On July 15, 2006, the Twitter platform was launched to the world from San Francisco, becoming one of the most influential platforms in the history of digital communication. What began as a side project within a small podcasting company evolved into a global phenomenon that changed the way news is shared and people communicate.

The Story from the Beginning – How Was Twitter Born?

In 2006, Jack Dorsey worked at Odeo, a fledgling podcasting company founded by Noah Glass and Evan Williams. However, with Apple’s launch of podcast support in iTunes, Odeo began to lose its luster. During a brainstorming session, Dorsey proposed the idea of a platform that allowed people to share short “status updates” – similar to the status updates in ICQ or Skype.

The idea was simple: users would send short messages no longer than 140 characters answering one question: “What are you doing?” The team developed the prototype in just two weeks and launched the first internal version on March 21, 2006, when Dorsey sent the first tweet in history: “just setting up my twttr” (just setting up my account).

Official Launch – July 15, 2006

After four months of internal testing, Twitter was officially launched to the public on July 15, 2006. The original name was “twttr” – inspired by the name of the Flickr platform – before changing to “Twitter,” an English word meaning the chirping of birds or short, unimportant chatter. The name was carefully chosen to reflect the nature of quick, short messages.

Initially, Twitter was a free service for communicating via SMS, making it easy to use even with basic phones. However, growth was slow in the first year. At the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, the company placed two massive interactive screens in the conference hallways displaying live tweets, leading to a surge in usage – from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000!

Twitter’s Impact on the World

Over two decades, Twitter became an indispensable tool in:

  • Breaking News: Twitter became the go-to source for real-time news – from natural disasters to major political events. The Arab Spring (2011) saw heavy use of Twitter to organize protests and share events.
  • Direct Communication: It gave people, leaders, and celebrities a platform to communicate directly without media intermediaries. Former President Donald Trump became one of the platform’s most famous users with his daily tweets.
  • Marketing and Media: Twitter evolved into a powerful marketing tool for brands and media institutions.
  • Cultural Influence: Hashtags like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter spread globally, influencing social movements.

Twitter’s Evolution Over the Years

Since its launch, Twitter has undergone significant changes. In 2013, it went public (NYSE: TWTR) at a share price of $31. In 2017, the character limit for tweets doubled from 140 to 280. In 2022, Elon Musk acquired the platform for $44 billion and rebranded it as “X,” though controversy over the change continues to this day.

Twitter’s peak usage was in 2021, when the number of monthly active users reached approximately 330 million.

One million users. Despite declining popularity in recent years and the emergence of competing platforms like Threads and Bluesky, Twitter remains a landmark in internet history.

Quick facts about Twitter

  • The first tweet by Jack Dorsey: “just setting up my twttr” – sent March 21, 2006 at 9:50 PM
  • Most retweeted tweet in history: the announcement of Chadwick Boseman’s death (2020) – over 7 million retweets
  • Most followed account: @elonmusk (over 190 million followers)
  • The @ symbol for user accounts was first used in August 2007, suggested by user Robert Andersen
  • The hashtag (#) was proposed by user Chris Messina in August 2007

Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded Twitter?
Twitter was co-founded by four people: Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass. However, Dorsey is considered the main engineer behind the idea.

Why 140 characters at first?
Because Twitter started as a short message service (SMS), and the maximum text message length at the time was 160 characters. 20 characters were reserved for the username, leaving 140 for the message.

Did Twitter change its name to X?
Yes, after Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022, the name and brand were officially changed to “X,” along with replacing the iconic blue bird logo with the black-and-white letter X.

Is Twitter available in Saudi Arabia?
Yes, Twitter is a widely available and used platform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is used to share news, communicate with government and private institutions, and is an important source of Arabic content.

How many Twitter users are there in the Arab world?
Saudi Arabia ranks first in the Arab world in Twitter usage, with over 15 million active users, making it one of the platform’s largest markets globally.