Twitter, or X is a messaging service and social media app that is available for iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, Android, and web browsers.[1] The iOS app was launched in October 2009.[2]
Features[]
Registered users are allowed to send and receive short posts called "tweets", which can be up to 280 characters long (formerly 140) and can include links to relevant websites and resources.[3]
Twitter users can follow other accounts of people and organizations. Such an account will be accompanied by a blue checkmark if the identity has been verified by Twitter. Tweets from a "followed" account will automatically appear in a follower's "timeline". An account's pattern of following and usage will result in the aggregation of tweets and events from people and organizations with similar academic and personal interests to the user. Twitter states that its curation team is not responsible for driving revenue, user growth, or relationships with its partners.[4]
Twitter announced in June 2018 that it was investing in spam and bot detection, to prevent "platform manipulation", trolling, hateful conduct, and violent extremism.[5] In 2019, the company was removing over 6 to 7.5 million "fake" accounts per week.[6]
iOS and macOS apps[]
In April 2010, Twitter announced it had acquired the iPhone app Tweetie and rebranded it as "Twitter for iPhone". The developer of Tweetie, Loren Brichter, became part of Twitter's mobile division and helped launch the "Twitter for iPad" application.[7][8]
On January 6, 2011, Twitter announced that the company had also acquired the desktop version of Tweetie, changing the name to "Twitter for Mac". Twitter for Mac was launched on the new Mac App Store the same day. On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, Twitter announced that certain patents related to Tweetie would only be used to defend Twitter. Ultimately, Twitter for Mac was discontinued in March 2018 after a very slow maintenance schedule.[9] In October 2019, the macOS client was replaced by the iPadOS version, which had been converted through Catalyst.[10]
Company history[]
Twitter was co-founded by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in 2006. Dorsey served as CEO from 2006 to 2008, and again from 2015 until resigning in November 2021, stating his "regret" for Twitter's role in the centralization of internet usage.[11] On March 14, 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the single largest shareholder. Musk had expressed his disappointment in current CEO Parag Agrawal, who had succeeded Dorsey.[12][13] On April 25, 2022, Twitter accepted Musk's offer to buy the remainder of the company outright in exchange for $44 billion.[14] However, Musk placed the deal on hold pending an audit of how many users on Twitter are actually spam or fake accounts.[15] The deal finally closed on October 27, 2022, averting a potential lawsuit.[16]
Change of ownership[]
Upon becoming the company's new owner, Musk immediately fired the senior management and dissolved the board of directors.[17][18] Twitter then began offering its trademark blue verification checkmarks for US$8, causing advertisers to leave the platform over concerns of the potential for spoofing.[19] The checkmark program was quickly suspended after Twitter was flooded with a wave of fake accounts.[20] Within weeks, the majority of the staff and been fired or exited the company after rejecting Musk's demand that workers put in long "extremely hardcore" hours. By November 17, Musk was scrambling to convince remaining staff to stay. With minimal staff remaining, Musk ordered microservices turned off, calling it "bloatware". However, users then found that Twitter's two-factor authentication system stopped working, causing them to be locked out of their accounts. Worried about the potential for sabotage to the company, Musk ordered the company headquarters in San Francisco temporarily closed.[21][22][23]
On November 19, 2022, Musk reinstated the banned account of former U.S. president Donald Trump after a quick poll and then invited him to return with a misogynistic meme, which was described by critics as "desperate".[24] However, Trump responded by stating that he had no interest in returning to Twitter and would stay at Truth Social.[25]
On November 30, 2022, Musk met with Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple Park after claiming in a tweet that Apple had threatened to pull the Twitter app from the App Store.[26] Musk later deleted the tweet and instead stated, "Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so." Musk added that Apple had "fully resumed advertising", even after much of the ad business staff had been cut.[27][28] Musk also deleted a meme criticizing Apple's App Store fees and stated that Twitter would reprice its blue checkmark subscription fee to $7 through the Twitter website and $11 through mobile apps, to offset App Store fees.[29]
Rebranding[]
In July 2023, Musk announced that the Twitter name and the blue bird logo will be rebranded to X, Musk had reportedly been fascinated by the letter since the 1990s, when he started an online payment platform known as X.com, which evolved into PayPal after he left the company. Musk had stated that the rebrand would be his first step towards creating an "everything app".[30]. On August 1, the iOS app was officially rebranded X on the App Store, seemingly that it was given an exception to Apple's guideline prohibiting single-character app names. [31]
System requirements[]
Twitter is also supported by major web browsers that have received security updates within the previous year.[32]
References[]
- ↑ Twitter is what’s happening and what people are talking about right now. (en). Archived from the original on 2021-02-14. Retrieved on 2021-02-14.
- ↑ Twitter by Twitter Inc. AppAdvice. 2022-03-28.
- ↑ What is Twitter and why should you use it? (en). UK Research and Innovation. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved on 2021-02-14.
- ↑ Twitter Moments guidelines and principles, Twitter Help Center. Accessed 2022-04-04.
- ↑ How Twitter is fighting spam and malicious automation, Twitter Blog. 2018-06-26.
- ↑ Twitter is automatically removing about 10 accounts every second by Melissa Locker, Fast Company. 2019-04-08.
- ↑ Ev (2010-04-09). Twitter for iPhone. Twitter Blog.
- ↑ Twitter, Inc. (2010-05-18). Twitter. iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 2010-05-20.
- ↑ Nick Statt (16 February 2018). Twitter discontinues its Mac desktop app after years of spotty support. The Verge.
- ↑ Twitter launches its new Mac app built using Catalyst technologies in macOS Catalina. iTechBlog (2019-10-11). Archived from the original on 2021-10-27.
- ↑ Twitter founder ‘regrets’ role in creating centralised internet by Anthony Cuthbertson. 2022-04-04.
- ↑ Elon Musk becomes Twitter's biggest shareholder after buying 9.2% stake on March 14, new SEC filing reveals sending shares soaring 26% by Jack Newman, Daily Mail. 2022-04-04.
- ↑ Elon Musk Wasn’t Happy When Jack Dorsey Left Twitter. Then He Took a 9% Stake by Craig Trudell and Giles Turner, Yahoo! Finance. 2022-04-04.
- ↑ Elon Musk is officially buying Twitter outright in a $44 billion deal by Mike Peterson, AppleInsider. 2022-04-25.
- ↑ Elon Musk says his deal to buy Twitter is on hold by David Goldman, Chris Isidore and Clare Duffy, CNN. 2022-05-13.
- ↑ Kali Hays and Grace Kay (2022-10-27). Elon Musk is now officially Twitter's new owner, ending months of costly litigation (en-US). Business Insider.
- ↑ Elon Musk disbands Twitter’s board, cementing control over company by Claire Duffy, CNN. 2022-10-31.
- ↑ Elon Musk officially takes over Twitter and ‘fires top execs including CEO Parag Agrawal’ after $44bn deal by Jona Jaupi and Forrest McFarland, The U.S. Sun. 2022-10-27.
- ↑ [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/09/twitter-elon-musk-blue-check-verification Elon Musk scrambles to reassure advertisers amid ‘blue check’ verification chaos] by Johana Bhuiyan, TechCrunch. 2022-11-09.
- ↑ Twitter Suspends $8 Checkmark Sign-Ups Amid Trolling Wave by Britney Nguyen, Business Insider. 2022-11-11.
- ↑ Hundreds of Twitter Employees Leaving After Elon Musk's 'Extremely Hardcore' Work Demands by Juli Clover, MacRumors. 2022-11-17.
- ↑ YOU SHUT OFF THE TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATION YOU DUMB F**K by Curbisboy, Twitter. 2022-11-14.
- ↑ Twitter users with 2-factor authentication said they were locked out of their accounts soon after Elon Musk said he was ridding the site of 'bloatware' by Grace Dean, Yahoo! Finance. 2022-11-15.
- ↑ Elon Musk taunts Trump with crude meme about Twitter ‘temptation’ by Lee Brown, New York Post. 2022-11-21.
- ↑ Trump snubs Twitter after Musk announces reactivation of ex-president's account by Sheila Dang and Helen Coster, Reuters. 2022-11-20.
- ↑ Elon Musk Meets With Apple CEO Tim Cook Amid Claims of Twitter App Store Dispute, MacRumors, 2022-11-30
- ↑ Elon Musk meets Tim Cook, says Apple never considered removing Twitter app by Kif Leswing, CNBC. 2022-11-30.
- ↑ Twitter Under Elon Musk Still Has to Live in Apple’s World by Max Chafkin, Bloomberg. 2022-12-06.
- ↑ Twitter Blue will be more expensive on iPhone to offset App Store fees by Chance Miller, 2022-12-08.
- ↑ Why is Twitter becoming X and should you move to Threads or Bluesky?, by Chris Stokel-Walker, New Scientist,2023-07-24
- ↑ [It looks like Elon Musk got a pass to have Twitter renamed to the single character 'X' on the App Store — even though it appears to go against Apple's rules], by Sindhu Sundar, Business Insider, 2023-08-01
- ↑ About twitter.com supported browsers, Twitter Help Center. Accessed 2022-04-04.
