The Transformation Of Twitter From 15 Years Ago To Today
When Twitter first came onto the scene in 2006, it was a text messaging service, according to History. It was also seen as a novelty, via Britannica. A unique way for people to leave 140-character notes about things like how their day was going or make pointed notes about things like life. Now, 15 years later, it has become a social media juggernaut, used by everyday people, celebrities, and news organizations — over 330 million per Finances Online.
Over the course of the first 15 years of existence, it has had to change at certain points to continue to grow and keep people interested in using it. It became a website and then added an app for smartphones in 2010, per MarketingWeek. There have been other changes as well, such as updating its algorithm to affect how users are able to view tweets from other people they follow.
The main difference is that there are more characters for people to express themselves. This happened in 2017, when they doubled the number from 140 to 280, according to the BBC. That gave people more room to express themselves without having to resort to a shorthand form of communication.
Users can use audio and video
There are a lot more options for Twitter users to show people what they are thinking. They can easily access a whole database of animated GIFs to perfectly sum up their opinions, via The Verge They can also record things in an audio format and by posting video, per Tech Crunch.
A good number of people like to use Twitter as a source of early breaking news. There have been many times when word of an event has been tweeted out well before the mainstream media has published something about it, per Forbes. This can be a dual-edged sword, though, since they also have to make sure that they are getting this information from a reliable source. Otherwise, dubious news can easily spread quickly.
Is Twitter perfect now? No. There are still ways for people to abuse it and also spread hate and disinformation. But the social media platform has changed tremendously since its inception, and there is no denying that it has ingrained itself into mainstream society. Only time will tell if it stays on top for the long run, or if it will join things like America Online in the dustbin of history as something else replaces it.