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Definition: Twitter


One of the major social media networks. Now known as "X," Twitter lets anyone send alphanumeric text messages ("tweets") up to 280 characters in length to a list of followers. Launched in 2006, inline images were added in 2013, and audio conferencing was added in 2021 (see Twitter Spaces).

Twitter Became X in 2023
Elon Musk acquired Twitter in March 2023 and rebranded it "X." Because there are numerous Twitter terms that have "tw" and "twit" prefixes, how, when or if any of these terms migrates to an X version remains to be seen. Will "Twitterese" become "Xerese?" Unlikely. Long after Twitter's name change, people still refer to tweets; for example, "so and so tweeted that..." See X/Twitter, X.com and Twitterese.

From 140 Characters to 280
Derived from the 160-character text message, the original message length was limited to 140 characters for the text and 20 for the user's address. In 2017, the message length was doubled to 280 characters. See SMS.

Free and Paid - Twitter and Twitter Blue
For 15 years, Twitter was a free service; however, in 2021, a paid option was introduced. When Twitter became X, the paid offerings changed (see X/Twitter). See Twitter Blue.

From Personal to Commercial and Political
Twitter was designed as a social network to keep friends and colleagues informed throughout the day. However, it became widely used for commercial and political purposes to keep customers, voters and fans up-to-date as well as to encourage feedback. By 2013, daily tweets reached the half billion mark.

After establishing a Twitter account at twitter.com, individuals could import their email addresses as well as use the Twitter search to locate and invite people. Tweets can be made public and sent to anyone requesting the feed, or they can be sent only to pre-approved followers.

Messages can be sent and received via cellphone messaging (see MMS) or an app. To follow a feed on the website, the feed name follows the URL; for example, x.com/microsoft.

Forward that Tweet/Post (Retweet/Repost)
Twitter becomes a viral conduit when users receive an interesting message and forward it to their followers. The ease of retweeting/reposting can quickly build large audiences. See retweet.

Replies and Direct Messages (DMs)
Initially a one-way broadcast from writer to follower, Twitter added a reply function that turned into a discussion group.

Tweets/posts can also be private. Writers can send followers a private "direct message" (DM). Followers can do likewise, and they can also delete their DMs from the writer's inbox. In 2015, the length of a DM was increased from 140 to 10,000 characters.

@ Signs
When someone replies to a posting, they use their account name preceded by an @ sign; for example, "@JohnDoe."

# Hashtags
A hashtag is a number sign (#) prefix used to identify a topic for public lookup. Hashtags are created for major entities such as organizations, sports teams and political parties; however, they can be created for anything. For example, people commenting about a Twitter event in New York added the hashtag #nyctweetup to their posts, and all those posts could be viewed as a group by searching for #nyctweetup.

From Mobile Blogging to Microblogging
Twitter expanded "mobile blogging," the process of updating a blog from a cellphone, into updating a short activities blog (the "microblog") and immediately sending the update to followers. For more vocabulary, see Twitterese. See verified Twitter account, Vine and microblog.