The Twitter saga: From Jack Dorsey's first tweet to $43bn bid by Elon Musk

Twitter is born!

In March 2006, three tech whiz kids and entrepreneurs, Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams launch Twitter, taking a cue from Flickr—called twttr).

Jack Dorsey set up the first ever Twitter profile and sent out the first Tweet saying: “just set up my twttr”.

(Photograph:AFP)

Officially public

By July 15, 2006, Twitter’s microblogging service is officially available to the public. To clear up any confusion, co-founder Biz Stone creates a funny YouTube video to explain what Twitter is.

In October 2006, Williams, Stone, and Dorsey acquire the majority of assets from Odeo's investors and shareholders as the company pivots into Twitter.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Twitter wins 'best startup'

March 2007—Twitter wins "best startup" at South by Southwest, making its first crack into mainstream recognition.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Dorsey becomes CEO

April 2007 — Twitter officially becomes its own company. Co-founder Williams chooses Dorsey as its CEO.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Hashtag makes debut

August 2007 – The hashtag "#" makes its debut, supposedly started by user Chris Messina.

(Photograph:The New York Times)

Twitter gains traction

April 2009 – A Twitter feud erupted between Ashton Kutcher and CNN over who would be the first to reach one million followers, which ultimately Kutcher won. This was followed by Williams appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to set up her account leading to record-setting rates of new user sign-ups.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Promoted Tweets forays

April 2010—Twitter launched its advertising platform, Promoted Tweets!

(Photograph:Agencies)

5th anniversary of Twitter

March 2011—Twitter celebrates its 5th anniversary, and announces that over 1 billion tweets are sent out every single week.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Twitter bird becomes brand

June 2012— Twitter releases the first glimpse of the new Twitter bird design, which eventually became the most recognised brands in the online world.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Obama announces victory on Twitter

November 2012—Barack Obama is the first president to announce his success in the election on Twitter with this tweet. Obama’s Tweet was the most retweeted Tweet of 2012!

(Photograph:Agencies)

Twitter reaches valuation of $31bn

November 2013—Twitter releases its IPO, starting with a valuation of $31 billion.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Twitter launches 'Like' button

November 2015 – Twitter replaces the favourite button and star symbol with a like button and a heart symbol.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Word count increased

November 2018 – Twitter expands from 140 to 280-word count.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Parag Agrawal becomes the new CEO

November 2021— India-born Parag Agrawal, 37, replaces Jack Dorsey as the new Twitter chief executive officer, becoming the youngest CEO in top 500 companies.

(Photograph:Agencies)

Twitter - Elon Musk

The talks were reportedly accelerated over the weekend after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer. 

(Photograph:Reuters)