Twitter Blog

Staring at the sun together

2012-05-21T16:23:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, around the world, people paused their daily routines to gaze upward for a glimpse of the annular solar eclipse. They pointed cameras and cameraphones towards the sun or at the deepening dancing shadows in hopes of capturing images of this incredible sight. Collectively, these photos transcend language to tell the story of people marveling at one of our solar system’s most magical moments.

Here are just a few of the views people tweeted. To see more stunning photos from all over, visit our search results for “eclipse”.

Korea:

오늘 금환일식 완성~~~ twitter.com/JennyKim23/sta…
— Jenny Kim (@JennyKim23) May 20, 2012

Complete solar eclipse gold ring today

부분일식 찍고 보니 웬 UFO 들이 이렇게 많은겨. twitpic.com/9ng299
— 명승권 (@DrMyung) May 20, 2012

Japan:

Baily's beads! ベイリー・ビーズ　キターーーー　月面の凸凹で太陽がビーズのように見えます。 # 金環日食ならではの現象。　 twitpic.com/9ng5wl
— Soichi Noguchi 野口　聡一 (@Astro_Soichi) May 20, 2012

Here comes Baily’s beads! The sun looks like a bead because of the moon’s bumps. Annular eclipse original phenomenon.

給料3ヶ月分のレンズで撮影したんだ！ってプロポーズ…だめ？ twitter.com/wacamera/statu…
— わかめ (@wacamera) May 21, 2012

I was taken with a lens that’s 3 months’ salary! No proposal.

職場に行ったらブラインドから洩れた陽が床にこんなふうに写っていました。 yfrog.com/oen0kpqj
— 草鞋 (@2soku_waraji) May 20, 2012

Sunlight through a blind on our office floor looked like this.

マンション屋上 #金環日食観測会、だん。写真撮るつもりなかったんだけど、念のため持っていったNEX-5でぼんやり撮れた記念にup。レンズの前に日食メガネ当てて撮ってます。左から右に向かって時間順。 twitter.com/YoshiokaAyano/…
— 吉岡綾乃 (@YoshiokaAyano) May 21, 2012

Annular eclipse observation at our apartment rooftop is done. I was not planning to take photos but I took these with my “just-in-case” NEX-5. I put the eclipse glasses on the lens. Chronologically from left.

Canada:

Was cool to see partial solar eclipse w Nicole @yyz_mike @2manycameras & @glifencibles(his monitor) yfrog.com/nwseobpj
— Katrina(@Astro_yyz) May 21, 2012

A friend watching the eclipse from Canada. #Science #vicpln twitter.com/aus_teach/stat…
— Simon Keily (@aus_teach) May 21, 2012

New Mexico:

AMAZING Solar Eclipse yesterday, Another photo with my Wife and the Eclipse ! Check it out ! twitpic.com/9noxx9
— Mike Theiss (@MikeTheiss) May 21, 2012

Missouri:

A partial eclipse sunset over Table Rock Lake in #Branson. Took my breath away.yfrog.com/ocro1eoj #VisitMO
— Katie Steele Danner (@KatiesTrail) May 21, 2012

Lake Tahoe:

Solar eclipse! Just west of Tahoe. Binocular projection onto white cardboard. We even saw sun spots. twitter.com/davidhoenig/st…
— David Hoenig (@davidhoenig) May 21, 2012

San Francisco:

Solar eclipse over SF twitter.com/mr_sams/status…
— Samee (@mr_sams) May 21, 2012

Hawaii:

Eclipse beginning in Hawaii! (it was easier to see not using the camera) #eclipse #hawaii twitpic.com/9nhs4b
— Griffin Sagar (@GriffinSagar) May 21, 2012

Posted by @twitter

NASCAR puts you in the driver’s seat

2012-05-18T12:27:00.003-07:00

NASCAR drivers have covered a lot of ground this year — and they’ve done it on Twitter. While @JimmieJohnson was 41,000 feet in the air, he hosted a live chat with fans. When the top Sprint Cup racers took a trip to the White House, they documented every step of their journey. During the Daytona 500, @keselowski found himself stopped on the track during a fire, and shared the view from the driver’s seat. And when you watch @KaseyKahne make his way around the track, you’ll see a hashtag on the back of his car.

It’s clear that Twitter and NASCAR are a great match, and we’re working with NASCAR to bring fans even closer to the track.

On June 10, while the drivers are racing in the Pocono 400, you’ll be able to get closer to the action as it unfolds on the track with a special experience around the #NASCAR hashtag. During the race, we'll curate accounts from the NASCAR universe and surface the best Tweets and photos from the drivers, their families, commentators, celebrities and other fans when you search #NASCAR on Twitter.com.

Time to go to work. twitter.com/KyleBusch/stat…
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) April 27, 2012

We’ll have more to share about our relationship with NASCAR in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, this weekend you can follow the All-Star race and festivities via these accounts among others:

@NASCAR
@JimmieJohnson
@keselowski
@KyleBusch
@KaseyKahne
@JeffGordonWeb
@KevinHarvick

Cheering along with fellow fans during the biggest sporting events used to require being there in person, or at least heading to the nearest sports bar. Now, Twitter brings you closer to the roar of the crowd — and the roar of the engines.

Posted by: Omid Ashtari, Twitter Sports & Entertainment Team (@omid)

Your ticket to the Billboard Music Awards

2012-05-18T11:04:00.010-07:00

What do you have in common with Usher, Carrie Underwood, and Maroon 5? You can experience the excitement of the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night live on ABC 8pm ET / 7pm CT (8pm PT). Okay, we can’t promise that you’ll literally rub elbows with Alicia Keys, but following the show on Twitter can make you feel like you’re on the red carpet, at the award podium, and backstage with your favorite musicians.

With our special cast of live-tweeters, you can experience the show through the eyes of the artists themselves and celebrity music fans who will be watching as well. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to take the stage to perform in front of millions of viewers? You can find out by following @NellyFurtado, @AliciaKeys, and @CarlyRaeJepsen, all of whom will be tweeting from inside the awards throughout the evening -- along with other hit acts like @RedFoo and @FarEastMovement.

Not every musician in the world is at the Awards, but just about all of them might be watching it! Watch along with artists like @nadiaali, @preciousweapons, @tranquilmammoth, and @brokenanchor1. And finally, a big night for music also brings out the stars from other areas of entertainment. Also watching and tweeting along will be actors like @juliannehough and @TheRealMikeEpps, fashion guru @NinaGarcia, author Sloane Crosley (@askanyone) and comedian @TracyMcMillan. So make sure you take a look at our list on the night of the Awards.

But before the big night even begins, check out our Billboard Music Awards list and follow all your favorite artists and the night’s hottest acts. During the show, you can follow the #BBMA hashtag to see these tweets and plenty more from musicians and fans around the world, and include it with your own Tweets to be a part of the conversation.

With Modern Family stars Julie Bowen (@itsJulieBowen) and Ty Burrell hosting, the night promises to be full of fun. Here’s a sneak peek of the antics that await -- shared on Twitter, of course:

instagr.am/p/KneWXPIFUO/ getting ready for billboard awards with Ty and, of course, camera hog @DannyZuker.#bigeffinghair
— Julie Bowen (@itsJulieBowen) May 14, 2012

The Ty & I.(this pic will make more sense after u watch the #billboardAwards) instagr.am/p/KnRfT-oFfe/
— Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) May 14, 2012

Posted by Grace Chu Lee, TV Partnerships Team (@gracelee)

#OnlyOnTwitter: How photos make connections

2012-05-17T14:20:00.005-07:00

Communities are stitched together by numerous kinds of ties. In person there’s the smile, handshake, a shared laugh. From afar there’s the letter, email, a phone call. Twitter has a noteworthy power to bring you closer to a community instantaneously, and this week’s collection of #OnlyOnTwitter moments illustrates how this can be done with photographs.

Whether it’s Broadway actors sharing an intermission break despite being in different shows, or photos from far away that pierce the mystique to show real, human people. Or (my favorite), if on your band’s tour you suddenly stumble upon the Most Awesome Story to Tell Your Friends — with Twitter, you tell it in real time.

Saturday Intermission Pictures
The Broadway community is a tight-knit crew. But on Saturday afternoons, when they're all scattered across different theaters, how do they stay close? Intermission pictures!

Okay showfolk, if you're in a show today, at intermission take a picture of yourself and tag it #SIP (Saturday Intermission Pic)
— Andrew Keenan-Bolger (@KeenanBlogger) May 12, 2012

My first #sip!On to the fourth act of the day! @YFTOUR twitter.com/ajholmesmusic/…
— A.J. Holmes (@ajholmesmusic) May 13, 2012

Hobbit/Ugandan realness. @scottbarnhardt @FashionistaMJS #SIP twitter.com/asmeretyemane/…
— AsmeretGhebremichael (@asmeretyemane) May 12, 2012

What Finch eats at intermission. #SIP #fatnewsie twitter.com/aaronjalbano/s…
— Aaron J. Albano (@aaronjalbano) May 13, 2012

Journalist Jacob Weisberg takes you to China
On a trip to China, journalist Jacob Weisberg has been tweeting out photos and observations. This is a great format for feature reporters. Tweeting on the ground doesn't just have to be limited to breaking news. Jacob’s Tweets also offer an immediate and fascinating picture at life behind the Great Firewall.

Ai Weiwei taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. Or vice-versa. twitter.com/jacobwe/status…
— Jacob Weisberg (@jacobwe) May 15, 2012

Young Mao. Or possibly Beethoven. twitter.com/jacobwe/status…
— Jacob Weisberg (@jacobwe) May 17, 2012

Indie Band Picks up a Hitchhiking John Waters
John Waters was making his way across Ohio with his thumb and indie band Here We Go Magic picked him up. He rode in their van, and they reported the details of the incident on Twitter. (via DCist)

We found John Waters hitchhiking on the side of the 70 fwy, he bought us lunch. What a guy! @herewegomagic @turnerjen twitter.com/avtark/status/…
— Avtar K (@avtark) May 16, 2012

Posted by Andrew Fitzgerald, Manager, Editorial Programming (@magicandrew)

New tailored suggestions for you to follow on Twitter

2012-05-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

Every day, hundreds of thousands of people sign up for Twitter to get closer to the things they care about — friends, businesses, celebrities, news and information from all over. If you’ve used Twitter for awhile, you know it can take some effort to find and follow the accounts that really reflect your interests. If you’re signing up for Twitter for the first time, we want that process to be easy and fast.

Currently, when new users come to Twitter, we show them all almost the same suggestions for what or who to follow. That isn’t ideal. Since you have individual interests, you should get individual suggestions. After all, even though millions of people love Justin Bieber, FC Barcelona or Kim Kardashian, not everyone using Twitter may want to follow them. A football fan in Italy who loves to travel may want to follow @chiellini, @walksofItaly and @nytimestravel. An aspiring chef who loves to laugh can follow @epicurious, @seriousrecipes and @SteveCarell. And a mom whose son is traveling in Australia can feel connected to him and keep up with the latest news where he is by following @smh.

To make it easier and faster for everyone to get started on Twitter, we’re beginning some experiments with tailored suggestions in a number of countries around the world. The first experiment will show new users a list of accounts that we recommend you follow, alongside a timeline filled with Tweets from those accounts. If you’re part of the experiment, you’ll see a Twitter experience that’s relevant to you right when you sign up. (Of course, you can always choose to not follow the suggested accounts that don’t interest you.)

New users may see a list of tailored suggestions (left) and a timeline with Tweets from those accounts (right) as they sign up for an account.

New users may see a list of tailored suggestions (left) and a timeline with Tweets from those accounts (right) as they sign up for an account.

If you’re a current user, you may see tailored suggestions in Who to follow so you can constantly find interesting and relevant accounts that are new to you. In both cases, we hope it’s effortless for the Italian football-and-travel fan to follow @chiellini, @walksofItaly and @nytimestravel. To see which accounts we’d recommend for you, visit our preview page.

Current users may see tailored suggestions in “Who to follow”.

These tailored suggestions are based on accounts followed by other Twitter users and visits to websites in the Twitter ecosystem. We receive visit information when sites have integrated Twitter buttons or widgets, similar to what many other web companies — including LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube — do when they’re integrated into websites. By recognizing which accounts are frequently followed by people who visit popular sites, we can recommend those accounts to others who have visited those sites within the last ten days.

As always, we are committed to providing you with simple and meaningful choices about the information we collect to improve your Twitter experience. For those who don’t want to tailor Twitter, we offer ways to turn off this collection. As the Federal Trade Commission’s CTO, Ed Felten, mentioned earlier today, we support Do Not Track (DNT), which is reflected in our privacy policy as one of the ways you can indicate your preference. If you have DNT enabled in your browser settings, we will not collect the information that enables this feature, so you won’t see any tailored suggestions. We hope that our support of DNT highlights its importance as a privacy tool for consumers and creates even more interest and wider adoption across the web.

Additionally, new users will see an option to “Tailor Twitter based on my recent website visits” along with a link to “Learn more” when they create an account on Twitter.com. Current users will see a new “Personalization” section in account settings, with the same option to tailor Twitter. Of course, you can disable these options at any time, which will stop the collection of information for the feature and remove any tailored suggestions we have for you. You can even choose to turn off tailored suggestions from the preview page (which shows some suggestions we’d make for you).

Every day, experienced Twitter users are brought closer to the things they care about in unique, profound ways. Today’s experiment in providing tailored suggestions lets novice users go from zero to pro faster and more easily than ever before. So even if you’re not a football-loving Italian who wants to travel the world, we hope this experiment immediately makes Twitter yours, and you can start getting closer to the things you care about with just a few clicks or taps.

- Othman Laraki, Director, Growth and International (@othman)

The best of Twitter in your inbox

2012-05-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

Starting today, you can discover the best of Twitter in a weekly email digest delivered to your inbox. This summary features the most relevant Tweets and stories shared by the people you’re connected to on Twitter.

Stories feature a design similar to the recently updated Discover tab, emphasizing who shared each story beneath summaries to help you decide which ones matter most to you. Click any headline to finish reading the story, add your take by tweeting directly from the email, and see related Tweets from the people you follow.

This new email digest also features the most engaging Tweets seen by the people you follow, even if you don’t follow those who wrote them. You can see who from your network retweeted or favorited these Tweets and click “View details” to retweet, favorite, reply or view the conversation around them.

We’re rolling out this new email out to everyone over the next few weeks, so keep checking your inbox for new messages from Twitter. Like other Twitter email notifications, you can manage your preferences for this new digest in your Notification Settings.

-Othman Laraki, Director, Growth and International (@othman)

Making every day Mother's Day

2012-05-13T01:03:00.001-07:00

Officially, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May in the U.S. Of course, all year long, Twitter is filled with love and appreciation (and, of course, a little humor) for our moms. Here are some of our favorite moments of mom shared on Twitter the other 364 days of the year.

Even though her comedy is often inspired by her family life, Mindy Kaling shared a sincere perspective on her relationship with her mom:

The best time in my life started when I realized my mom could also my best friend.
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) April 26, 2011

Justin Bieber tweeted about the gift he’ll be giving his mom, and when his fans can get it too:

like i said on @mtv im gonna release the song i wrote for my mom #TurnToYou end of this week for Mother's Day to raise money for charity
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) May 7, 2012

Creator and star of HBO’s “Girls,” Lena Dunham lets us in on the rapport she and her mom share:

An email from my mom contains the phrase "she very annoyed me." I just love her so much sometimes it gives me an ache.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) December 2, 2011

Twitter isn’t just a place to come to talk about your mom: it’s also a place to come to talk to your mom. Families use Twitter to keep in touch, and share their affection.

When actor Neil Patrick Harris posted a picture of his new twins, a very proud mother and grandmother quickly replied:

@ActuallyNPH wow. Those are the cutest children, well, among the top four children I've ever seen. s/ Mamaw
— Sheila Scott Harris (@gladsheila) March 17, 2012

After publishing her first book, Katherine Schwarzenegger shared her appreciation for the support from her mom, Maria Shriver, perhaps not coincidentally a public figure and best-selling author:

“@mariashriver: Amazing journey, Katherine. So proud of you. You are a gift from God.” best mommy ever!
— K Schwarzenegger (@KSchwarzenegger) April 27, 2012

What’s the secret to center-fielder Matt Kemp’s great start with the Dodgers this year? Maybe it’s the workout encouragement he and his mom share with each other:

Becuz ur a beast!!! RT @dodger27mom: @dodger27mom: cardio for 1.5 hrs on leg day wit squats sucks! Remind me why I do this please?
— Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp) December 9, 2011

@dodger27mom: takes one to know one!!!!! RT@TheRealMattKemp: @TheRealMattKemp: Becuz ur a beast!!!
— Judy Henderson (@dodger27mom) December 9, 2011

Today, share your own mom memories and moments on Twitter. But flowers are still a good idea too.

Posted by @twitter

#OnlyOnTwitter: Announcements and surprises

2012-05-11T12:42:00.001-07:00

We have a couple of moments to share with you this week of things that happened #OnlyOnTwitter. Two of our stories this week are about announcements. In one, Twitter was the platform of choice for hundreds of thousands of people to express their views on President Obama’s decision to support gay marriage. In another, Twitter was the creative canvas upon which The Atlantic drew a graphic. And then, just for fun, did you know that Salman Rushdie follows Molly Ringwald? He does.

On Wednesday, President Obama expressed his support for gay marriage during a taped television interview. He quickly shared the news on Twitter, driving the conversation to its highest levels:

"Same-sex couples should be able to get married."—President Obama
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 9, 2012

Gay marriage conversation peaked at 7,347 Tweets per minute at 3:22p ET yesterday. CHART: twitter.com/gov/status/200…
— Twitter Government (@gov) May 10, 2012

Elected officials from both sides of the aisle also turned to Twitter to voice their opinions about Obama’s announcement:

Historic day for justice and equality. Our United States President Obama endorses marriage equality. I rejoice in this announcement.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 9, 2012

“Glad Pres finally laid out position to American ppl, but changing def of marriage isn't something I can support" ow.ly/aOaXy...
— Senator Hatch Office (@SenOrrinHatch) May 9, 2012

While our @gov team tweeted their data about the gay marriage conversation via an embedded image, The Atlantic’s new business site “Quartz” turned their Tweets into infographics about cellphone usage:

▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Macao: 2.06
— Quartz (@quartznews) May 8, 2012

▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Cayman Islands: 1.78
— Quartz (@quartznews) May 8, 2012

Finally, it’s always fascinating to see how Twitter can bring people together. This week, a writer in New York casually noted that author @SalmanRushdie is following actress @MollyRingwald -- and was in for a bit of a surprise when they both responded:

I love that @SalmanRushdie is following @MollyRingwald. What a weird world we live in.
— paulabernstein (@paulabernstein) May 8, 2012

.@MollyRingwald @paulabernstein That goes for me too.
— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) May 8, 2012

Posted by Andrew Fitzgerald, Manager, Editorial Programming (@magicandrew)

A new standard for the mobile web

2012-05-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

Today we’re updating Twitter for mobile web (mobile.twitter.com) in an effort to give every person on the planet a consistent Twitter experience. People who access Twitter from feature phones, low-bandwidth networks or older browsers can now enjoy the new version of Twitter we introduced in December.

In this updated version of mobile.twitter.com, you can see all the Tweets from the accounts you follow in the Home tab and check your @mentions in the Connect tab. You can see what’s trending in the Discover tab, and access your direct messages and Tweets in the Me tab.

Like Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android, mobile.twitter.com is fast, like a native mobile app; it uses one-third less bandwidth than the previous iteration. We’re rolling out this new mobile web experience starting today, and will continue to make Twitter the most accessible way to connect with the world, even with the weakest signals and the simplest devices.

- Satya Patel, VP of Product (@satyap)

#OnlyOnTwitter: Our collective past

2012-05-04T13:50:00.003-07:00

We talk a lot about how Twitter is an amazing real-time platform. The news of the hour, delivered to you within seconds. But while Twitter is always bringing us closer to the present, sometimes our Tweets are a way of looking back to the past. This week’s #OnlyOnTwitter is about looking backwards. We’ve collected musicians’ memories of MCA. We also have a short Twitter essay remembering NFL linebacker Junior Seau. And we have a project developed by NBC LA to live-tweet the Los Angeles riots from 20 years later. All examples of Twitter’s power to make you a part of a global, collective history. And to bring you closer not just to the present, but to the past as well.

Today we were heartbroken to see the news that Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys passed away. The news was shared via Tweets, passed around the world by fans whose lives had been touched by his work. And shortly thereafter came the memories— Tweets about listening to the Beastie Boys, Tweets about meeting “MCA”, Tweets about the impact his music had on all of music that followed. A flow of Tweets in which we were all sharing what this man meant to us as individuals, collectively.

I think this is something important about Twitter. On Twitter our individual memories become a collective history that is more powerful, more meaningful and more instructive than ever before.

RIP MCA
Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys passed away this Friday. Across Twitter, musicians celebrated his work and remembered his impact on their lives and careers.

R.I.P. Adam Yauch - Beastie Boys. We've lost a visionary artist. Sitting in Brooklyn and feeling the impact like a black cloud.
— Amanda Palmer (@amandapalmer) May 4, 2012

Remembering Junior Seau
After the suicide of Chargers linebacker Junior Seau, NFL player Eric Olsen remembered him on Twitter.

Wow this is a tough one.. When I was a frosh in HS Junior Seau worked the Jay Fiedler Football camp and at the end of one of the days he...
— Eric Olsen (@EOlsen69) May 2, 2012

Re-living the Los Angeles riots
Twenty years ago LA erupted in a firestorm of riots after the Rodney King verdict. This year, NBC LA set up an account to tweet out updates from twenty years ago, exactly how and when they happened. These are excerpts from the first night of rioting.

#BREAKING: Violence reported at Florence/Normandie. Channel 4 News Telecopter en route.
— Real Time LA Riots (@RealTimeLARiots) April 30, 2012

White House Correspondents Dinner highlights
Every year the press and the President hobnob with celebrities and comedians for the a night of dinner, drinks and laughs. On Twitter, they call it #nerdprom. If you didn't manage to get on the guest list, you could still catch the jokes on Twitter:

Obama: "I'm the President of the United States. Why am I telling knock-knock jokes to @kimkardashian? Why is she famous anyway??" #whcd
— Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) April 29, 2012

SF Ballet's #AskADancer
Hours before the curtain raised for their performance of "Don Quixote", the San Francisco Ballet took fan questions for the show's star dancer.

#AskADancer "I'm excited to see where this tech-savvy culture will push ballet, & all the arts! Probably some bad, but also some brilliant"
— San Francisco Ballet (@sfballet) May 3, 2012

#PandaAI titillates nation of panda fans
The National Zoo live-tweeted a scientific procedure that just happened to be artificially inseminating a giant panda named Mei. It was fascinating from a scientific perspective and also attracted no small amount of snark.

And here's our slightly groggy, black-and-white rock star in recovery! #pandaAI twitter.com/NationalZoo/st…
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) April 30, 2012

Kanye and Bieber tweet their way to collaboration
Two years ago Kanye West asked Justin Bieber to collaborate via Twitter. Now, as Kenny Hamilton reports, the collaboration is happening.

An I'm honored that you like my Music @JustinBieber!!!You gotta hear the album. Maybe we can do something together. Me, You and Raekwon
— Kanye West (@kanyewest) August 15, 2010

Louis C.K. is a fan of Girls
We have to imagine that when you're Lena Dunham, creator of the new HBO hit Girls, it takes a lot to make your day. Like when a comedy hero tweets his admiration to you.

Hey, @lenadunham, your show is really really good and funny and unique and other things.So keep going.Please.
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) May 4, 2012

--Andrew Fitzgerald, Manager, Editorial Programming (@magicandrew)

#RIPMCA

Innovate through experimentation

2012-05-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

In order to offer you the simplest and most engaging Twitter experience, we frequently test hundreds of variations of new features and designs with small groups of users. We test everything from subtle tweaks in the language of our sign-up pages and removing the search box from our homepage to big shifts in navigation elements. These experiments help us understand what experiences people like best or use most often. When an experiment ends, we study the results and roll out the most successful variation to everyone as soon as we can.

After recent experimentation, we introduced a slight redesign to every Tweet that flows through your timeline on Twitter.com. A Tweet may be our basic unit of communication, but it also contains a universe: each one has an identity with a username, real name and avatar; a 140-character message that includes text as well as metadata like time and language; some context (replies, favorites and retweets of that Tweet), and perhaps media (photos, videos or links).

Now, when you hover over the newly-redesigned Tweet, you'll always see options to reply, favorite or retweet in the lower-left corner against a grey background.

If the Tweet contains media, you’ll also see specific options like “View photo” or “View video”; otherwise, you’ll see the option to “Expand”. You can expand any Tweet in your timeline to see inline context like favorites or retweets from other people, or additional Tweets from that same conversation. You can also click on any Tweet’s timestamp or “Details” to see that Tweet’s permalink, the unique web page for that Tweet.

We made these changes because this iteration showed a significant increase in engagement, the highest of all the implementations during our experiment. We hope you like this change, which we think makes all of the possible ways to interact with a Tweet more clear. Even more, we hope you don’t mind our ongoing experiments. We’re always curious to find new ways to delight you, and to improve your Twitter experience.

- Othman Laraki, Director (@othman)

Overheard at the water cooler

2012-05-04T09:51:00.007-07:00

There are phrases whose origins fade in the rush of time, and “water cooler moment” is one of those. Apparently first cited c. 1999, it meant a prime-time TV moment that co-workers discussed the next day at the office (presumably with small pointed paper cups in hand).

Flipping forward, Twitter has been increasingly invoked as creating such “must-see” moments for a newer world — in real time, no waiting. This week, on NPR’s flagship show, “All Things Considered,” (@npratc) interviewed former NBC President Warren Littlefield, who reigned during the network’s "Must-See TV" heyday. His new book details that era, and he bemoans the loss of those “water cooler moments” in our multi-channel multiverse where we’re madly and asynchronously watching stuff constantly.

Host Audie Cornish (@nprAudie) felt bemoaning was not in order:

“When I'm watching the Oscars, and everyone is on Twitter…I do feel like I'm having a communal experience with the show — in some cases enjoying it more, because you're having the water cooler conversation at that moment."

"Absolutely. I agree with that", said Mr. L., known on Twitter as @TopOfTheRock_WL.

We’re glad he concurs that Twitter has elevated the water cooler experience into the very fabric of shows. Others are noting this too. Today’s USA Today story quotes Greg Kahn, EVP of Optimedia: “The water cooler used to be the next day, now it's while the show is going on."

And as Philadelphia Inquirer TV critic Ellen Gray (@elgray) notes, Twitter isn’t just for viewers, either: TV showrunners and writers are on Twitter to gauge viewer feedback and try out new material.

This new wave of “Twitter TV” has given us a real driveway moment, as NPR might say — one that’s neatly summed up by Daniel Block (@spacemonkey95):

“So Twitter is the new water-cooler. … Twitter enables a truly communal viewing experience. Like never before it is possible to share a televisual experience with other viewers across the nation. I know of some people who sometimes choose to watch a programme broadcast live, rather than on a catch-up service later, because they want to "join in" on Twitter.”

- Chloe Sladden, VP, Media (@ChloeS)

Discover better stories

2012-05-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Discover tab makes it easy to discover information that matters to you without having to follow additional accounts. Starting today, the Discover tab will begin to surface content that is even more personalized and meaningful to you. We’ve incorporated additional personalization signals to select Discover stories, including Tweets that are popular among the people you follow and the folks they follow.

The Discover tab’s new design shows who tweeted about particular stories. You can click “View Tweets" on any story to see popular Tweets from your network or recent, relevant Tweets directly below the story summary. This social context helps you understand why each story matters to you and makes it easier to join the conversation. You can reply, retweet or favorite these Tweets, or you can “Tweet this story” to share your own perspective.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out this redesigned and more personalized Discover experience on Twitter.com, iPhone and Android. This update is part of our ongoing development of Discover; we will continue to work to make discovery on Twitter a magical experience that brings you instantly closer to the information that matters most to you at the right time, any time.

- Satya Patel, VP of Product (@satyap)

Latin music’s big night on Twitter

2012-04-27T14:09:00.005-07:00

Last night’s Latin Billboard Awards proved to be a big night for Latin music’s hottest artists, and for fans on Twitter. The conversation really took off on Twitter, both in Spanish and English -- there were nearly half a million Tweets about the show, which was more than double last year’s volume. Fans particularly turned to Twitter to share their reactions when Don Omar and Maná won trophies, and during Marc Anthony’s Premio Salon de la Fama award tribute, sending thousands of Tweets during those moments.

Before the show started, folks behind the scenes were sharing pictures of the stars as they walked the red carpet:

Fashion cam #billboards @sensato @pitbull @dreateamagency instagr.am/p/J6QB8jDeF0/
— Susan Stipcianos (@DreamTeamSusan) April 27, 2012

A lucky fan in Miami for the Billboards shared the view from her seat during one of the performances:

#Favorite performance of the night!! #Billboards2012 @gerardoortiznet twitter.com/YAREL_RAMOS/st…
— Yarel Ramos (@YAREL_RAMOS) April 27, 2012

Right after taking home an incredible 8 awards, Prince Royce took his acceptance speech to Twitter and made sure to thank his fans around the world:
Prince Royce made sure to thank all his fans:

8 awards @LatinBillboards!!! I am so grateful for all of you guys, my fans!!! Without you this is not possible!! What a night!
— Prince Royce (@PlanetRoyce) April 27, 2012

The team at Trendrr also followed the Latin Billboards closely, and pulled together this infographic showing the way the show played out on Twitter, which you can check out here.

Whether you’re a Latin music lover, an aspiring electronic music producer, or want to re-live rock’s most memorable moments, Twitter is the place for music fans to connect with their favorite artists.

#OnlyOnTwitter: An authorial bonanza

2012-04-27T11:42:00.004-07:00

If you post to Twitter, you’re a writer in your own right. While you may not be writing novels, you’re telling your own stories 140 characters at a time. This week on #OnlyOnTwitter we have a number of posts about writers and writing. From authorial Twitter takeovers to crowdsourcing speechwriting to a Twitter staging of a play— it’s everything from 140 characters to 140,000 words in this week’s edition of #OnlyOnTwitter.

Susan Orlean’s crowdsourced commencement speech
Stumped on a commencement speech, author Susan Orlean asked her Twitter followers for help...and tried out a few ideas on them, too.

I got it! "Your student loans have started accruing interest..." Nah.
— Susan Orlean (@susanorlean) April 25, 2012

Anna Quindlen takes @atRandom on tour
Author Anna Quindlen is currently promoting her new book Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. She took over her publisher’s Twitter account to document one manic day in the life of an author on her book tour.

Taking over the random house twitter feed for Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. Could get ugly.All thumbs. -AQ
— Random House (@atrandom) April 24, 2012

"Glengarry Glen Ross" Twitter Bot Theater
In a new experiment in the performing arts, Twitter Bot Theater reenacted the movie adaptation of the famous David Mamet play, "Glengarry Glen Ross", by having automated accounts tweet the play line-by-line. Here’s a bit of the scene with Blake, played in the film by Alec Baldwin and played here by @theBlake970. (Don't worry, we picked one of the lines that's not profanity-laden.)

@imDaveMoss They're sitting out there waiting to give you their money. Are you gonna take it? Are you man enough to take it?
— Blake (@theBlake970) April 23, 2012

#DontDoubleMyRate
The White House is encouraging Congress to prevent an increase in federal student loan rates— and they deployed a new hashtag to do it. With #DontDoubleMyRate, the White House has encouraged students and college grads to tweet their support. It’s been a pretty successful campaign, helped significantly by the President’s appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Don't miss President Obama Slow Jam the News on student loans & #DontDoubleMyRate tonight on @jimmyfallon: twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…
— The White House (@whitehouse) April 24, 2012

You missed Zac Efron’s party
Actor Zac Efron held a fan chat to promote his new movie "The Lucky One". One unlucky fan wanted to throw a party at Zac’s house and found out he might have missed the boat.

RT @efronsource: YOOOOO Zac, can you invite all your fans in your house for a big party? @ZacEfron #askzacefron Xxxx
— Zac Efron (@ZacEfron) April 20, 2012

IT WAS LAST NIGHT, BRO!You didn't get the invite?
— Zac Efron (@ZacEfron) April 20, 2012

A Twitter-powered game of catch
Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeffrey Guthrie was looking for a throwing partner on a lunch break. Local fan and cancer survivor Woody Roseland just happened to have some free time and a glove.

Anybody on lunch break & up for a catch with me? #OffDay #NoThrowingPartner say.ly/MdV2v60
— Jeremy Guthrie (@JGuthrie46) April 10, 2012

Hack Week: Efficiency edition

2012-04-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

We love Hack Week so much that we’ve been doing it once a quarter, and this time, the week’s theme was efficiency. For five days, we suspend all but the most critical projects to focus on building out new ideas and tools. Engineers and others from across the company self-organize into teams around whatever projects they’re most passionate about, new and old.

Collectively, we review and vote on our favorites — some hacks make it into product roadmaps, some improve our internal systems, and all of them teach us something about the breadth of what’s possible with a little extra passion and flexibility. People designed everything from a tool to quickly and easily test new features with users to a better way of finding open meeting rooms.

One of the big hits of the week was #CodeClass, an accelerated curriculum on JavaScript and Front-End engineering. Experienced coders from other disciplines learned how to write interfaces for their projects, and beginning coders from every department got started in programming by learning HTML and JavaScript. I was excited to work on it because skills exchange and personal development are such an important part of our culture here — over 150 people signed up for the three different levels, and our video production team even made a very professional promo spot for it:

We’ve already blocked out time for next quarter’s #hackweek, theme TBD. Personally, I plan on ignoring whatever the theme is and running another session of #CodeClass.

- Marcus Phillips, Software Engineer (@mracus)

More to discover on our latest iPhone, Android apps

2012-04-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Today you can download new versions of Twitter for iPhone in the App Store and Twitter for Android in Google Play. These updates make it easier to find out what’s happening on Twitter with improvements to discover, search and notifications.

Discover
The Discover tab helps you find interesting and timely content that matters to you. With this update, you can see Activity on Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android. Activity is a stream of updates that shows which Tweets are favorited or retweeted by the people you follow and which accounts those people follow or add to lists.

Activity appears below the redesigned stories in Discover. Now you can tap any story once to see Tweets about a particular trend or news article. You can then read the entire story or join the conversation by replying, retweeting or favoriting related Tweets.

Search
Search is now simpler in both mobile apps. You can see suggestions for different spellings and related terms for your queries. Finding the people you’re looking for is faster, too. In the Connect tab, you can start typing the first or last name or username of the person you’re looking for and the name will autocomplete for people that you follow.

We’ve also made a few improvements specifically for iPhone: when you tap the search box in Discover, you’ll see your most recent queries. You can also go directly to someone’s profile when searching for a username in Connect.

Notifications
Lastly, we’ve added push notifications for Interactions, so you can know immediately when your Tweets have been retweeted or favorited, or when somebody new follows your account. You can manage your push notifications settings to stay as connected as you’d like.

Download Twitter for iPhone today from the App Store and Twitter for Android in Google Play.

This update was a great collaboration between many teams at Twitter including Android, iOS, Discover, Search and others. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this effort.

- Sung Hu Kim, Product Manager (@sunghu)

Música en Miami

2012-04-25T12:00:00.003-07:00

Thursday night, Telemundo is bringing you one of the hottest parties of the year: the Latin Billboard Awards, celebrating the best in Latin music. Whether you’re a fan of pop, tropical, Mexican, or rhythm music, be sure to tune in to watch the performances, cheer the winners and (of course) see what everyone’s wearing. From the minute the red carpet is rolled out, you’ll want to follow the whole fiesta on Twitter.

You can already see the action building now at #Billboards2012:

Mexican superstar Paulina Rubio, winner of many Billboard awards herself, can’t wait to take the stage for her live performance during the show:

Emocionada de ser parte de los premios @LatinBillboards este jueves por @telemundo! No te lo puedes perder!! #billboards2012
— Paulina Rubio (@paurubio) April 23, 2012

“Excited to be part of the @latinbillboard awards this Thursday. Don’t miss it!”

Red carpet host Jorge Bernal has been sharing pictures all week, capturing preparations for the big night. Look like he’s just about ready for the show:

Listos? #billboards2012 instagr.am/p/Jx9qqLnjRu/
— Jorge D. Bernal (@JorgeBernal) April 23, 2012

“Ready?”

And @LatinBillboards lets you know what kind of party you’re in for:

Rehearsals for @Akon just wrapped. Get ready to dance. It's gonna be good #Billboards2012
— Premios Billboard (@LatinBillboards) April 24, 2012

As soon as the limos pull up, the @LatinBillboards team will be providing you with exclusive behind-the-scenes Tweets. They’ll share pictures as the stars arrive — before you can even see them on TV — for those of you who can’t wait to see what everyone’s wearing. As they make their way down the red carpet, some of the biggest names in Latin music will be tweeting their night.

Over at @Telemundo, find out who’s performing next, so you won’t miss your favorite artists. The lineup includes Paulina Rubio (@paurubio), Pitbull (@pitbull), Prince Royce (@PlanetRoyce), and the highly-anticipated Brazilian sensation Michel Tel (@MichelTelo). And @LatinBillboards will capture some of the most emotional moments of the night, with exclusive Tweets and pictures from backstage, catching presenters and performers right before they face the crowd — and winners right after they walk off the stage.

And of course, share your own thoughts as the night unfolds -- remember to include #Billboards2012 and you may even seen your own Tweet on air.

¡Lluvia de estrellas estilo latino!

#OnlyOnTwitter: Photos across space and time

2012-04-20T10:37:00.005-07:00

One of the best things about Twitter is sharing pictures in real-time. Pictures from behind the scenes, pictures from abroad, pictures from the past. This week we have a number of Twitter moments of people sharing experiences and sharing photos in a way that could happen #OnlyOnTwitter. We have DC residents pointing the cameraphones at the sky to snap pictures of a space shuttle’s last flight. We have José Andrés finding Anthony Bourdain’s favorite restaurant in Singapore and posing with the chef. And we have a Twitter account dedicated entirely to plumbing the depths of the Sports Illustrated photo archives.

All of that and more, happening every day #OnlyOnTwitter.

#spottheshuttle takes over DC
Washington, D.C. residents left their offices in droves this Tuesday to watch the space shuttle Discovery, piggy-backed on a Boeing 747, circled the city three times before landing at Dulles Airport. Thanks to Twitter, even the folks who couldn't leave their desks were able to see the shuttle from just about every angle in the city.

Giddy from proximity to space flight AND the Capitol. #spottheshuttle twitter.com/Shakespearean/…
— Rebecca Shakespeare (@Shakespearean) April 17, 2012

From the vaults of Sports Illustrated
Andy Gray at Sports Illustrated may have the coolest job in the sports world: he gets to dig through the archives of the magazine's photos and share them on Twitter! His is a great feed to follow for any sports fan and a great example of how a publication can creatively use its archives on Twitter.

George Brett and Mike Schmidt enjoy a cocktail on the third base line during a 1981 SI photo shoot: twitter.com/si_vault/statu…
— Andy Gray (@si_vault) April 17, 2012

José Andrés goes to Singapore
Chef José Andrés took a trip to Singapore and received some travel recommendations from everybody’s favorite culinary tourist Anthony Bourdain.

@chefjoseandres Sin Huat Eating House in Geylang . The crab bee hoon.
— Anthony Bourdain (@NoReservations) April 15, 2012

NASCAR goes to the White House
The President invited 12 of the top Sprint Cup drivers to the White House. They put on their suits and ties and then shared pictures of the whole event.

The Busch's at the White House. @Samantha_Busch @KyleBusch @Patricia_AFF twitter.com/KurtBusch/stat…
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) April 17, 2012

Three Stooges answer dozens of questions
In anticipation of opening weekend for #TheThreeStooges @theseanhayes, @DiamantopoulosC and @WillSasso answered questions for fans who want to know Moe.

@playerDnikko #askthestooges Hours and hours of studying the original shorts. For years and years!
— Chris Diamantopoulos (@DiamantopoulosC) April 13, 2012

The lonesome cry of the Canadian penny
When the Canadian government decided to eliminate the Canadian penny, Steve St. Pierre began a Twitter account to tell the other side of the story— from the penny’s perspective. What began as a joke became a movement to donate pennies to charities.

I will live forever in your old purses and seasonal coats.
— Canadian Penny (@CDN_Penny) March 30, 2012

Jim Gaffigan hosts a comedic Q&A
Comedian Jim Gaffigan released a new comedy special called “Mr. Universe” and released it online, directly to his fans. As a part of the promotion for Mr. Universe, he invited questions from his fans on Twitter.

@jdshipp07 God i dont know but that stuff is so expensive. It's like a tax on the pigmentally-challenged.
— Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan) April 15, 2012

@TwitterMusic interviews artist @KatGraham
Twitter Music conducted an interview with questions tweeted by fans for "Put Your Graffiti On Me" singer Kat Graham.

Lets do this! RT @TwitterMusic: @katgraham Hi Kat! You ready? We're ready! #askKat
— Kat Graham (@KatGraham) April 19, 2012

Introducing the Innovator's Patent Agreement

2012-04-17T10:00:00.001-07:00

Cross-posted on the Twitter Engineering blog.

One of the great things about Twitter is working with so many talented folks who dream up and build incredible products day in and day out. Like many companies, we apply for patents on a bunch of these inventions. However, we also think a lot about how those patents may be used in the future; we sometimes worry that they may be used to impede the innovation of others. For that reason, we are publishing a draft of the Innovator’s Patent Agreement, which we informally call the “IPA”.

The IPA is a new way to do patent assignment that keeps control in the hands of engineers and designers. It is a commitment from Twitter to our employees that patents can only be used for defensive purposes. We will not use the patents from employees’ inventions in offensive litigation without their permission. What’s more, this control flows with the patents, so if we sold them to others, they could only use them as the inventor intended.

This is a significant departure from the current state of affairs in the industry. Typically, engineers and designers sign an agreement with their company that irrevocably gives that company any patents filed related to the employee’s work. The company then has control over the patents and can use them however they want, which may include selling them to others who can also use them however they want. With the IPA, employees can be assured that their patents will be used only as a shield rather than as a weapon.

We will implement the IPA later this year, and it will apply to all patents issued to our engineers, both past and present. We are still in early stages, and have just started to reach out to other companies to discuss the IPA and whether it might make sense for them too. In the meantime, we’ve posted the IPA on GitHub with the hope that you will take a look, share your feedback and discuss with your companies. And, of course, you can #jointheflock and have the IPA apply to you.

Today is the second day of our quarterly Hack Week, which means employees – engineers, designers, and folks all across the company – are working on projects and tools outside their regular day-to-day work. The goal of this week is to give rise to the most audacious and creative ideas. These ideas will have the greatest impact in a world that fosters innovation, rather than dampening it, and we hope the IPA will play an important part in making that vision a reality.

- Adam Messinger, VP of Engineering (@adam_messinger)

Sunday night TV on Twitter

2012-04-16T17:00:00.001-07:00

By now it’s clear that Twitter serves as the roar of the crowd during live events like the Super Bowl and award shows. Twitter is also a great place to watch your favorite comedies and dramas arm-in-arm with the rest of the world--and even the show’s stars themselves.

Sunday night has long been a great time to make a date with your TV, and last night was a particularly fun one to keep your eyes on Twitter as well as the screen.

During the premiere of HBO’s highly anticipated new show @GirlsHBO, television fans were tweeting in full force. Right along with them were the stars and producers of the show:

All your tweets are making my heart so warm! Thank you so much to all those watching. I am watching alone with my family's dog Dean. Love u!
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) April 16, 2012

Five minutes till Girls. Here is how I prep. twitter.com/JuddApatow/sta…
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) April 16, 2012

The show even has some famous fans who took to Twitter to share their reviews:

GIRLS.Holy shit.Think @louisck is "painfully honest"? Wait 'til you take a squirm-rocket with the hilarious @lenadunham.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 16, 2012

This show is genius. #Girls
— Martha Plimpton (@MarthaPlimpton) April 16, 2012

Fans, reviewers, and stars of other shows took to Twitter last night too: Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Celebrity Apprentice and The Good Wife each inspired active conversations last night. No matter what your must-watch shows are, the viewing party happens on Twitter every day of the week.

#OnlyOnTwitter: A Betty White Prank

2012-04-12T11:19:00.003-07:00

Every week we capture and share the incredible moments that could happen #OnlyOnTwitter. This week was all about new people joining: country music legend Merle Haggard sent his first Tweet, Mitt Romney’s wife Ann joined to refute a detractor, and everyone’s favorite Golden Girl Betty White joined and then pranked a co-star. But that’s not all! Twitter saved a kidnapped man, transported us to Grateful Dead concerts in 1972 and gave us hints of how to find Easter eggs from Ryan Gosling*! So many great moments on Twitter this week.

* — We promise we won’t do another Ryan Gosling story next week. Maybe. If you see another good one, share it using the hashtag #OnlyOnTwitter!

Betty White joins Twitter...maybe
Betty White said she'd never join Twitter and "Hot in Cleveland" co-star Valerie Bertinelli believed her...a little too much.

Hello Twitter!And they said it would never happen.Oh wait, that was me.
— Betty White (@BettyMWhite) April 10, 2012

I think @BettyMWhite pranked me but good! #blushing
— Valerie Bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) April 11, 2012

Twitter saves kidnapped South African man from his trunk
When robbers carjacked a man and put him in his trunk in Johannesburg, they forgot to check for his mobile phone. He used it to text his girlfriend about his predicament. She immediately asked Twitter to help track him down. (h/t Ars Technica)

Be on the look for DSS041GP my boyufriend has just been hijacked and is in the boot please RT
— Lynn Peters (@onebadvillynn) April 7, 2012

Ann Romney joins Twitter
After CNN Commentator Hilary Rosen criticized Ann Romney on Twitter, the presidential candidate's wife joined Twitter to rebut her.

I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.
— Ann Romney (@AnnDRomney) April 12, 2012

Bubba Watson wins the Masters
In the final round of the 2012 Masters, Bubba Watson found himself in a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen. With an incredible shot from deep in the woods, Watson earned the fabled green jacket and took to Twitter to share his inspiration.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) April 8, 2012

After winning the Masters, Watson's followers grew by more than a third in just one day.

Merle Haggard sends his first Tweet
The country music legend sent his first Tweet this week and quickly followed it up with offering to give fellow musicians Miranda Lambert and Jake Owen a few “lessons”.

Hello Twitter. #FirstTweet
— Merle Haggard (@merlehaggard) April 10, 2012

A very Gosling Easter in New York
A Twitter account called @GoslingEaster spent Easter Sunday tweeting hints to find special plastic eggs purported to be from Ryan Gosling himself. Whether they were or not, they included his picture and a sweet Easter note!

dear @GoslingEaster ~found the egg! so, where's @ryangosling ? :-) ps, this is HILARIOUS & fun! #happyeaster twitter.com/leighleighsf/s…
— Leigh Ferreira (@leighleighsf) April 8, 2012

The Dead in ‘72
WMFU DJ Jesse Jarnow is tweeting highlights of every Grateful Dead show from 4/69 through 8/75. He started three years ago.

europe '72 mood so fleeting & special. mega-improv, ecstatic & clean 1-drummer arrangements. i'm ready. #deadfreaksunite [3/3]
— jesse jarnow (@bourgwick) April 7, 2012

Rick Santorum drops out of the race
Despite winning a handful of state Republican primaries, the GOP candidate ended his run for the presidency.

I have suspended my campaign for President but will not stop fighting for our country. Please read: ht.ly/ac047
— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) April 11, 2012

#OnlyOnTwitter: With a cameo appearance by Ryan Gosling

2012-04-06T13:29:00.004-07:00

Welcome to another edition of our on-going effort to capture and showcase the incredible array of moments that happen #OnlyOnTwitter. This week we bring you a conversation with Madonna, a Q&A with the Vice President, and a chance encounter with Ryan Gosling.

Madonna chats with her fans
To celebrate the first week’s success of her new album, pop icon Madonna chatted with fans via Twitter, including quite a few famous ones.

@katyperry Ray of Light. That was a good moment. I wanna see you in the front row somewhere this year. okay?
— Madonna MDNA Day (@MadonnaMDNAday) April 5, 2012

Saved by Ryan Gosling

A British journalist was saved from a NYC taxi by movie star/Internet heartthrob Ryan Gosling. She shared the news via Twitter, of course, and found herself unwittingly at the center of a new viral sensation.

I literally, LITERALLY just got saved from a car by Ryan Gosling. Literally. That actually just happened.
— Laurie Penny (@PennyRed) April 3, 2012

#OpeningDay for Major League Baseball
Team accounts and @MLB and many teams rung in a new season on Twitter, rallying fans with Tweets and photos.

The day is here. 2012 Miami Marlins baseball is here. RT if you are ready! twitter.com/Marlins/status…
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) April 4, 2012

Tornadoes strike Dallas
Violent tornadoes raged through the Dallas metro area and the Weather Channel, NBC News and the Washington Post collected Tweets into Storifys. This is one of the remarkable Tweets they highlighted.

Some funky looking cloud accumulation outside our office #tornadowatch #DFW twitter.com/sportsmktgguy/…
— Jason Howarth (@sportsmktgguy) April 3, 2012

#AskVP: College Affordability
Vice President Joe Biden took questions on Twitter about the costs of college in America.

College costs high. Debt burdensome. Help needed. That's why I'm here. Fire away. Use #AskVP -vp
— Office of VP Biden (@VP) April 3, 2012

Tim Gunn joins Twitter
Project Runway host and self-described “Fashion Therapist” Tim Gunn joined Twitter and was warmly welcomed.

Learning to use social media, can you believe it?! I'm brushing off the dust and scales. I am joining the 21st century! say.ly/tFW1F5F
— Tim Gunn (@TimGunn) March 30, 2012

Tweet me out to the ballgame

2012-04-06T09:37:00.006-07:00

With the remaining teams taking the field today, the Major League Baseball season is officially underway. This season, Twitter can be your all-access pass to everything happening during games, off the field, and at the front office.

We’ve put together a lineup of great baseball-related accounts. Whether you’re part of The Brew Crew or you bleed Dodger blue, you’ll find your team on Twitter; every major league team is now tweeting. You’ll also find the accounts of players, general managers, sportswriters, and fellow fans. Check out some of the All Stars who have recently joined:

San Francisco Giants ace pitcher Tim Lincecum readies himself to take the mound to open their season today:

Thanks everybody for the support, doing my best to keep up, ready to kick off the 2012 season...THANKS again, you guys are rad!
— Tim Lincecum (@timlincecum) March 3, 2012

Even though he’s starting the season on the DL, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard can’t wait to cheer on his team:

Good morning twitter world. Excited for tomorrow. Excited for my teammates. Opening day. The journey starts now.
— Ryan Howard (@ryanhoward) April 4, 2012

You now have the chance to connect with players like never before. Imagine if tweeting could get you a trip to hang out with your favorite player at a spring training game — that’s exactly what Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips did for two lucky fans. Or you could help Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp with a vital part of his in-game strategy.

Twitter can also offer you a glimpse into team life off the field. Jason Motte, relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, lets us know what the players really talk about off the field:

Clubhouse question of the day: Is hunger games based on a true story?#really
— Jason Motte (@JMotte30) April 3, 2012

Even though baseball is often called “the national pastime”, it does have a wide international audience, and Twitter helps connect fans all over the world to the game. For example, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, originally from the Dominican Republic, is one of several players who hosts Twitter Q&As with fans in both English and Spanish:

Gracias a todos por su apoyo... Ahora a trabajar #SpringTraining
— Robinson Cano (@RobinsonCano) March 3, 2012

You’ll also find several General Managers from each league on Twitter, giving you insights into how their team is shaping up and what happens in the front office throughout the season. Sandy Alderson from the New York Mets let fans know which prospects might soon have a future in the big leagues, while Jeff Luhnow, General Manager of the Houston Astros, shared a scouting report in photo form:

One of today's Astros pitchers. twitter.com/jluhnow/status…
— Jeff Luhnow (@jluhnow) March 24, 2012

Twitter has also become an instrumental tool in the press box, where baseball reporters post about everything from trade rumors to last-minute roster moves to real-time in-game analysis. Elsewhere in the stadium, Twitter is even making its way onto the Jumbotron: if you head to Target Field for a Minnesota Twins game, check out the “Tweet Board”, which displays Tweets from fans during the game.

To make sure you don’t miss any of these moments, check out our MLB Twitter list, and follow @TwitterSports. Be one of the first to enjoy Twitter as it takes you out to the ballgame.

Shutting down spammers

2012-04-05T10:05:00.007-07:00

Twitter continues to grow at a record pace -- we now have 140 million active users and more than 340 million Tweets each day. As our reach expands, we become a more attractive target for spammers. While spam is a small fraction of the incredible content you can find on Twitter, we know just how distracting it can be.

We have previously discussed the ways we deal with spam on Twitter. Our engineers continue to combat spammers’ efforts to circumvent our safeguards, and today we’re adding another weapon to our arsenal: the law.

One challenge in battling spam is bad actors who build tools designed to distribute spam on Twitter (and the web) by making it easier for other spammers to engage in this annoying and potentially malicious activity.

This morning, we filed suit in federal court in San Francisco against five of the most aggressive tool providers and spammers. With this suit, we’re going straight to the source. By shutting down tool providers, we will prevent other spammers from having these services at their disposal. Further, we hope the suit acts as a deterrent to other spammers, demonstrating the strength of our commitment to keep them off Twitter.

While this is an important step, our efforts to combat spam don’t stop here. Our engineering team continues to implement robust technical solutions that help us proactively reduce spam. For example, earlier this week, our engineers launched new anti-spam measures within Twitter to more aggressively suspend a new type of @ mention spam. Additionally, we now use our link shortener (t.co) to analyze whether a tweeted link leads to malware or malicious content. This helps us prevent users from visiting malicious links and helps us shut down hundreds of thousands of abusive accounts. You can help out, too, by reporting and blocking spammers you encounter on Twitter.

We are committed to fighting spam on all fronts, by continuing to grow our anti-spam team and using every tool at our disposal to shut down spammers. Today marks an important step forward.