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Twitter

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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

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Hackers attack Twitter, Facebook also slows down (AP)

Hacker attack shuts down Twitter, Facebook also slows down (Update 2)

Technology / Internet

created Aug 06, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 5

(AP) -- Hackers on Thursday shut down the fast-growing messaging service Twitter for hours, while Facebook experienced intermittent access problems.


Google News is now on Twitter

Google News launches Twitter feed

Technology / Internet

created Apr 28, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Google News, the news aggregation site run by the Internet search giant announced the launch of the @googlenews Twitter feed in a post on the Google News blog on Monday.


Researchers use brain interface to post to Twitter (w/Video)

Medicine & Health / Research

created Apr 20, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (12) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- In early April, Adam Wilson posted a status update on the social networking Web site Twitter -- just by thinking about it.


Mathematical models key to tracking gossip, terrorists

Mathematical models key to tracking gossip, terrorists

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(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 ...


Pay babysitter on iPhone, says Twitter

Pay babysitter on iPhone, says Twitter

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Microblogging service Twitter has branched into the market for electronic payments, unveiling a mini credit card swiper that plugs into the iPhone, at a European internet fair on Wednesday.


Google search results to include 'real-time' data (AP)

Google search results to include 'real-time' data

Technology / Internet

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(AP) -- Fresh information from blogs, news sites, Twitter and other popular hangouts will appear in Google's search results more quickly as the company aims to give people a more comprehensive look at what's ...


Microsoft XBOX 360

Xbox Live boots pirate videogame players; will link to Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Microsoft said Thursday that its Xbox 360 videogame console will be able to link online starting next week with Twitter and Facebook along with Internet radio star Last.fm.


Microsoft redesigns MSN, adds Twitter, Facebook

Technology / Internet

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is giving its MSN Web portal a long-overdue makeover and says it hopes the new site will funnel more people to Bing, the software maker's search engine.


In this undated image scientist Leonard Kleinrock poses with the first Interface Message Processor

Internet 'a teenager' at 40

Technology / Internet

created Oct 25, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

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.


Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

Young entrepreneurs get tips from Facebook-Twitter

Technology / Internet

created Oct 25, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Facebook and Twitter stars shared lessons learned with young entrepreneurs aspiring to be the next hot technology firm.


Google CEO: Vast Web changes coming within 5 years

Technology / Internet

created Oct 21, 2009 | popularity 2.4 / 5 (10) | comments 11

(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.


Top tech firms back open Internet in FCC letter

Technology / Internet

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Twitter and other leading Web and technology companies expressed support Monday for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) efforts to ensure an open Internet.


Twitter has added a tool that lets users flag accounts of spammers

Twitter launches tool for nailing spammers

Technology / Internet

created Oct 14, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Twitter added a tool that lets users flag accounts of spammers at the globally-popular microblogging service.


US to share Internet review amid worldwide growth

Technology / Internet

created Sep 30, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- As Internet use expands worldwide, the United States said Wednesday it will give other governments and the private sector a greater oversight role in an organization whose decisions affect how computers relay traffic ...


Twitter logo

Something to tweet about: Twitter valued at $1B

Technology / Internet

created Sep 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

(AP) -- Twitter Inc.'s founders now have a billion-dollar baby, and they seem determined to raise it without a corporate parent.