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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

MP tells of sex pest in the cloakroom as Tory defends his bottom slap

06.11.09
Fresh 'sexism in the Commons' allegations emerged as a woman Tory MP reveals a Labour backbencher propositioned her... more

Policewoman is massacre hero as she stops muslim major on rampage

06.11.09
Woman police officer was hailed a heroine after she tackled a gunman on a killing rampage at America’s biggest military base... more

Red mist is hanging over Jermain Defoe's World Cup dreams

06.11.09
Harry Redknapp has warned Jermain Defoe that another act of petulance this season could cost him a place in England's World Cup squad... more

Harry Redknapp has no regrets about offloading Darren Bent

06.11.09
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp insists he has no regrets about selling Darren Bent over the summer, despite the striker's barnstorming start to the season with Sunderland... 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

Why there is this discord in Twitterland

03.11.09
A newspaper columnist and mentor of mine always gave short thrift to critics who asked how he would like to be on the receiving end of ill-informed opinion and knockabout abuse... more

Colin Firth set to switch on Regent Street lights

03.11.09
Regent Street Christmas lights will be switched on tonight with Colin Firth pushing the button and The Noisettes performing.... 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

Bakery tries to attract customers using Twitter

08.04.09
A bakery is trying to attract customers by using Twitter to send messages when fresh bread and cakes are ready... more

Who needs to Twitter when you can Yammer?

30.03.09
Social networking is evolving fast. Jasmine Gardner searches out the best new sites... more

Who foots the bill if we pay granny for childcare?

26.03.09
Yesterday I was tempted to phone my mum to ask her to hide the newspaper. A few times a month, my dad does emergency childcare for us. A new report suggests he should be paid for his services. And I don't want him getting any funny ideas.... 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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