Twitter marked its 9th birthday since its inception in 2006. This comes at a time when Twitter has been engaging its users through massive use of product features like the hashtags, and best practices like live tweeting that has made Twitter usage more interactive and enjoyable. To mark the nine years of Twitter’s existence, Twitter looks back at some of the landmark moments they have created around the world and moments that have defined history among its users.
In 2006, Co-founder Jack Dorsey Tweeted first, when the service was called “Twttr.”https://twitter.com/jack/status/20 In 2007, Early user Chris Messina proposed the use of a hashtag to denote people at the same live event. https://twitter.com/chrismessina/status/223115412 In 2008, When the Mars Phoenix Lander found ice on Mars, NASA used Twitter to break the news: https://twitter.com/MarsPhoenix/status/839088619 In 2009, Early user Janis Krums happened to be on a ferry when a plane went down in the Hudson River. https://twitter.com/jkrums/status/1121915133 In 2010, In a royal first, Clarence House, the Prince of Wales’ private office, created a Twitter account to announce Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton. https://twitter.com/ClarenceHouse/status/4489951894835200 In 2011, Up late one night, Sohaib Athar inadvertently live-tweeted the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64780730286358528 In 2012, Before he appeared publicly to affirm his second presidential win, President Obama noted it on Twitter. And within hours it became the most retweeted for the year. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/statuses/266031293945503744 In 2013, Two bombs shook the Boston Marathon – and the world. As news of the blasts and the manhunt spread, Twitter became crucial for journalists, police and citizens alike. https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/323872661866442753 In 2014, Twitter as the perfect companion to TV is evidenced by the most retweeted Tweet to date: @TheEllenShow’s starry Oscars photo. https://blog.twitter.com/2014/the-2014-yearontwitter In 2015, As news broke about the attack at the offices of French magazine @Charlie_Hebdo, people everywhere turned to Twitter. @JoachimRoncin’s Tweet soon became a rallying cry for free speech. https://twitter.com/joachimroncin/status/552794930725539840
In Kenya, hashtags have been the center of many conversations with Kenyans using it to stir up conversations on Twitter. Hashtags like #MyDressMychoice, #Beyondzeromarathon, #Bringzackbackhome and #OccupyParliament have engaged Kenyans in Twitter conversations that have had an impact on topical issues that were discussed. Twitter has since launched various apps like Tweet Deck teams, while you were away feature and Group DMs to enhance user experience among its users.
