Twitter’s 10th Birthday: main consumer alert

On March 21st, Twitter celebrates its tenth birthday. Since the first Tweet was sent in 2006, Twitter has captured KSA’s imagination and become part of the fabric of everyday life.

Whether it is the government, a business, a campaigner, a football fan or one of the 320 million users, today marks a great chance to celebrate the Twitter users who have made the platform what it is today.

With 500 million Tweets per day and 200 billion Tweets every year, Twitter has become the global viewing and commentary platform for its users in KSA and beyond.

And from entertaining global moments such as #Oscars to the more bizarre trends such as #blueorgold dress debate, a huge variety of ground-breaking stories and topics are discussed on the platform every day.

Kinda Ibrahim, Director of Media Partnerships at Twitter, said: “Whether it is updates from KSA’s Royal family, Cabinet and government entities or when @AlNassrFC won the Abdulatif Al Jameel (ALJ) League for professional football for the second year in a row, when big events happen, they happen on Twitter. The depth and breadth of content shared by our users around these big moments has made it the perfect live viewing party for the world’s biggest events.”

“And ten years on from the first ever Tweet, our birthday also gives us a great chance to reflect on those big events, but also on those Twitter users who connect in other amazing and inspiring ways, every day. From @shugairi Tweeting updates from his account to the nation and worldwide audience of millions, we remain humbled and inspired by the people who have made Twitter their own.”

Please find below a timeline of Tweets from the past decade as well as inspiring examples of how users worldwide have made Twitter their own.

Thanks

Twitter’s 10th Birthday timeline

2006: Co-founder Jack Dorsey Tweeted first, when the service was called “Twttr.”

https://twitter.com/jack/status/20

2007: Early user Chris Messina proposed the use of a hashtag to denote people at the same live event.

https://twitter.com/chrismessina/status/223115412

2008: When the Mars Phoenix Lander found ice on Mars, NASA used Twitter to break the news.

https://twitter.com/MarsPhoenix/status/839088619

2009: Early user Janis Krums happened to be on a ferry when a plane went down in the Hudson River.

https://twitter.com/jkrums/status/1121915133

2010: In a royal first, Clarence House, the Prince of Wales’ private office, created a Twitter account to announce Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton.

https://twitter.com/ClarenceHouse/status/4489951894835200

2012: Before he appeared publicly to affirm his second presidential win, President Obama noted it on Twitter. And within hours it became the most retweeted for the year.

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/statuses/266031293945503744

2013: Two bombs shook the Boston Marathon – and the world. As news of the blasts and the manhunt spread, Twitter became crucial for journalists, police and citizens alike.

https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/323872661866442753

2014: The #BringBackOurGirls movement was created when more than 250 schoolgirls were abducted in Chibok, Nigeria by Boko Haram militants. Federal minister Oby Ezekwesili led the declaration of the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag.

https://twitter.com/obyezeks/status/459023928858804224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 

2015: As the horrific attacks in Paris unfolded in November, the world united to support people in the City of Light using the hashtag #PrayForParis..

https://twitter.com/fhollande/status/665308718335070212

2016: #Oscars: Leonardo DiCaprio's win for Best Actor in The Revenant generated 440,000 tweets per minute, more than @TheEllenShow’s selfie two years earlier.

https://twitter.com/LeoDiCaprio/status/704368272511262724

Twitter in KSA

The most followed KSA accounts on Twitter are dominated by scholars - with Dr. Mohamad Alarefe topping the table.

1. @MohamadAlarefe  - 14.5m followers
2. @shugairi – 13.4m followers
3. @Dr_alqarnee – 12.4m followers
4. @salman_alodah - 8.4m followers
5. @Talhabeeb – 6.15m followers
6. @fayez_malki  – 4.5m followers
7. @SamiAlJaber – 4.3m followers
8. @battalalgoos – 4.1m followers
9. @TurkiAldakhil – 3.1m followers
10. @fahad- 2.2m followers

Also here are some great examples from KSA which show how users here have taken Twitter and made it their own:

• Resignation: When Abdulrahman @abdulrahman announced his resignation from Al Hilal presidency and mentioned that there are qualified men to handle Al Hilal presidency and carry its burden and may god guide us as he wish

           https://twitter.com/abdulrahman/status/566346619994394624

•   #متصدر_لا_تكلمني: When Al Nasr club won the Saudi league in 2013 after many years of defeat. A hashtag  as well as a song was created celebrating their gain in the Saudi league

           Tweeting the news in KSA.

• #عاصفة_الحزم: Users supporting Arab troops during the Arab Alliance of war on Houthis in Yemen

           Supporting Saudi troops  

Unique KSA moment

2015: King Salman reaching out to the nation a few days after being announced as the new King of Saudi Arabia and ranked 6th in the top 10 retweets globally https://twitter.com/KingSalman/status/560910747178250240

2013: Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation signed an agreement with UNICEF to provide basic quality education for girls in Yemen

https://twitter.com/Alwaleed_Talal/status/315840494393520129/photo/1