Happy Birthday! Twitter Turns Four

Yep, you read correctly. Twitter, the scrappy micro-blogging site that has wormed its way into our hearts is celebrating its fourth birthday. Four years ago, the bluebird of social media took flight as Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sent the first ever tweet. Who could have ever guessed the abbreviated phrase “just setting up my twittr”, would change the way we looked at social networking.

In four short years, we’ve watched Twitter and its loyal Twitterers make history. From weighing in on Barack Obama’s historic presidential win to directing people  complete with “yes we can” hashtags to donate via text messaging after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, Twitter has revolutionized the way news is reported and shared. A few minutes ago, Twitter burst into a chorus of updates either celebrating or bemoaning the historic passage of the health care bill. We’ve witnessed a proverbial clash of the titans as Ashton Kutcher took on CNN to be the first to hit one million followers. We tweeted in anticipation and apprehension when the big O got on board.

It’s been a wild ride and to say it hasn’t been bumpy would be looking at the situation through some seriously rose colored glasses. Celebrity Twitter accounts are a constant target for hackers and Twitter itself has been hacked raising tons of security issues. We also watched celebrity beefs as well as outright rants and breakdowns.

Celebrities aren’t the only ones that have to worry about the web ne’er do wells causing mischief. How many times have you received a suspicious looking DM from one of our twitter peeps or tweeps (For your sake, I hope you never clicked on the link)? Aside from Twitter hackers. we normal folk are constantly beleaguered by spammers hoping to coerce us into buying some inane product.

Through all the ups and downs, Twitter has grown to be a major part of how we communicate on the web. Sure, there are plenty of people that don’t use or even understand the value of a collection of 140-character phases posting in real time. Four years later, Twitter is still going strong and shows no sign of stopping.

So what are your thoughts? Do you use Twitter? Do you like it? Where do you see the future of social media heading?

About the Author
Sherri is a freelance writer that has a love of all things fun and geeky including gadgets, gaming, anime, and comics. When she isn't writing or out on the town living it up, she loves doing 10-12 hour marathon sessions on her Xbox 360 or one of her older consoles. It's not an addiction, it's a way of life!
See all posts by Sherri L. Smith.