Twitter celebrates eighth birthday with #FirstTweets

Twitter celebrates eighth birthday with #FirstTweets
By Euronews
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Twitter is eight years old today and to mark its birthday, it has launched a new tool which lets you find users’ first ever tweet.

It allows you to look up your own first tweet, or that of a friend or a celebrity. You can also follow submissions under #FirstTweets.

US President Barack Obama’s first got to grips with Twitter in April 2007, sending a message that may now seem like wishful thinking. “Thinking we’re only one signature away from ending the war in Iraq,” he tweeted.

Thinking we're only one signature away from ending the war in Iraq. Learn more at http://www.barackobama.com

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) 29 Avril 2007

Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey was behind the first tweet on the social network in 2006, announcing “just setting up my twttr”, the name of the platform back then.
https://twitter.com/jack/statuses/20

Twitter now claims more than 240 million users worldwide with more than 500 million tweets sent every day.

Tweeting during Sunday’s World Cup final set a record for Twitter with the most tweets per minute. A record-breaking 618,725 tweets were sent out at the moment Germany defeated Argentina.

Twitter has played its role in political activism. During the Egyptian uprisings, it was a key channel for protesters to organise gatherings and keep each other informed.

In China, although Twitter is blocked, it is still accessed by activists using proxy networks.

Earlier this year, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attempted to ban Twitter after corruption allegations against him and his family were posted.

And before Twitter, what was the hashtag? The # key was only really known as something found on telephone keypads. Now hashtags are the definitive way to organise tweets on the same subject.

One of the best known recent campaigns was #BringBackOurGirls to rescue the more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It's time to #BringBackOurGirls. -mo pic.twitter.com/glDKDotJRt

— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) May 7, 2014

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