Twitter turns 10

The social networking platform Twitter started its journey 10 years ago on March 21 with just a single Tweet. And, thereafter, it has connected millions on the digital platform. In order to commemorate its journey, it has released a list of 10 India-specific milestones that have been iconic for the company. These are:

The Mumbai Terrorist Attacks (November 2008)

Twitter became the platform of choice for this moment of crisis on Nov 26, 2008. It was used to connect trapped hostages inside the Taj hotel with the outside world. They live-Tweeted about the situation, people in and around the area shared updates using Twitter, and journalists used it to report the terrorist attacks.

India's Championship Title Win in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 (April 2011)

After a 28-year wait, India finally won the ICC Cricket World Cup title on April 2, 2011, and Indians used Twitter massively to share their joy. The World Cup title triumph was doubly special for Sachin Tendulkar since it was the only silverware missing from his collection.

Nirbhaya Rape Incident (December 2012)

After a 23-year-old woman was gang-raped and thrown out of a bus in New Delhi on Dec 16, 2012, citizens, political leaders, celebrities, and the Indian youth came together on Twitter to express shock, vent their outrage, and show their solidarity with the street protesters demanding justice for the paramedical student.

Sachin Tendulkar Retires (November 2013)

Fans all over the world took to Twitter to say #ThankYouSachin, honouring cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as he finished his 24-year cricket career on Nov 16, 2013. The #ThankYouSachin campaign using photo Tweets with a personalised message and digital autograph from Tendulkar himself, generated more than three million Tweets according to the BCCI.

Lok Sabha Election results (April-May 2014)

During the Lok Sabha polls from April 7 to May 12, 2014, Twitter became the front row seat to political party and candidate updates as well as a real-time source of election news for millions of people, with Narendra Modi leading and winning both off and on Twitter. With nearly 60 million election-related Tweets, it was the first #TwitterElection for India.

Rajinikanth joins Twitter (May 2014)

Tamil actor Rajinikanth chose Twitter as the preferred platform for his initiation into social media and took his first social networking step on May 5th, 2014. The Kochadaiiyaan actor had over 200,000 followers within the first 24 hours.

Mars Orbiter reaches Mars (September 2014)

@MarsOrbiter entered the Martian orbit on Sep 24, 2014, and moments later, also made its Twitter debut. It sent its first Tweet immediately after the mission was declared a success by @ISRO.

The Taj Mahal joins Twitter (August 2015)

On India's 69th Independence Day, one of the wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, became one of the first historic Indian monuments to have its own official Twitter account.

Diwali Greetings (November 2015)

India and the world celebrated the festival of lights in 2015, with 1.8 million Tweets, along with the first-ever special Diwali emoji shaped like a candle. Users Tweeted photos of their favourite Diwali moments using the #HappyDiwali hashtag which were shared as a photo collage.

Chennai Floods (November - December 2015)

Twitter was used as a platform to provide reports, disseminate critical information and coordinate local relief efforts during the floods in Chennai at the end of 2015. Local residents Tweeted using popular hashtags such as #ChennaiRains, #ChennaiFloods and #ChennaiRainsHelp to crowdsource assistance and help each other through this natural disaster. At the peak of the flooding, there were over 1.4 million Tweets from Dec 1-4, 2015.

Twitter, an online social networking platform, created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass, was launched the same year in July. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, with more than 100 million users posting 340 million Tweets a day in 2012.