identifier went past the limit for 32-bit ''unsigned'' integers (4,294,967,296 total messages). This broke some third-party applications again.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mashable.com/2009/09/21/twitpocalypse-ii-update/ |title=Twitpocalypse II: Twitter Apps Might Break Tomorrow |first=Ben |last=Parr |website=[[Mashable]] |date=September 21, 2009 |access-date=September 23, 2009 |archive-date=December 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111225082058/http://mashable.com/2009/09/21/twitpocalypse-ii-update/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

*August 6, 2009, Twitter and [[Facebook]] both suffered a [[denial-of-service attack]]. This stopped the Twitter website from working for several hours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219100308|title=Twitter Downed By Denial Of Service Attack|publisher=[[InformationWeek]]|first=Thomas|last=Claburn|date=August 6, 2009|access-date=August 6, 2009|archive-date=August 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808212046/http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219100308|url-status=dead}}</ref> The attacks were actually directed at one [[Georgia (country)|pro-Georgian]] user around the anniversary of the [[2008 South Ossetia War]], rather than the sites themselves.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8189162.stm |title=Web attack 'aimed at one blogger' |publisher=BBC News |date=August 7, 2009 |access-date=August 7, 2009 |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309164844/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8189162.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

*December 17, 2009, a hacking attack replaced the website's welcoming screen for almost one hour. Users saw an image of a green flag and the words "This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army". So far there is no proof of any connection between the hackers and the government of Iran.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/18/twitter.hacked/index.html |title=CNN: Twitter attacked |publisher=Edition.cnn.com |date=December 18, 2009 |access-date=March 28, 2010 |archive-date=November 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115232203/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/18/twitter.hacked/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Open source===

Twitter developed several software projects to improve their own service. The company shared these as [[open source]] software.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/about/opensource |title=Twitter / OpenSource |publisher=Twitter.com |access-date=2010-06-01 |archive-date=2010-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602014659/http://twitter.com/about/opensource |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some of these software projects are related to databases, such as the [[Gizzard (scala framework)|Gizzard Scala framework]] and a distributed graph database called [[FlockDB]].

==t.co==

'''t.co''' is a service created by Twitter to make [[Uniform Resource Locator|URLs]] shorter.<ref name=twitterhelpshort>{{cite web |url=http://support.twitter.com/entries/109623 |title=About Twitter's Link Service (http://t.co) |access-date=2010-09-03 |archive-date=2011-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225203154/http://support.twitter.com/entries/109623 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It can only be used for links that people post to Twitter. It is not available for other uses.<ref name=twitterhelpshort /> Eventually all links on Twitter will use t.co.<ref name=twitterblog>{{cite web |url=http://blog.twitter.com/2010/06/links-and-twitter-length-shouldnt.html |title=Twitter Blog: Links and Twitter: Length Shouldn't Matter |access-date=2010-09-03 |archive-date=2011-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223064958/http://blog.twitter.com/2010/06/links-and-twitter-length-shouldnt.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The company hopes that the service will protect users from harmful websites.<ref name=twitterhelpshort /> They will also use it to keep a record of people clicking on links in tweets.<ref name=twitterhelpshort /><ref name=register>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/02/twitter_ipad_app_and_url_shortener/ |title=Twitter tightens grip on own firehose |website=[[The Register]] |access-date=2010-09-03 |archive-date=2020-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528103241/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/02/twitter_ipad_app_and_url_shortener/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===History of t.co===

[[File:Twitter Logo.png|thumb|100px|Logo of t.co]]

Twitter had used the services from other sites such as [[TinyURL]] and [[bit.ly]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-switches-from-tinyurl-to-bitly-2009-5 |title=Twitter Switches From TinyURL To Bit.ly |website=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=2010-09-05 |archive-date=2013-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308105113/http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-switches-from-tinyurl-to-bitly-2009-5 |url-status=live }}</ref> They began trying their own way of making URLs shorter for direct messages in March 2010. They used the domain, twt.tl,<ref name=twitterblog /> before they bought the t.co domain.

The company is using these accounts to test the service on the main site: @TwitterAPI, @rsarver, and @raffi.<ref name=twitterblog />

On September 2, 2010, Twitter sent an email message to users to explain that they were starting to open the service to them.

==Other==

Twitter can also be used as an amateur and professional news source.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/11/27/i-cant-believe-some-people-are-still-saying-twitter-isnt-a-news-source |title=I Can't Believe Some People Are Still Saying Twitter Isn't a News Source |access-date=2009-10-21 |publisher=TechCrunch |archive-date=2009-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020224156/http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/27/i-cant-believe-some-people-are-still-saying-twitter-isnt-a-news-source/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Related pages==

* [[Censorship by Twitter]]

==Notes==

{{notelist}}

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== Other websites ==

* {{Official website}}; [https://blog.twitter.com Official blog]

[[Category:2006 establishments in the United States]]

[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]

[[Category:Twitter]]

[[Category:American software companies]]