2. Twitter
“This is what the naysayers fail to understand: It’s just
as easy to use Twitter to spread the word about a
brilliant 10,000 word New Yorker article as it is to
spread the word about your Lucky Charms habit.”
- Steven Johnson, author of The Invention of Air
3. History
Definition of Twitter: “a short burst of inconsequential
information” and “a series of chirps from birds”
Originally a micro-blogging platform, a way that groups of
friends could see what each other was up to based on post
updates (like texting, but not really)
Jack Dorsey proposed this to podcasting company Odeo’s
co-founder Evan Williams who, along with Biz Stone,
agreed to let Dorsey develop this project
Was first referred to as “twttr” but Noah Glass ultimately
changed it to “Twitter”
5. Business Facts
51% of users follow companies, brands or products
67% of users are more likely to buy from the brands
they follow on Twitter
Almost 80% follow a brand to get exclusive content
Over 90% follow businesses to get discounts and
promos
70% of small businesses are on Twitter
6. Trouble in the Twittersphere
In 2010, Courtney Love tweeted something that suggested
her lawyer at the time, Rhonda Holmes, had been “bought
off” for not pursuing a lawsuit over the estate of her
husband.
First case of Twitter defamation that made it to trial
… the internet is full of hyperbole and exaggeration
Jurors decided the tweet had false information, but Love
didn’t know it wasn’t true (it was defamation, but she
couldn’t be held liable)
“we won this epic battle #justiceprevails”
7. Fun Facts
10 tweets per second mention Starbucks
Obama’s victory tweet (Four more years) was the most
retweeted tweet ever with over 800,000 retweets
Lady Gaga is one of the most followed on Twitter with
almost 33 million followers
340 million tweets are sent every day
The official Twitter account of Sweden is run by a different
citizen every week
3 out of 4 heads of state are utilizing Twitter