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Twitter Inc.

Twitter is a popular social networking and internet/SMS blogging device that allows users to post and read updates of up to 140 characters of text. Each update (known as a ‘tweet’) is posted to a user’s homepage (which is usually publicly accessible) and also sent to other users (‘followers’ of the original user) who have subscribed to them. Twitter was created in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, working in conjunction with a company called Odeo. Twitter was ranked first for fastest-growing website in the Members Community category for February 2009 by Nielsen.com with a monthly growth of 1382%, although it was acknowledged that Twitter only had a 40% retention rate of users, meaning that only 40% of users continue using Twitter after a month has passed since initial signup.

Latest articles

Cheating Thierry Henry hands his sponsors a moral dilemma

20.11.09
Thierry Henry's earning power could be seriously damaged as sponsors desert him in the wake of the 'hand of God' cheating scandal, it has emerged... more

Now it’s a battle to prove a point in ‘Piranha Club’

20.11.09
I’ve noticed this year how much F1 drivers love being loved and now Jenson Button has gone elsewhere to feel valued... more

Peter Andre: I'm too busy to watch I'm A Celebrity

20.11.09
Peter Andre says he is too busy to watch this year's series of I'm A Celebrity.... more

Cheryl Cole insists her marriage isn't on the rocks and says 'diamonds are forever'

20.11.09
Cheryl Cole has taken action to stop rumours that her marriage is on the rocks.... more

Paul O'Grady mourns death of dog Buster

20.11.09
TV host Paul O'Grady is mourning the death of his faithful sidekick, Buster.... more

Cameras, lights, Carey: Mariah turns on Christmas at Westfield

19.11.09
Mariah Carey is to switch on the Christmas lights at Westfield shopping centre this evening... more

Is my partner’s phone really off-limits? I can’t stop myself from reading his text messages

17.11.09
They are candid, provocative - and totally at odds with each other. Our resident 'sexperts' offer conflicting advice on Londoners' sexual dilemmas...... more

Tweet in haste and repent at leisure

16.11.09
Stephen Fry is just one of a number who have discovered that what you 'tweet' on Twitter is harder to get rid of than nuclear waste... more

Tess Daly flaunts post-baby figure for sexy lingerie campaign

16.11.09
Tess Daly has flaunted a figure that will be the envy of other new mums as part of a new La Senza lingerie campaign.... more

Video: Best of Freeze Festival

04.11.09
Freeze Festival got us in the festive mood with around 500 tonnes of snow at Battersea Power Station.... more

Workers tweet away £325m of time in the office

26.10.09
Major London firms are banning employees from accessing Twitter as it emerged that the site is costing businesses in the capital almost £325million a year in lost productivity... more

Masters of the Twitterverse - how Twitter has grown up

30.09.09
The microblogging website was written off as the preserve of those with nothing to say but a desperate urge to say it until it was valued at £600m. Mark Prigg looks at the top tweeters who have turned Twitter around... more

...and it just may be cheap at $1 billion

25.09.09
There's already a sense of déjà vu about Twitter being worth $1 billion, which is pretty weird, considering it’s growing at a phenomenal rate ... more

Twitter in £62m raiser

25.09.09
'Twitterverse' sent into frenzy by reports Twitter is close to announcing new round of financing worth $100 million... more

The best music apps and musician twitterers

18.09.09
Don’t get left behind by the latest music crazes and gizmos — from tweeting the stars to remixing your voice, there’s more fun to be had than you might think... more

Twitter is like 'internet shopping for burglars'

27.08.09
Social networking sites are like internet shopping for burglars with users revealing details about their home and whereabouts to complete strangers, an insurer warned... more

Activists gather in London, but can't find secret camp location

26.08.09
Hundreds of climate activists gathered in London but were kept waiting for details of the secret location of their week-long protest camp... more

Met posts new 'friendly' tactics on Twitter after G20 criticism

19.08.09
Scotland Yard has signed up to Twitter in a bid to adopt a more friendly approach to policing protests... more

Labour appoints chief of the tweets for online election war

19.08.09
Labour has appointed a Twitter 'czar' as the party gears up for an online war in the run-up to the general election... more

Shooting stars set to light up Twitter

12.08.09
British amateur astronomers will lead the first global 'Twitter Meteorwatch' as shooting stars light up the sky tonight... more

Cosi Fan Tweeti... ROH asks bloggers to write opera

10.08.09
New opera composed entirely of 'tweets' is being produced by the Royal Opera House in a bid to shake off its old-fashioned image... more

Look who is following the new corporate Tweeters

03.08.09
Twitter has been hijacked by the business world. But as these celebrities prove, we can be as fascinated with what companies are up to as they are with us.... more

House to be 'given away' on Twitter

12.06.09
A house which failed to sell despite starring on Grand Designs is to be "given away" to one lucky winner who signs up to Twitter, its owner has said... more

China's censors can't stem the great web tide

04.06.09
There's little doubt that China's society has progressed in the past two decades. With luck, there will be no blood spilt in Tiananmen Square this year... more

Waste of time? Now Twitter helps you catch the right train

01.06.09
Thousands of London commuters could soon be relying on Twitter to make sure they do not miss their train... more

Giving to charity is a tweet for web shoppers

18.05.09
An internet entrepreneur is set to raise thousands of pounds for charity after working out how to make money from Twitter... more

Rival social networking site hits Twitter with worm

14.04.09
An investigation was under way today into how a computer 'worm' was able to strike the Twitter social network over the weekend... more

Twitter security alert as rival's worm buries into website

14.04.09
An investigation is under way into how Twitter social networking website was infected by a computer "worm" sent by a rival over the weekend, its co-founder Biz Stone said... more
  • Facts
  • According to Compete.com, Twitter is the world’s third most used social network and as of late June 2009, Alexa Internet Inc. ranks the site 36th in terms of overall web traffic
  • The aftermath of the 2009 Iranian Presidential Elections were closely followed by those in the Western world, in part due to Twitter updates from ordinary people on the ground, since many Western news outlets had been restricted from broadcasting by the Iranian government
  • American celebrity Ashton Kutcher is the most followed person on Twitter.com, and was the first person to reach one million followers (beating out closest contender – the Central News Network (CNN))
  • The American Red Cross uses Twitter to exchange up-to-the-minute information regarding local disasters, including directions and statistics
  • A picture of US Airways Flight 1549 that was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River in New York (January 2009) was taken and posted online on Twitter long before any official media arrived on the scene.
  • Twitter was used in space of the first time in May 2009 when astronaut Michael Massimino used the service to keep updates of the mission to repair Hubble Space Telescope

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