What Happened On March 21st?

On this date in 2006, Twitter cofounder, Jack Dorsey’s ignited the public face of what today is known as “X.” In a short, unassuming message, “just setting up my twttr,” Dorsey’s tweet paved the way for generations, where at least 500 million tweets are sent everyday.

The early 2000s, more so in 2006, was huge for social media and changed the way that people shared information and connected with the world. While Twitter was taking its first steps, another platform, Facebook, was experiencing a quick upcoming. Founded in 2004, Facebook had already established itself as a dominant force on college campuses across the US. By 2006, it had expanded beyond academia, opening its doors to high school students and the general public.

Twitter wasn’t meant to be a social media platform at first. It originated as a side project within a struggling podcasting company called Odeo. The aim was to create a service allowing employees to share short status updates via SMS.

Also, the name “Twitter” wasn’t the first choice. The team brainstormed and came up with numerous options, including “Status,” “Twitch,” and even “Friendstalker” before settling on Twitter, inspired by the sound of a bird chirping.

One of Twitter’s defining features, the 140-character limit, was born out of technical limitations. Early SMS technology restricted message lengths, and this constraint became a core part of Twitter’s identity, encouraging users to be concise and creative.

While the platform gained traction among tech enthusiasts and early adopters, it wasn’t until the late 2000s, with events like the #SanDiegoFire hashtag during the 2007 California wildfires, that Twitter’s potential for real-time information sharing became widely recognized. Hashtags, now a ubiquitous feature, weren’t introduced until 2007 by a Twitter user, and their use wasn’t officially adopted by the platform until 2009.

Interestingly, six years later in 2012, NASA’s intrepid rover Curiosity, on its mission to Mars, sent out the very first tweet from another planet. The simple yet profound message read, “I’m safely on the surface of Mars.”

Today, Twitter boasts millions of active users, transforming how we consume news, engage with celebrities, and even participate in social movements. It’s a testament to the power of a simple idea, a 140-character limit (now expanded!), and a single tweet that launched a social media revolution.

What do you think the next big social media platform will be?