Twitter, that ubiquitous little collection of emotional grunts and other 140 character ramblings, is turning 3 years old today at 1:02 PM California time. Founding CEO Jack Dorsey Twittered earlier today linking back to one of the first Twitter messages (here’s one before that one), which read “inviting coworkers.”
The news about Twitter didn’t break until July 2006, when it was (jokingly I later learned) called twttr (and that’s the logo that they first used, above). I love reading our first post on the service, which I described as “a sort of “group send” SMS application. Each person controls their own network of friends.” I gave it a thumbs up for “for innovation and good execution on a simple but viral idea” but questioned why Odeo, a podcasting company, was wasting time on side projects. The comments to that post are pretty entertaining as well. See what my friend Om Malik had to say about them that day as well.
Fast forward to today and you have a startup that survived serious scaling issues and is getting serious mainstream attention. Facebook is obsessed with the young company, as are many others. Happy Birthday, Twttr.
2 Likes
twitter, oh no, twttr rocks
Happy Birthday Twitter! Wonder if they’ll make profit this year?
Follow me now @ http://twitter.com/ianmikutel
i’m officially removing TC as a quick link on my browser.
I am doing my part to help the economy recover, because the way I see it, this country needs a different frame of mind, and continuing to think that concepts such as twitter are life and social-altering “game changers”, then this economy has yet to bottom. Every vote counts, and i’ll still continue to visit TC, but i’m really tired of this 24×7 coverage of twitter.
Time will tell, but Mike, you will be wrong on this one.
Seriously. Can TC cut out the twitter crap? Can you do some serious postings and do some real research/work instead of cheerleading a company that is going nowhere fast?
I’m also tired of the hype; guess what : people communicate through millions of messageboards, ICQ, instant messenger, email, acutal phone conversations. Twitter is not a “game changer” - it’s just another means of communication, albeit the most (unneccesarily) hyped one at the moment. Take away the hype and you are left with just another means to communicate.
CPO RJ Garbowicz was asked what is YourNight.com, he responded, “Picture this; you get home from work in the evenings and you turn on your PC, what do you do . . . answer email . . . browse your social networking or dating site . . . play online games . . . search videos and music . . . shop online . . . peruse job listings . . . check out local events . . . search for a business . . . go to your online banking . . . well you get the point, YourNight.com affords you all of this, and much, much more – all within one colossal, user-friendly portal . . . that’s all I can say for now, since we are still in stealth mode . . . however, as soon as we complete our Series A capital raise of $10 million our purpose and presence will be known.”
For more information, please contact:
RJ Garbowicz President/CPO Extreme Enterprises, Inc.
Phone:727.289.5522
Email:RJ@eeihq.com
PO Box 49271
St Petersburg, FL 33743
Oh..Got late in wishing but still Belated Happy Birthday Twitter (-)
Now tell me what are you giving me any party like??
http://www.smartbloggerz.com
Hey mike, just a reminder: I would like to contribute articles for Techcrunch from India. Please call me…
Anjali Sen
From India
Nobody cares Anjali… Your input sucks. You’re feedback on the iPhone 3.0 release prove a number of things… 1. You don’t read your colleagues contributions, 2. You are out of touch with the times. Furthermore, your posting a job inquiry within an article about the birth of a revolution is in incredibly poor taste… Go find a hobby and shut up already.
I’d like to employ you as a writer for my website, if you’re interested? Please e-mail for consideration sarah@noonegivesashitaboutwhatyouhavetosaysostopspammingtc.com
You Fools, she did not write that. You are turning her into a star. Sometimes, I think it is all a plan.
Oo The Nigerian wrote:
“…. You are turning her into a star ….” Yeah, right… the “star” of the Indian spammers.
We already know that “Oo The Nigerian,” “Ubewe” and “Anjali Sen From India” are the *SAME* retard from Delhi. India.
What a stupid spammer….
In fact, she is the same person behind the MyLocator.com “technology”.
@Sarah
Good on! Hehehehehehehehehehehe!
My Favorite comment about Twttr
http://www.techcrunch.com/2006.....ent-101355
@Sarah,
Shut the fuck up, Sarah. I know you are ugly as hell. Don’t feel insecure.
Good one “Sarah” or should I use your “real” name = “Anjali Sen From India”
What a lame retard…
Pretty sure Techcrunch can do without your input.
Happy Birthday Twitter, congrats to Jack and EV.
http://twitter.com/KevinMinott
Mike,
Do you believe they can make $?
I have followed many people and Guy’s posts are mostly just go to alltop.com, just promotion.
It is “neat” to see famous people post stuff. Like shaq and Lance Armstrong, other than that people just post stuff to promote themselves.
What am I missing?
they already made it. twitter has changed our culture. it may be more valuable than Facebook.
Whose culture has twitter changed?
If twitter vanished tomorrow how much would it impact the life of the average person on the planet?
Running water changed our culture.
The automobile changed our culture.
Electricity changed our culture.
The telephone changed our culture.
The airplane changed our culture.
Twitter is fine for what it is. I actually believe twitter can make money (whether it can make enough money to justify it’s valuation is another story). There’s nothing wrong with Twitter. But overstating Twitter’s impact is not productive (it may be particularly damaging to Twitter itself).
yes well saying electricity is our culture is hardly interesting. I’m wondering why you didn’t include the Internet in your list?
I do agree that twitter’s impact is exaggerated. And I am still not convinced that it will break out into the mainstream. However, there is no denying that in 3 short years, twitter has definitely succeeded wildly beyond belief in terms of user adoption. We should give credit where credit is due. Congratulations and happy birthday twitter.
From “Anjali Sen” about Twitter:
“… I am still not convinced that it will break out into the mainstream …”
Wrote the stupid spammer from her cave in Delhi, India.
Cut it out, retard! Stop spamming TC!
Agreed - twitter may not have the reach that facebook has but it seems like twitter provides a more useful service. One that does a better job of utilizing social ties.
I think it’s only a matter of time before someone develops a method for monetizing social networks.
Mike,
Please explain how it is more valuable than Facebook. I’ve been following articles about its valuation and don’t get it either… they don’t make money. I understand its contribution to society… I’m not arguing how important it has become to our culture, or innovative it is in its simplicity, but I have yet to read an article that explains in Layman terms why its valuation is what it is. Could you point me in the right direction? Or write one yourself?
sure, it’s a post i’ve been noodling on.
I agree with dante.
Twitter sells ad on its Japan site.
What are the revenue metrics for Twitter Japan?
Are they atleast generating a net income for that portal? Or positive cash flow?
Simple metrics like total # of tweets/net income would be interesting.
Why hasn’t anyone bothered asking Evan about it.
I can’t wait for your article on Twitter vs Facebook
The article just before this one says how can you depend on a free service that can die at any moment.
I know Dell was able to make money, when you have xxx,xxx followers and a way to spam people with ad’s based on what they type in.
It seems to be a targeted telemarketing, highly responsive and possible the best targeting ever.
I just don’t see people wanting this, we hate spam email now we have spam twits.
Your post on Twitter vs. Facebook will/should be a great read to educate me and others who are missing the boat
Remember kids, Arrington is the same guy who proclaimed that Google Chrome would be a “Windows killer.”
In other words, take what he says with a grain of salt. He’s tech’s version of Bill O’Reilly, minus the loofa/falafel debacle.
Twitter changed our culture? That’s overstating it a bit isn’t it. If twitter went away tomorrow, few people would notice. Perhaps tweet-heads would find a wealth of time on their hands.
Absolutely Michael. I’d say Twitter is the closest we have to McLuhan’s fabled global village - it is the first many to many communications medium we have seen.
profitable or not, the Dorsey and Stone have created a product that has become incredibly influential. They are finalists for TIME’s 2009 Most Influential People Of The Year honor.
http://tinycomb.com/2009/03/20.....al-people/
Twitter has changed *our* culture, if *we* are digirati - approximately 0.000001% of the population.
I work for a large online business here in the UK. I recently wrote up on our kitchen wall the words “So, why aren’t you on Twitter?” The replies universally indicated that Twitter was for geeks, fashion followers and ego maniacs.
First tweet out there http://twitter.com/jack/statuses/20
“just setting up my twttr” …
so not the number 29
cool, will update.
Mike,
I am amazed at how social networks and Twitter have grown. Thumbs up.
Now, they rely on having user generated content, right? And as everyone knows, that´s a fantastic thing…
But the fact is that generating that content is a lot of work… even for users!
Think of a regular person (outside the tech world). If they have to do email, messenger, twitter, blogging, FB, Myspace, etc etc etc etc. What time do they have left for say… working?
User generated content has a limit and that limit is the amount of time users can or want to dedicate to generating content.
Question:
Are we close to or past this limit?
It’s value is in the openness of the platform. Each user can choose how they want to engage with others. Last night I watched a live stream of @iamdiddy in a club on Ustream with thousands of other followers. A feat that was impossible 3 yrs ago, I can see why Facebook and others are watching it closely. Twitter is at the center of shared realtime experiences.
Long Live Twitter! Many Many Happy returns!
Cheers!
http://writter.com/netwala
Seriously?
It is also, I believe, the 140th week since Twitter launched. Given the importance of that number in the culture, today is an extra significant milestone.
And let’s not forget that Evan Williams announced he’s going to be a Dad in August. Check it out in utero: http://bit.ly/7ovI6
i am so disappointed with myself for knowing about Twitter late.
I knew about Twitter early this year but they actually exist three years ago. am i outdated? (sob2)
That Anjali guy - he is out of topic.
“Heppi Burfdaye” Twitter!
Thank god they’ve changed the name…
Happy Birthday Twitter
Damn Orli you are HOTT! Add me on facebook plz.
Happy Birth Day Twitter. You are the Best.
http://twitter.com/clickslab
We’ve been talking about this on Twitter since last Saturday, dropping hints to Twitter’s powers that be that it’s an anniversary worth celebrating. But they haven’t even noted it on their company blog!
They are missing a great opportunity for some more media exposure and community building but I guess their approach is that they don’t actively market themselves (never have, never will?). Kind of crazy when they have so many big fans.
Liz
@nwjerseyliz
typo- did you mean ramblings
Many happy returns, then!
I haven’t been on Twitter very long. However, so far, it has helped me find my way to interesting blogs, articles and topics through other users of Twitter. And it’s fun, too!
If you limit yourself by following only people you personally know, you are limiting the value Twitter can add.
i really want to say michael arrington if it wasnt for your constant posting of twitter articles i would never have signed up for a twitter account
but nonetheless thanks
Happy Birthday Twitter !!
http://twitter.com/dvirreznik
Jesus friggin Christ how many posts do you people do on Twitter a day?
See http://twitterfacts.blogspot.c.....itter.html for a list of the first 9 Twitter (or twttr) users
Happy birthday twitter!
http://www.twitter.com/anyluckyday
Gotta say congratulations.
I remember around 2 years ago, my friend told me “you heard about that thing that lets you sms to like a bunch of people and update them on things you’re doing” … and i went “what a dumb idea, who the f* has time to text everything and anything anyway”…
but hey look, it worked out just fine
Happy birthday Twitter!
Twitter is still quite useless to me.
I’m still writing a business plan for an associate. I am so bored here doing research. Then I have to modify s033t’s plan to include our new CDN business.
The last thing I wanted to see on TC was something about Twitter.
I feel like Twitter is AIG and TechCrunch is the government, Twitter WILL NOT FAIL.
Geez, give it a rest. BTW, anybody that wants to talk get a hold of me on IM. I am stuck here all day.
Happy birthday, Twitter. I am portuguese and live in Portugal. Twitter is very populat here.
Happy birthday, twitter
I hope we’ll celebrate your next birtdays for years.
Happy Birthday my most used Online resource!
What’s interesting is 90% of the user comments are incredibly negative……to the point of trashing the company and mgmt and saying the service had no chance.
In general, your readership loves to see others fail. But if the website/service is on the rise……then the bandwagon jumpers come out of the woodwork.
What I’m trying to say is………people should respect anyone who tries to start their own business. It’s ok to criticize, but be constructive……at least they’re trying. My guess is that many of the negataunts out there simply hide out in the corporate confines of cubicleland and pass judgement. And even if you’re a “seasoned” web entrepreuneur, it still doesn’t give you the right to be a jerkstore, IMHO.
Amen. I wrote a post the other day about “solutions for the newspaper industry”
I haven’t seen many journalists actually say anything constructive about how to fix problems. All I hear is how traditional media, newspapers, television and FM radio are all dying. That’s all I hear but no one ever says, “here’s how we can keep this industry alive.
This same perspective is on companies as well. Once a company has made it, everyone is ready for it to go away so they can all get behind a new service.
I love the Twitter posts but would like TechCrunch to break it out into a separate category so those that don’t want to see the content can simply not subscribe to that RSS feed and not see the Twitter content.
Happy 3rd Birthday Twitter! More power!
i don’t see how anyone can doubt the value of twitter. twitter has the same potential as google - as a real time search engine. besides the fact that it has a multitude of uses (keeping track of brands, staying in touch with friends, businesses communicating with their users, etc…), twitter gives real time insight into what is going on anywhere, who’s there, and what they’re doing. that’s hugely monetizable.
the more people use the service, the more incredibly valuable it becomes to everybody. if twitter succeeds at it’s mission, it’ll be a real time google - and possibly just as huge.
happy birthday Twitter!
i love twitter
Farsi : taavaalodet boooooooobaaaaaaRaaaaak
.
twit twit!
Happy Birthday Twitter. We are creating “the next big thing” that will do for you what you have done for Facebook. Thanks. Stay Tuned.
A lot of people doubt twitter and question if they create any value. I think they create tremendous value- and agree with Mike that they may become more powerful/ubiquitous than facebook. Plus, for all those people who think twitter is just a mindless 140 character sms about nonsense ramblings- well, it may or may not be, what matters is that our culture and communication patterns are changing – and twitter gets it.
Go twitter!
News outlets like CNN should be required to take lessons in how to use Twitter. Watching them talk about it is like listening to Grandparents dissing pot. “My graaanson’s on the pot! He snorts it!”
CNN’s all like “according to the tweetospher…” or “We’ve been chirping all morning about Twitter turning three”
Happy third anniversary
This is the year of twitter
i really think i’m the only one that isn’t on one of these myspace deals…
Only twats twitter. Get a life, folks.
I think the jury is still out on Twitter. Despite it being similar to Facebook and MySpace, the traffic services show Twitter’s biggest problem: the kids aren’t using it. Quantcast shows Facebook with 30% of users 12-17. For Twitter, it’s just 1%.
They’ve yet to realize Twitter to tell you the truth… Once I asked a friend if he used Twitter, surprisingly he said “What’s that?”… And he’s like a tech savvy guy…
So yeah, it takes time… Facebook and Myspace has more nicer fun younger features… Our attention span is less than adults I guess…
Oh dear God… You didn’t report on Twitters recent serious security fubar, but now you’re reporting on it’s birthday????? Arrington, you are nailing the coffin of your integrity. You are Twitter’s biased bitch. You are done. We can’t trust you any more. /unsubscribe all
I just comeback from the past;http://gigaom.com/2006/07/15/valleys-all-twttr/#comment-932803 and left a comment to there Old post,it is fun to see what the past see to Twitter and it is become something “Beyond there wildest imaginations”Happy Birthday Twitter,Nice to call you that Name
Congratulations on the site’s great success. I hope my site will have great success too after 3 years.
I sent you a gift please take it Twitter!
The Twttr logo is terrible, looks like sick…
Happy birthday!
Anyone else find it funny Arrington writes about *other* companies obsessed with Twitter, when the most obsessive Twitterophile in the universe is Techcrunch?
Oh and Twitter is a useless piece of shit, thanks for asking.
Happy Birthday Twitter….hope they will find a way to make some money without hurting the users experience.
Happy birthday Twitter!!!!
To date, I have found no use for Twitter. None.
What’s the point of it? I don’t like texting either. So sue me.
Anjali, you may want to try some other blogs where there is a larger Indian readership? Here at techcrunch people usually look for news that only well connected experienced journalists/bloggers can get. Writing from India and wanting to cover the USA tech poses certain challenges. This is one area where reading all the books in the world will not help you. You actually have to know what’s going on and know the people who are involved in making the news.
John, don’t try too hard to kill our workforce now. You have to give them a bit of “you’re the sh*t fuel” to get the results we had scoped out. Think about give them some respect for the sleazy work they are doing.
@David,
Well it is not about that. We all know the value Indians bring to this country (and I’m not talking seven elven stores). They are logical people. Their civilization has had a dead stop some thousand years ago, but regardless, their brains are working and churning out good stuff. They are as cheap as they come and they can be harnessed to produce great results. If you have too much politics in the middle management in your company, you may be experiencing hindu overgrazing problem. Try limiting lunches in offices and gatherings that are not growth justified.
Stop this bullshit. Racist bastards. She did not write that comment. Some gay paedophile from USA wrote that. Get the fuck out of TechCrunch.
Yes, “Sahara” we recognize your stylish language….
Anjali Sen = Ubewe = Oo The Nigerian = Sahara
The same idiot spammer “From India” — Get lost!!!!!