The app has been home to many significant cultural moments (Picture: Twitter Logo)
July 15,2006. Tony Blair is Prime Minister,Promiscuous reigns as the number 1 single,and the second Pirates of the Caribbean film dominates the box offices.
Unknown to most of the world,a platform is released which will permanently alter the global landscape.
Twitter.
Well,back then it was called twttr – clearly not immune to the craze of ‘disemvoweling’ that characterised the early 2000s.
Since its release,the name has changed many times,and with it,the nature of the platform.
Most recently,it has adopted the name X under Musk’s ownership.
Twitter turns 20 years old today,so it would be fitting to take a trip through the history of the application. What form of media would be best equipped to do this?
Tweets,of course.
So,without further ado,here is a history of Twitter – in tweets.
just setting up my twttr
@jack
March 21,2006
On this day,the co-founder of Twitter,Jack Dorsey,sends the first ever tweet. These five words mark the beginning of the platform as we know it.
http://twitpic.com/135xa – There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.
— Janis Krums (@jkrums) January 15,2009
There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.
@jkrums
January 15,2009
Accompanied by a photo of the plane floating in the river,this tweet was sent from the iPhone of a commuter whose ferry detoured to rescue passengers from the less-than-ideal landing.
Janis Krums broke the news faster than any of the TV stations who later arrived at the scene,marking the emergence of Twitter as the primary source of information for millions of people.
Ed Balls.
@edballsmp
April 28,2011
In an attempt to find articles about himself,British politician Ed Balls mistakenly tweeted his own name instead of typing it in the search bar,resulting in an iconic tweet that quickly went viral.
This spawned a yearly internet tradition where social media users share memes and reply to the original tweet on ‘Ed Balls Day’. Even the subject himself leans into the joke,and posts about it on the anniversary.
Four more years.
@BarackObama
November 7,2012
Following a difficult reelection campaign,Barack Obama celebrates his victory alongside the general public.
This is the first major instance of the app’s ability to directly unite politicians and their supporters – a theme that crops up in later years,albeit in a less wholesome manner.
Pope Benedict XVI sent the first papal tweet (Picture: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Dear friends,I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.
@Pontifex
December 12,2013
As the first tweet on the Papal account,this message marks the historic moment that Twitter was adopted by one of the oldest institutions in the world – the Catholic Church.
From this point onwards,the platform could no longer be viewed as a fad for bored teenagers. It became a key vehicle for political ideas and religion,growing its global influence.
Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white.
@JustineSacco
December 20,2013
Justine Sacco,a successful PR director at the time,tweeted this ‘joke’ before boarding an 11 hour flight.
By the time she landed,the internet had rallied around achieving retribution for her actions.
She walked off the plane to find that her entire life had been upturned.
Her subsequent dismissal demonstrated the first glimpse of Twitter’s capability for mob justice – a capability that would only continue to grow.
Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this b**** here fell out???????? It’s kind of long but full of suspense
@_zolarmoon
October 27,2015
Posted by Aziah ‘Zola’ King,this tweet began a 148-tweet thread documenting a story in the life of the author.
Hooking millions of users through the humorous conversational tone,the thread delivered a plot that could have been worthy of a film,complete with character arcs,plot twists and comedic relief.
Turns out the plot was actually worthy of a film,as the production house A24 took interest in the tale. ‘Zola’ was produced which was nominated for many awards,highlighting the complex and often exploitative nature of sex work.
With this tweet,Twitter became a platform where culture was developed that extended beyond the internet into the real world.
This is how Fyre Fest handles luggage. Just drop it out of a shipping container. At night. With no lights. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/X5CdZRyJWo
— William Needham Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 28,2017
This is how Fyre Fest handles luggage. Just drop it out of a shipping container. At night. With no lights. #fyrefestival
@WNFIV
April 28,2017
The Fyre Festival was a ‘luxury’ festival in the Bahamas endorsed by Bella Hadid and Ja Rule which turned out to be a massive flop.
How did the world know this? Under the alias William N. Finley IV,Seth Crossno tweeted updates on the festival,and Twitter became the first platform to document the story that eventually became a Netflix film.
Alongside other examples of the festival’s failure,this tweet went viral,forcing both mainstream media and the festival’s organisers to acknowledge the event. Oganisers who had previously tried to scrub criticism from Instagram.
After consultation with my Generals and military experts,please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……
@realDonaldTrump
July 26,2017
…Transgender people to serve in the US military.
Trump announced this policy directly on Twitter,without first clearing it with his defence officials internally,many of whom admitted that they had been taken by surprise.
Through this action,Twitter transitioned from a platform where politics was relayed to a platform where politics happened.
JK Rowling has since become a prominent figure on the platform (Picture: AFP)
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
@jk_rowling
June 6,2020
JK Rowling used this as a caption for a retweeted opinion piece that made reference to ‘people who menstruate’. She used this deeply divisive tweet to criticise the people she viewed to be erasing ‘the concept of sex’.
Overnight,one of the world’s most beloved authors transformed into one of the platform’s most controversial figures. Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson both publicly distanced themselves from her.
Twitter’s role as an arena for cultural wars became clear with this tweet and the subsequent fallout.
To all of those who have asked,I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.
@realDonaldTrump
January 8,2021
Just two days prior,Trump had incited (partially using Twitter) a violent riot at the Capitol,leading to five deaths within 36 hours.
Twitter intermittently banned Trump for fear of further incitement,with this tweet holding his final words before his permanent ban.
It was at this point that Twitter itself realised the potential for destruction that it had brought into the world.
For Twitter to deserve public trust,it must be politically neutral,which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally
@elonmusk
April 27,2022
Musk made this tweet shortly after Twitter accepted his offer to buy the platform,in response to the influx of right-wing supporters that followed his takeover of the company.
In order to protect his ‘free-speech absolutist’ ideology,Musk had to maintain the facade that Twitter would remain politically neutral under his control.
pic.twitter.com/iZUukCVrl5
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 14,2023
@elonmusk
February 14,2023
During the Superbowl LVII,Musk posted a tweet supporting the Eagles,which received less than a third of the impressions received by Biden’s tweet.
To Musk,this was something that needed fixing. So he did.
Musk had his engineers boost his posts by a ludicrous factor,resulting in the feed of every user,even those that had never interacted with Musk’s account before,being swamped by his posts.
Did Musk apologise for so blatantly counteracting the principles of free speech that he stood for?
Actually,he posted a self-incriminating meme revelling in his success. ‘Twitter’ being force-fed milk by ‘Elon’s tweets’. Close enough.
RAGE
@elonmusk
June 2,2026
Following the death of Henry Nowak,which many thought represented two-tier policing,outcries erupted from right-wing politicians.
Musk responded with a single word.
A single word designed to inspire outrage. To push far-right ideals to millions. To leverage a tragic death for political gain.
The reaction was immediate,and ugly.
Welp. It’s been fun Twitter. I’m out. See you on other platforms,peeps. Sorry,this one’s just not for me.
@SaraBareilles
October 30,2022
This one spoils the timeline slightly as it’s four years old,but it perfectly exemplifies how Twitter has changed over the years.
Sara Bareilles,the singer behind the hits ‘Love Song’ and ‘Brave’,tweets her final message before quitting the platform. She laments the deterioration of the network.
