Twitter is a free social media platform that allows users to post short messages called tweets that are limited to 140 characters. Users can follow other users and see their tweets in their timeline. Tweets can be public or only visible to approved followers. Twitter began in 2006 and has grown significantly, with some describing it as the "SMS of the Internet." It allows for communication through features like public messaging, replies tagged with @mentions, and retweets to share others' tweets.

1. TWITTER Nerea García Moradillo

2. What is Twitter? “ Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: “ What’s happening?”

3. Twitter.com Twitter operates a free digital service site that blends social networking with the ability to post short messages (or micro-blogs) limited to 140 characters or less, commonly known by users as "Tweets". CONTACT INFORMATION Twitter, Inc. 539 Bryant St., Ste. 402 San Francisco, CA 94107 CA Tel 415-896-2008

4. After establishing a Twitter account at www . twitter . com , individuals can import their e-mail addresses as well as use the Twitter search to locate and invite people. Twitter messages ("tweets") can be made public and sent to anyone requesting the feed, or they can be sent only to approved followers.

5. The beginning Twitter began in a " daylong brainstorming session “ of the Odeo podcasting company. Jack Dorsey introduced the idea of an individual using an SMS service to communicate with a small group, a concept partially inspired by the SMS group messaging service TXTMob. Sketch by Jack Dorsey

6. Since its creation in 2006, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide. It is sometimes described as "SMS of the Internet”. The use of Twitter's application programming interface for sending and receiving text messages by other applications often eclipses direct use of Twitter.

7. Communication in Twitter Twitter added a reply function that turned Twitter into a discussion group service. When someone replies to a Twitter posting, they use their Twitter account name preceded by an @ sign . Twitter became a viral conduit when users initiated “ retweeting ,” which forwards tweets they get to their followers. People retweet to pass on worthwhile information, and the ease of retweeting can quickly build large audiences.

8. Communication in Twitter A hashtag is a # prefix used to group tweets together. Example: Conversation in #uribarrifacts : - ddan1 Urribarri puede matarte 6 veces antes de que caigas al suelo # uribarrifacts - atjm15 Uribarri no habla, afirma. # uribarrifacts - Alvaro _AN Uribarri predijo que los mayas predecirían el fin del mundo para 2012 # uribarrifacts

9. Evan Williams (founder of Twitter): “ What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it’s not a social network, but it’s an information network . It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world”.

10. Breaking news in Twitter Due to Twitter, common people “became journalists” in cases such as: The attacks in Mumbai. The riots in Greece The earthquake of Haiti. The plane crashed in the Hudson. The first images of this accident were sent to Twitter and later handed over to the media.

11. Other notable usage of Twitter Use in legal proceedings Use in education (University of Vienna, Shangai Jiao Tong University, University of Texas at Dallas) Use in emergencies (for intance, in 2008 many different groups made significant use of Twitter to gather news and coordinate responses to the Mumbai attacks ) Use in protests and politics (many politicians have a twitter profile) Use in space missions Use in business