Twitter history timeline

Twitter (now X) took off in 2006, in San Francisco, as a simple microblogging platform. It all started with Jack Dorsey's initial idea while he was at Odeo. 

By 2007, Twitter had become its own entity - a place for everyone, from info addicts, meme lovers, and news junkies to those seeking the latest trends, hot takes, or just a good laugh. It didn’t take long for Twitter to expand its influence beyond social networking to shaping politics and international relations. 

Yet, the road had its hurdles; the platform faced bans and blocks in several countries. That little blue bird that once captured the world's attention with its 140-character chirps grew into a giant in the social media landscape.

Let's explore the highs and lows along the way that have shaped the X-perience. Whether you're a veteran tweep or simply curious about how the little blue bird evolved into a global sensation, we've got you covered.

The history of Twitter: a timeline

• 2006, March 21: The first tweet
• 2006, July 15: Official launch of Twitter
• 2007, March: Twitter wins SXSW Web Award
• 2007, April: Rapid growth in number of tweets
• 2008, May: CEO transition
• 2009, February: Popularity surge with high-profile users
• 2009, June: Role in Iranian protests
• 2010, April: Introduces Promoted Tweets
• 2010, October: CEO change
• 2011, June: Introduces Twitter photo sharing
• 2011, December: Introduces Activity and Discover tabs
• 2012, March: Twitter surpasses 140 million active users
• 2012, October: Acquisition of Vine
• 2013, November 7: Twitter goes public
• 2014, January: Acquisition of Gnip
• 2014, July: Launch of analytics dashboard
• 2015, June: Jack Dorsey returns as interim CEO
• 2015, October: Jack Dorsey becomes permanent CEO
• 2016, March: Introduces Moments
• 2016, April: Partnership with NFL for Thursday Night Football
• 2017, September: Expansion of character limit
• 2017, December: Introduces new rules against harassment
• 2018, August: Suspension of violent extremist accounts
• 2019, June: Redesigned desktop website
• 2019, October: Ban on political advertising
• 2020, July: High-profile account hack
• 2020, November: Introduces Fleets
• 2021, January: Acquisition of Revue
• 2021, March: Introduces Spaces
• 2021, June: Shutdown of Fleets
• 2022, April: Elon Musk reveals stake in Twitter
• 2022, October 27: Elon Musk acquires Twitter
• 2022, November 8: Twitter no longer publicly traded
• 2023, January: Introduces Twitter Blue
• 2023, March: New verification system
• 2023, July: Reports negative cash flow
• 2023, November: Rebranding to “X”
• 2024, April: 611 million monthly active users

Unpacking Twitter's journey: key milestones in detail

Tracing the timeline of X's history is fascinating. Each milestone marks a memorable moment, a bold decision, or a huge controversy along the way. From its early days as a side project within a podcasting company to its acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022 (and ulterior rebranding), the platform has seen a lot of challenges that changed its course in many ways.

2006, March 21: The first tweet

Jack Dorsey, one of the engineers at Odeo, a San Francisco-based podcasting company, came up with the idea of a service that would enable users to share personal status updates via SMS with groups of people. By March 2006, a working prototype was developed. It was named “Twttr.” On March 21, Jack Dorsey sends the first-ever tweet: “just setting up my twttr.”

2006, July 15: Official launch of Twitter

On July 15, 2006, Odeo officially launches Twttr (later renamed Twitter). This short messaging service allowed users to communicate in brief messages (max. 140 characters at first, expanded to 280 later) and quickly gained popularity. Twitter was founded as a social networking platform by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams.

2007, March: Twitter wins SXSW Web Award

Twitter gains significant popularity after being showcased at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference. Twitter won the SXSW Web Award in the Blog category.

2007, April: Rapid growth in number of tweets

Under CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter experienced rapid growth.

2008, October: CEO transition

Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO, Evan Williams takes over.

2009, February: Popularity surge with high-profile users

Twitter's popularity skyrockets, partly due to high-profile users joining the platform. Celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Oprah Winfrey actively embraced Twitter, contributing to its widespread adoption and cultural impact.

2009, June: Twitter's role in Iranian protests

Twitter played a significant role during the 2009 Iranian election protests. As Iranians took to the streets to express dissent against the government, social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook became key tools for organizing, sharing information, and coordinating actions in real time.

2010, April: Introduces Promoted Tweets

In April 2010, Twitter introduced “Promoted Tweets,” a new advertising service. Advertisers could pay for their tweets to appear in search results when users searched on the platform. This move allowed Twitter to monetize its platform while maintaining user experience.

2010, October: CEO change

Dick Costolo replaces Evan Williams as CEO. Co-founder Evan Williams stepped down as CEO, and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dick Costolo took over as the new chief executive. Williams focused on product strategy, while Costolo handled day-to-day operational aspects. Under Costolo’s leadership, Twitter continued to evolve, introducing features like promoted accounts and revamping its site.

2011, June: Introduces Twitter photo sharing

In June 2011, Twitter launched its own photo-sharing service. It allowed users to upload pictures directly from Twitter.com and its official mobile applications. This move aimed to compete with third-party services like Twitpic and yfrog. Adding photos to tweets got a lot easier.

2011, December: Introduces Activity and Discover tabs

In December 2011, Twitter introduced the Activity and Discover tabs. The Activity tab provided personalized recommendations based on user interactions, while Discover helped users find new content, trending topics, and relevant accounts. 

2012, March: Twitter surpasses 140 million active users

By March 2012, Twitter had surpassed 140 million monthly active users worldwide, with users generating over 340 million tweets per day.

2012, October: Acquisition of Vine

In October 2012, Twitter acquired Vine, a short-form video service, for a reported $30 million. Vine allowed users to create looping video clips and quickly became popular for its creative and concise format. Although Vine was shut down in 2017, it left a significant mark on social media and content creation.

2013, November 7: Twitter goes public

On November 7, 2013, Twitter went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol TWTR. The stock was priced at $26 per share for the IPO. When trading began, the first trade came in at $45.10 per share. Shares quickly jumped to a high of $50.09 (a gain of 93% over the IPO price) before closing the trading day at $44.9012. Twitter’s valuation at that time was approximately $24.4 billion.

2014, January: Acquisition of Gnip

In January 2014, Twitter acquires Gnip, a  social media API aggregation company. Gnip provided access to social media data, valuable for Twitter’s analytics and advertising activities.

2014, July: Launch of analytics dashboard

Twitter launches a new analytics dashboard for advertisers and verified users. The dashboard offers insights into Twitter performance and audience engagement.

2015, June 10: Return of Jack Dorsey as interim CEO

Jack Dorsey returns as interim CEO after Dick Costolo resigns.

2015, October 5: Jack Dorsey becomes permanent CEO

Jack Dorsey is named permanent CEO of Twitter.

2015, October 6: Introduces Moments

Twitter introduces the Moments feature. Moments allowed users to curate and discover stories by aggregating tweets around specific events or topics.

2016, April: Partnership with NFL for Thursday Night Football

Twitter partners with the NFL to stream Thursday Night Football games.

2017, September: Expansion of character limit

Twitter expands the character limit for tweets from 140 to 280 characters.

2017, December: Introduces new rules against harassment

Twitter introduces new rules and policies to reduce hateful and abusive content on Twitter on the platform.

2018, August: Suspension of violent extremist accounts

Twitter suspended accounts for violating its rules against violent extremist groups, taking decisive action to prevent the spread of harmful content

2019, June: Redesigned desktop website

Twitter launched a major redesign of its desktop website, introducing new features and a refreshed look. The update included a responsive design that adapted to different screen sizes, reorganized side navigation, enhanced options for the popular “dark mode” display, and trending hashtags displayed in the right-hand column, among other improvements.

2019, October: Ban on political advertising

In October 2019, Twitter announced a global ban on all political advertising. CEO Jack Dorsey stated that political message reach should be earned, not bought. The ban aimed to address risks associated with misinformation, micro-targeting, and unchecked messaging.

2020, July: High-profile account hack

In July 2020, a 17-year-old hacker and accomplices breached Twitter’s network, seizing control of dozens of high-profile accounts of politicians, celebrities, and entrepreneurs. The hackers executed a public cyberattack to promote a Bitcoin scam, stealing over $118,000 worth of bitcoin. This incident exposed Twitter’s vulnerabilities and underscored the need for robust cybersecurity measures to prevent the potential weaponization of major social media platforms.

2020, November: Introduces Fleets

In November 2020, Twitter launched Fleets, a feature similar to Instagram Stories. Fleets allowed users to post temporary content (videos, photos, or text) that disappeared after 24 hours. The goal was to provide a lower-pressure way for people to share their thoughts and encourage more engagement on the platform. Fleets did not increase conversation participation as expected. As a result, Twitter decided to discontinue Fleets in August 2021.

2021, January: Acquisition of Revue

In January 2021, Twitter acquired Revue, a Dutch startup specializing in email newsletters. Revue allowed writers and publishers to publish and monetize newsletters. Twitter planned to integrate Revue’s features within its platform, providing additional ways for writers to connect with subscribers and monetize their content.

2021, March: Introduces Spaces

Twitter introduced Spaces, a feature for live audio conversations. Spaces allowed users to host audio chatrooms where listeners could join and participate. It aimed to bring real-time, authentic conversations to the platform using the human voice. Spaces became available to all users with 600 or more followers on Twitter.

2021, August: Shutdown of Fleets

Twitter shuts down Fleets due to low user engagement.

2022, April: Elon Musk reveals stake in Twitter

In April 2022, Elon Musk revealed that he had acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter. This significant ownership made him the largest shareholder in the company, surpassing Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The value of Musk’s stake was approximately $2.89 billion based on Twitter’s closing price at that time.

2022, October 27: Elon Musk acquires Twitter

On October 27, 2022, Elon Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter for a whopping $44 billion. As part of the deal, Twitter became a private company. Several top executives were ousted, including CEO Parag Agrawal. Soon, Musk fired 80% of the company.

2022, November 8: Twitter no longer publicly traded

As of November 8, 2022, Twitter officially became a private company following its acquisition by Elon Musk. Twitter shares were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

This marked the end of Twitter's status as a publicly traded company, where its shares were previously listed on stock exchanges and available for purchase by the public. As a private company, Twitter is no longer subject to the same regulatory requirements and scrutiny that publicly traded companies face.

2023, January: Introduces Twitter Blue

In January 2023, Twitter announced “Twitter Blue,” a subscription service with additional features. This new service allows subscribers to customize their experience on the platform, enjoy expanded reach, and see fewer ads. Notable features include an edit button and ad-free articles. The service costs $8/month on the web and $11/month on iOS or Android.

2023, March: New verification system

Twitter discontinues its old verification system that granted blue checkmarks to accounts deemed authentic and of public interest. Previously, notable individuals like celebrities, officials, and journalists could request verification. Now, the blue checkmarks are available exclusively through the subscription service Twitter Blue. Twitter Blue no longer requires accounts to be famous, just non-deceptive, active, and older than 90 days.

2023, July: Reports negative cash flow

Musk tweets that the company is experiencing negative cash flow due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue and a substantial debt load, announcing the priority to reach positive cash flow before considering other initiatives.

2023, November: Rebranding to “X”

Elon Musk, Twitter’s owner, rebranded the platform as “X”. The iconic blue bird logo was replaced with a white “X” on a black background. The goal was to transform Twitter into an online hub for messaging, commerce, and more. Musk envisions X as an “everything app,” akin to China’s WeChat, connecting users in novel ways powered by AI.

2024, April: 611 million monthly active users

X (Twitter) has 611 million monthly active users, ranking it as the 12th most popular social platform. Between 2023 and 2024, there was a 30% decrease in US users aged 12 and older. Despite this decline, X (Twitter) reports 1.7 million new sign-ups daily.

Wrapping up

Twitter keeps changing, its history is a rollercoaster of innovation, drama, controversy, and perseverance - in the spirit of the digital age, where every twist and turn is wild and unpredictable. And now, with Elon Musk at the helm, we can expect even more surprises. Get ready for more twists and turns - Twitter’s next big moment could be just a tweet away.

About the Twitter history timeline

The Twitter history timeline was crafted with Office Timeline, an intuitive and robust PowerPoint add-in that effortlessly transforms intricate data into visually compelling chronological representations.

You can download the timeline for free as an editable PowerPoint slide and you can modify it in any way you need. To further customize and update the timeline, download the 14-day trial of Office Timeline for free and benefit from advanced functionalities to enhance your presentation.

Frequently asked questions about the history of Twitter

Let's find out what else people want to know about Twitter – how it started, who coined its name, how it became a cultural craze. We've got more details for social media fans or for those who just love a good tech tale: