10 unforgettable Twitter moments for its 10th anniversary
Aaron SkibaMarch 21, 2016
It has become an essential part of the Internet: The popular microblogging platform Twitter turns 10 on March 21, 2016. From politics to entertainment, here are some of the tweets that made it big.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C.Charisius
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10 unforgettable Twitter moments
Twitter turns 10 on March 21, 2016. From politics to entertainment, these memorable tweets were a spontaneous reaction to world events and left their 140-character mark.
Image: Getty Images/NBC Universal/P. Drinkwater
It all began 10 years ago
Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, or simply @jack, posted the very first tweet on March 21, 2006: "just setting up my twttr." Many more users on the microblogging platform would start out with a similar message, but his got tens of thousands of retweets.
Image: Twitter/jack
'Best photo ever'
American television host Ellen DeGeneres posted this snapshot during the Oscars 2014, which she called the "best photo ever," and an incredible number of people agreed. With over 3 million retweets and a bunch of famous actors in the picture, this selfie is the most successful tweet of all time.
Image: Twitter/TheEllenShow
'Damn, Daniel!'
This catchphrase became a huge viral hit recently: Some people are even getting "Damn Daniel" tattoos now. Two Californian teens, Daniel Lara (l.) and Josh Holz, posted a 30-second video where Josh praises his best friend's clothes, repeating "Damn Daniel." It earned the young Internet stars a lifetime supply of sneakers - they made headlines again by donating them to young patients in hospitals.
Image: picture alliance/AP Images/E. Agostini
#Egypt
Goofy entertainment works well on Twitter, but countless tweets react to serious current events as well. During the Arab Spring, #Egypt was used on Twitter by locals and journalists reporting about the fall of the Egyptian regime. In 2011, longtime President Hosni Mubarak resigned as a result of the Egyptian revolution. Journalists worldwide also fetched their information on Twitter.
Image: Twitter/LindaHemby/WomenWorldNews1/ayaelb
#jesuischarlie
On January 7, 2015, two Islamist militants forced their way into the offices of the French satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo," killing 11 people and injuring 11 more. The hashtag #jesuischarlie was used on Twitter to express compassion with the victims of the massacre. A few weeks after the attacks, the hashtag had already appeared five million times on Twitter.
Image: DW/E. Servettaz
Reporting abuse
In the German tweetosphere, the hashtag #aufschrei (which translates as outcry) was picked up by many Twitter users in 2013 to share sexist and misogynist experiences. It has become a symbol for feminism, but is now also used to denounce different forms of injustice.
Image: Twitter/FrankGaul/Valandir/OpferMissbrauch
Live from the field
After winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, German star players Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger posted this winning selfie directly from the field. Not only did the dream team win the FIFA World Cup, they also earned 80,000 retweets with this tweet. Which achievement makes them prouder?
Image: picture alliance/augenklick/GES/M. Gilliar
Good news for the Royals
The first son of Prince William and his wife Catherine was born on July 22, 2013. Breaking with the tradition of posting the announcement outside Buckingham Palace first, the birth of Royal Baby George was made public via Twitter, stating, "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm." A similar tweet was posted when Baby Charlotte came in 2015.
Image: Reuters/S. Plunkett
Four more for Barack Obama
The US president posted this picture of him hugging his wife Michelle after being re-elected for his second term of presidency in November 2012. Retweeted nearly 800,000 times, this is one of the most successful tweets ever, reflecting Obama's popularity on social media.
Image: Twitter/BarackObama
A winner's advice
Some of the most successful tweets are quite simple, fitting Twitter's 140-character limit. In 2011, this even shorter motivational message went viral: "Never be afraid to dream." Certainly contributing to its popularity was the person who wrote it: Stefani Germanotta, aka megastar Lady Gaga.
Image: Getty Images/NBC Universal/P. Drinkwater
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#HappyBirthday, Twitter! Created in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, the platform allows users to post public short messages of 140 characters or less, which can include links, photos and videos, creating a personalized news ticker. Ten years after its creation, over 320 million people have an account.
Hashtags have also become part of popular culture. Words or expressions written after the pound sign, #LikeThis, allow all tweets under that hashtag to be found quickly.
The journalist's tool
Twitter is incredibly popular for spreading news and opinions. Journalists often rely on the short messages, while the platform registers hundreds of thousands of tweets during important events.
For example, during the re-election of US president Barack Obama in year 2012, Twitter indexed over 320,000 tweets per second.
Amateur pictures can be posted on Twitter even before news agencies are able to publish theirs. Local users have been providing information directly from their part of the world, making the platform an important source of information for newsmakers.
Numerous hashtags, such as #Egypt, have supplied journalists worldwide with information from the streets. Spreading news in 140 characters has also turned into a job requirement for a whole generation of reporters.
