Twitter Draft One

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Twitter is a micro-blogging platform utilized by 288 million active users a month.<ref>[https://about.twitter.com/company About Twitter]</ref> The "tweets" allow users 140 characters per post for optimal mobile readability.<ref>[http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/twitter-basics-why-140-characters-and-how-to-write-more/442608 Adweek 140 Character Limit]</ref> Twitter, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter Wikipedia]</ref> The company created the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag Wikipedia Hashtag] with a tweet by Chris Messina in August 2007.<ref>[https://twitter.com/chrismessina/status/223115412 Chris Messina Tweet]</ref> A platform combining social networking and news, Twitter's mission is "to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers."<ref>[https://about.twitter.com/company About Twitter]</ref>
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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter Twitter] is a micro-blogging platform utilized by 288 million active users a month.<ref>[https://about.twitter.com/company About Twitter]</ref> The "tweets" allow users 140 characters per post for optimal mobile readability.<ref>[http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/twitter-basics-why-140-characters-and-how-to-write-more/442608 Adweek 140 Character Limit]</ref> Twitter, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its name is based off the chirping noise that birds make, similar in idea to the concise messages of tweets.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter Twitter Wikipedia]</ref> Compared to other websites, Twitter ranks eighth in the United States and eighth globally.<ref>[http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/twitter.com Alexa Ranking]</ref> Twitter claims that 77% of total accounts are located outside of the U.S.<ref>[https://about.twitter.com/company About Twitter]</ref> Users primarily use Twitter on mobile devices over desktop or tablet devices.<ref>[https://blog.twitter.com/2013/new-compete-study-primary-mobile-users-on-twitter Twitter Blog]</ref> A platform combining social networking and news, Twitter's mission is "to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers."<ref>[https://about.twitter.com/company About Twitter]</ref>  
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==Introduction==
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==Technology==
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Twitter is an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source open source] software with several contributions to various projects.<ref>[https://engineering.twitter.com/opensource Twitter Open Source]</ref> The company uses [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitHub GitHub] to share and allow the public to contribute to the code.<ref>[https://github.com/twitter Twitter Github]</ref> The community receives [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_license free license] to use or edit the software however they like.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source Open Source Wikipedia]</ref> Thirty-one data fields accompany every tweet sent to preserve its independence in any context. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface application programming interface] can provide [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata metadata] to anyone with an API key, including the location of all tweets ever sent down to the exact latitude and longitude.<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-11-07/the-hidden-technology-that-makes-twitter-huge Bloomberg]</ref> Twitter posts a blog on its website for the technically savvy community to explore the work of its engineers.<ref>[https://blog.twitter.com/engineering Twitter Engineering Blog]</ref> The blog is just a part of the whole engineering website, which features instructional videos and research articles as well.<ref>[https://engineering.twitter.com Twitter Engineering Website]</ref> A Twitter account also provides updated information about the latest technology, usually linking back to the blog.<ref>[https://twitter.com/TwitterEng Twitter Engineering Account]</ref>
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For the first few years of Twitter's existence, users had to look to third-party applications to share photos on the platform. In 2011, Twitter finally launched a native photo sharing capability originally on its website then later its application.<ref>[http://mashable.com/2011/06/01/twitter-photos/ Mashable]</ref> Around the same time, the ability to search was updated with @username or #hashtag options.<ref>[https://blog.twitter.com/2011/searchphotos Twitter Blog 2011]</ref>
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Twitter has expanded its business by acquiring other relevant companies to assist in the development their platform. Vine and TweetDeck are among the dozens of other corporations Twitter uses for advertising, security, data analysis, and more.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Twitter Twitter Acquisitions Wikipedia]</ref>
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==Technology==
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==Medium==
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As a medium, Twitter was originated to be the "SMS of the Internet".<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter Twitter Wikipedia]</ref> Users have been known to use the social media platform as a way to communicate with friends, brands, and celebrities. An evolution of Twitter has been the development of the tool as a news platform. Easy functionality to share breaking news via the medium include its immediacy and shareability. Information has the potential to reach millions of users in minutes. The risk with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism citizen journalism] is the potential to share incorrect information, as was the case during the 2013 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings Boston Marathon bombings] when the wrong suspect's identity went viral. When composing a tweet, Twitter encourages the latest happenings by asking "What's happening?" in the text box. The service does not show a complete history of all tweets by a user and the timeline organizes tweets by the most recent as opposed to most relevant.<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-medium-of-the-moment The New Yorker]</ref>
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Trending topics are a feature that expose the most popular topics on Twitter at the moment and encourage other users to join in on the conversation. Offensive trending topics are censored when accompanied with complaints about the hashtag.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter#Trending_topics Twitter Wikipedia]</ref> A study shows that 44% of Twitter accounts have never been used to send a tweet.<ref>[http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2456489,00.asp PC Magazine]</ref> Fake accounts called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitterbot twitterbots] are known to blast tweets, favorites, and retweets. Twitter offers a verification service to select accounts that provides a blue checkmark by the name of notable users to prevent impersonation.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter#Verified_accounts Twitter Wikipedia]</ref>
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By default, a new account on Twitter will be available for the public to read and share; however, the ability to make an account private with access only to approved followers is an option.<ref>[https://support.twitter.com/articles/14016-about-public-and-protected-tweets Twitter Help]</ref> Currently, the company is looking for ways to fight abuse on its website and monitoring tweets to prevent [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberbullying cyberbullying].<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32392811 BBC News]</ref>
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==Timeline==
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[[Image:Tweet.png|450px]] The first tweet ever sent was by Jack Dorsey on March 21, 2006.<ref>[https://twitter.com/jack/status/20 First Tweet]</ref>
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[[Image:Hashtag.png|450px]] The company is responsible for the creation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag hashtag] via a tweet by Chris Messina in August 2007.<ref>[https://twitter.com/chrismessina/status/223115412 Chris Messina Tweet]</ref>
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[[Image:TwitterLogo.png|400px]] The evolution of Twitter's logo from it's founding in 2006 up to the present.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter Twitter Wikipedia]</ref>
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==Medium==
 

Current revision

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform utilized by 288 million active users a month.[1] The "tweets" allow users 140 characters per post for optimal mobile readability.[2] Twitter, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its name is based off the chirping noise that birds make, similar in idea to the concise messages of tweets.[3] Compared to other websites, Twitter ranks eighth in the United States and eighth globally.[4] Twitter claims that 77% of total accounts are located outside of the U.S.[5] Users primarily use Twitter on mobile devices over desktop or tablet devices.[6] A platform combining social networking and news, Twitter's mission is "to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers."[7]


Contents

[edit] Technology

Twitter is an open source software with several contributions to various projects.[8] The company uses GitHub to share and allow the public to contribute to the code.[9] The community receives free license to use or edit the software however they like.[10] Thirty-one data fields accompany every tweet sent to preserve its independence in any context. The application programming interface can provide metadata to anyone with an API key, including the location of all tweets ever sent down to the exact latitude and longitude.[11] Twitter posts a blog on its website for the technically savvy community to explore the work of its engineers.[12] The blog is just a part of the whole engineering website, which features instructional videos and research articles as well.[13] A Twitter account also provides updated information about the latest technology, usually linking back to the blog.[14]

For the first few years of Twitter's existence, users had to look to third-party applications to share photos on the platform. In 2011, Twitter finally launched a native photo sharing capability originally on its website then later its application.[15] Around the same time, the ability to search was updated with @username or #hashtag options.[16] Twitter has expanded its business by acquiring other relevant companies to assist in the development their platform. Vine and TweetDeck are among the dozens of other corporations Twitter uses for advertising, security, data analysis, and more.[17]


[edit] Medium

As a medium, Twitter was originated to be the "SMS of the Internet".[18] Users have been known to use the social media platform as a way to communicate with friends, brands, and celebrities. An evolution of Twitter has been the development of the tool as a news platform. Easy functionality to share breaking news via the medium include its immediacy and shareability. Information has the potential to reach millions of users in minutes. The risk with citizen journalism is the potential to share incorrect information, as was the case during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings when the wrong suspect's identity went viral. When composing a tweet, Twitter encourages the latest happenings by asking "What's happening?" in the text box. The service does not show a complete history of all tweets by a user and the timeline organizes tweets by the most recent as opposed to most relevant.[19]

Trending topics are a feature that expose the most popular topics on Twitter at the moment and encourage other users to join in on the conversation. Offensive trending topics are censored when accompanied with complaints about the hashtag.[20] A study shows that 44% of Twitter accounts have never been used to send a tweet.[21] Fake accounts called twitterbots are known to blast tweets, favorites, and retweets. Twitter offers a verification service to select accounts that provides a blue checkmark by the name of notable users to prevent impersonation.[22]

By default, a new account on Twitter will be available for the public to read and share; however, the ability to make an account private with access only to approved followers is an option.[23] Currently, the company is looking for ways to fight abuse on its website and monitoring tweets to prevent cyberbullying.[24]


[edit] Timeline

The first tweet ever sent was by Jack Dorsey on March 21, 2006.[25] The company is responsible for the creation of the hashtag via a tweet by Chris Messina in August 2007.[26] The evolution of Twitter's logo from it's founding in 2006 up to the present.[27]



[edit] References

  1. ↑ About Twitter
  2. ↑ Adweek 140 Character Limit
  3. ↑ Twitter Wikipedia
  4. ↑ Alexa Ranking
  5. ↑ About Twitter
  6. ↑ Twitter Blog
  7. ↑ About Twitter
  8. ↑ Twitter Open Source
  9. ↑ Twitter Github
  10. ↑ Open Source Wikipedia
  11. ↑ Bloomberg
  12. ↑ Twitter Engineering Blog
  13. ↑ Twitter Engineering Website
  14. ↑ Twitter Engineering Account
  15. ↑ Mashable
  16. ↑ Twitter Blog 2011
  17. ↑ Twitter Acquisitions Wikipedia
  18. ↑ Twitter Wikipedia
  19. ↑ The New Yorker
  20. ↑ Twitter Wikipedia
  21. ↑ PC Magazine
  22. ↑ Twitter Wikipedia
  23. ↑ Twitter Help
  24. ↑ BBC News
  25. ↑ First Tweet
  26. ↑ Chris Messina Tweet
  27. ↑ Twitter Wikipedia
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