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Introduc ing Twi t ter
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with each other. All usernames were prefixed with the @ symbol to show
that they were trying to communicate with a specific user. Twitter eventu-
ally added functionality for this, with the @username now linking to the
user account it mentioned.
Some other websites have adopted the use of hashtags and linking
usernames, also using # and @. One popular website that followed Twit-
ter’s lead is Facebook. With 900 million unique monthly visitors, Face-
book is the only social media website to be more popular than Twitter.
Jack Dorsey’s creation boasts 310 million unique monthly visitors. Linke-
dIn is not far behind with 250 million unique monthly visitors.
Jack had come up with an amazing idea—but he had more ideas up
his sleeve!
Text-Dependent Questions
1. Why did Jack Dorsey decide to drop out of college and move
to California?
2. When Jack first approached Odeo about Twitter, how did he
pitch his idea?
3. Why was Twitter only available to Odeo employees at first?
When was the site finally introduced to the public?
4. How did the South by Southwest Interactive Conference cause Twitter to grow
at a much faster rate?
5. According to the study done in 2009, what are the top three uses for Twitter?
6. What are hashtags used for?