Related topics: facebook , social networking , tweets , social networking sites , google
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. While the service costs nothing to use, accessing it through SMS may incur phone service provider fees.
Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide. It is sometimes described as the "SMS of the Internet" since the use of Twitter's application programming interface for sending and receiving short text messages by other applications often eclipses the direct use of Twitter.
Twitter is ranked as one of the 50 most popular websites worldwide by Alexa's web traffic analysis. Although estimates of the number of daily users vary because the company does not release the number of active accounts, a February 2009 Compete.com blog entry ranked Twitter as the third most used social network based on their count of 6 million unique monthly visitors and 55 million monthly visits. In March 2009, a Nielsen.com blog ranked Twitter as the fastest-growing site in the Member Communities category for February 2009. Twitter had a monthly growth of 1,382 percent, Zimbio of 240 percent, followed by Facebook with an increase of 228 percent. However, only 40 percent of Twitter's users are retained.
For more information about Twitter, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with twitter
Researchers use brain interface to post to Twitter (w/Video)
Apr 20, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In early April, Adam Wilson posted a status update on the social networking Web site Twitter -- just by thinking about it.
California schoolbooks going digital
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Jun 09, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (8) |
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California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced plans to phase out school textbooks in favor of digital learning aids as the state looks to plug its massive budget hole.
Hacker attack shuts down Twitter, Facebook also slows down (Update 2)
Aug 06, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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(AP) -- Hackers on Thursday shut down the fast-growing messaging service Twitter for hours, while Facebook experienced intermittent access problems.
Nokia N900 now available in US
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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Nokia today announced that the highly anticipated Nokia N900 is now on sale in the United States and shipping to consumers who jumped on the opportunity to be among the first to pre-order the Maemo-powered ...
Congratulations, criticism on Web over Obama Nobel
Oct 09, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (8) |
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The surprise awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama triggered a deluge of congratulations and criticism on Twitter and across the Web on Friday.
Google CEO: Vast Web changes coming within 5 years
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A Web where Chinese is the dominant language, and connections are so fast that distinctions between audio, video and text are blurred is perhaps just five years away, the head of Google said Wednesday.
Twitter ain't cool, British teenager tells global investors
Jul 15, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
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A 15-year-old Briton has set the financial world abuzz with a research note penned for a major US bank in which he reveals teenagers' media habits -- including that Twitter is just not cool.
Mathematical models key to tracking gossip, terrorists
Dec 09, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Thanks to the Internet and online social networks (OSNs) news and gossip now spread literally like wildfire -- uncontrollably and seemingly without any order. But according to one Ryerson ...
Attempted Iran media clampdown meets Internet age
Jun 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- Iran clamped down Tuesday on independent media in an attempt to control images of election protests, but pictures and videos leaked out anyway - showing how difficult it is to shut off the flow of ...
Internet 'a teenager' at 40
Oct 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Leonard Kleinrock never imagined Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube that day 40 years ago when his team gave birth to what is now taken for granted as the Internet.
Twitter hacked by old technique -- again
Jul 15, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
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(AP) -- Breaking into someone's e-mail can be child's play for a determined hacker, as Twitter Inc. employees have learned the hard way - again.
GizaPage organizes your social networks and more
Jul 30, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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One of the big Internet things these days is social networking. There's Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, hi5, YouTube, the list goes on and on. Then there's your personal blog that you maintain, your own website with ...
Yahoo is Going Portuguese Hound to Outwit Twitter
May 15, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
1
Brazil, a Portuguese speaking country is the 10th largest economy in the world and Yahoo has decided to get in on the action by coming up with a clone Twitter. The economic down-turn has affected Brazil to ...
Endangered Ugandan gorillas join Facebook, MySpace
Sep 26, 2009 |
3 / 5 (4) |
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(AP) -- He's hairy, his table manners are atrocious, and he wants to be your friend on Facebook.
Crew includes Twittering skipper, singer, ER doc
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 11, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- The astronauts headed to the international space station include a Twittering skipper, a classically trained musician who named her son after one of Columbia's fallen astronauts, and a former Navy ...
