Prior to being renamed and relaunched with a one-character “X” in 2023, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (2006-2023) had been a source of first-hand local, national, and international news with many credible journalists utilizing it to break news as it occurred.
A Review of Twitter
Early on in its development, Twitter experimented with breaking news, trend-setting, and establishing two-way conversations with prominent figures and their followers.
Twitter Statistics
Since its launch in 2006, Twitter has consistently lagged behind much bigger rivals like Facebook. Nevertheless, Twitter succeeded to infiltrate the public awareness by introducing the general public to hashtags and trending issues, despite its modest size and specialized following.
Various publications have given wildly varying estimates of the number of active users in 2023, ranging from 350 million to 450 million. By the middle of 2023, Twitter’s active user base will probably be just over 353 million, with a sharp decline in that figure. Contrast that with Threads from Meta/Facebook, a competitor to Twitter that gained 100 million active users in a couple of days after its mid-2023 launch. To get to that many users, Twitter needed six years.
It’s interesting to note that two weeks after Threads’ debut, the initial spike of interest had already begun to wane, with daily users falling from 49 million to 12 million (source).
Young Years
Twitter began in 2006 and was first introduced in July of that same year. Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams were responsible for starting Twitter.
Twitter achieved 100 million users in 2012, and 200 million users were added the following year. The number of users then reached a plateau in the years 2015 to 2020, averaging 300 million annually.
By 2022, turning out the lights would signal the end.
According to Statista, Twitter will have around 200 million internationally monetizable users by the middle of 2022. The analysis focused on monetisable users, who make up a smaller percentage of total users than active users.
According to several projections, like DemandSage, there will be more than 650 million active Twitter users worldwide by 2028. These numbers will need to be adjusted based on how many users chose to terminate their accounts or go to another platform.
When Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter was officially completed in October 2022, user numbers began to fall, and some users even chose to totally cancel their accounts. One million users canceled their Twitter accounts in the month after the takeover (source). Additionally, there were significant service interruptions and personnel reductions (around 6,000 individuals were let go).
Websites and apps operated by third parties must adapt
After the 2023 makeover, third party applications and websites that often utilize and cite Twitter will need to alter.
For instance, the Wired YouTube channel produced a lengthy series about Twitter queries.
When you need to share a piece of content or a piece of media, sharing applications must also adapt their design and functionality.
For instance, websites utilize sharing plugins like ‘Share This’ that show icons for each social networking platform to which a blog post or other content can be sent.
A lot of Twitter logos are also kept in stock image banks for usage in articles and other media, however these are no longer as helpful as they once were.
For instance, the Twitter logo photos in Unsplash’s library may only be used to discuss the platform’s earlier history.
Twitter login may be one of the sign-in choices for several programs and websites.
For instance, there is a menu of sign-in choices on Medium that includes using your Twitter account to access the website.
Last but not least, anybody having a presence online may need to adjust how they present their information for sharing, including any visuals that incorporate the Twitter logo and their username as well as any embedded tweets in blogs and articles, since these may produce broken connections.
Overall, Twitter had a successful year in 2011 as users from all around the world utilized the service to follow the news on the Arab Spring, which consisted of a series of uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.
Declining interest
Twitter’s popularity waned in 2015 and 2016, despite the fact that the 2016 US Elections received extensive coverage on the platform. Users of Twitter began to feel alienated, and their confidence in the news being shared on the network began to decline.
Twitter has been experiencing a decline in advertising income in the first half of 2023, with publications (such as The Guardian) indicating a loss of 50% and forecasts of a negative cash flow.
Linda Yaccarino, a longtime executive in charge of Comcast’s advertising, was appointed CEO to address this.
Twitter: Low Monetization and Slow Growth
Twitter will continue to rank among the social media platforms with the weakest growth and monetization rates in historical annuals. Twitter never attained critical mass since it had more haters than admirers, but users who were active on the network felt like they belonged to a group of like-minded individuals (in reality, observers frequently noted that Twitter users were in a bubble they built). Not only that, but Twitter managed to make celebrities like singer-songwriter Taylor Swift seem more approachable and relatable, especially when they responded to fans and their questions. Twitter democratized the news, both in terms of broadcasting and access, and gave fans direct contact with celebrities.
The Twitter account with the most followers was…
With more over 133 million followers in January 2023, former US President Barack Obama has the most followers on Twitter. In 2012, to commemorate his reelection, President Obama tweeted a message that was picked up by media outlets all around the world.
Are you still using Twitter or have you stopped?
I’ve been using Twitter since 2009, but I don’t like the new direction it’s going in, especially the plans for in-app banking and payments. Are you staying or leaving, how about you?
Share your thought in the comment section.
