What Happens in a Twitter Minute?

It’s hard to believe Twitter’s been around almost a decade now. Since it was first launched in 2006, it’s come a long way.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is all the skeptics. When it first came out, many people just didn’t understand the appeal of “microblogging.” What exactly is the point? It’s not like you can share much that’s deep or thought-provoking in 140 characters, and no one cares to read about what you ate for breakfast.

But Twitter has so many more useful applications than just tweeting your meals. And millions of people did get it, as demonstrated by how quickly it caught on. Now it seems everyone’s on it, from journalists and celebrities to babies and pets.

Twitter’s first big jump in users was when it was showcased at a 2007 South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference, and it’s been used by conference-goers ever since for live blogging those events. The following year, Twitter usage quickly grew to 100 million tweets per quarter, and there are now more tweets than that posted every single day.

Twitter has become not just a social media platform, but an information network. Usage spikes during important world events, sometimes even enough to crash the servers, as when Michael Jackson died in 2009.

And all around the world, Twitter is being used to power uprisings and revolutions. From the Arab Spring to the Egyptian Revolution that overthrew the regime of Hosni Mubarak, Twitter has helped people to communicate and organize in order to protest against unjust government actions. And those governments have recognized that power, censoring Twitter in the hopes of quelling rebellion.

It’s come a long way since co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted the first tweet: “just setting up my twttr.” With the incredible power of this information network, it’s no wonder so much happens in a Twitter minute.

What Happens in a Twitter Minute

With nearly 1 billion users, Twitter is one of the top social media networks used by people all over the world. Each time you tweet, there are thousands of others around the world doing the same thing.

• 347,222 tweets
• 618,725 tweets the moment Germany won the World Cup
• 4,398 unique site visits
• 700 video links shared
• $1,744 made in ad revenue
• 108 new accounts
• 300,000 tweets during Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance
• 7 tweets containing racial slurs (in English)
• 1,211,420 timeline views
• $2,407 made in revenue
• 300 Vines tweeted
• 1,458,333 Twitter search engine queries

Sources

• World Cup Final Sets Twitter Record – hollywoodreporter.com