Twitter reaches 10 billion tweets milestone
06 Mar 2010
Microblogging site Twitter reached the 10 billion tweets milestone on Thursday, which analysts say underlines its exponential growth and increasing popularity. In November 2008, the site clocked a billion tweets and then reached 5 billion tweets last November.
However, the identity of the tweeter behind the 10 billionth tweet could not be revealed as it originated from a ''protected'' profile meaning their messages cannot be viewed by the general public.
The news of the milestone being reached came from Gigatweet., the site that maintains a real-time record of all the Twitter messages sent. It is estimated that at the site's current rate of growth the 20 billionth tweet could be expected some time in July.
The microblogging service is rapidly gaining popularity among web users and London ranks at the top with the highest number of Twitter users in the world. 'Twitterati'' now include celebrities and sportsmen including Stephen Fry, Ashton Kutcher and Steven Gerrard as also a growing number of companies using the platform to promote their brands.
However, a recent survey by Virgin Media Business points out that only 16 of the UK's 100 largest listed companies are engaging customers through Twitter.
Though 57 of these FTSE 100 companies had signed up to the service around 72 per cent had not actively used their account to respond to customer's suggestions and enquiries, the study showed.
