Tweet Jesus! Twitter hits 100m active users

9 Sep 2011

Twitter has revealed it now has 100m active users around the world, just five years after co-founder Jack Dorsey (aka @Jack) sent the first tweet to his seven followers at the time.

More than half of the 100m users log into Twitter each day to follow their interests.

“For many, getting the most out of Twitter isn’t only about tweeting: 40pc of our active users simply sign in to listen to what’s happening in their world.

“Twitter’s global reach gives a voice to people around the world and as far away as the International Space Station. After launching Hindi, Filipino, Malay and Simplified and Traditional Chinese in the coming weeks, Twitter will support 17 different languages,” the company said in its blog.

Among the many users are:

·         35 global heads of State, including the Pope and the Dalai Lama

·         Every team in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS tweets, as do cricket players in India, European football stars and many other celebrated athletes around the world.

·         99pc of America’s top 200 non-profits

·         87pc of Billboard’s Top 100 musicians of 2010 are active on Twitter

Major newsrooms from @AJEnglish to @WashingtonPost actively use Twitter to supplement their reporting efforts.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com