• Our year in Twitter news and notes

    Monday, December 31, 2012

    As the year ends, we wanted to look through our various communication channels to learn what news and notes have interested you most in the past 12 months.

    First up, @twitter. Here are the top 5 tweets of the year (those with the most clicks and retweets):

    1) New Twitter Profiles
    2) Tweets must still flow
    3) Twitter Mobile app updates for iPhone and Android
    4) New version of Twitter, now on for everyone
    5) Twitter now in RTL languages: Hebrew, Farsi, Arabic, Urdu
    Perhaps not surprisingly, your attention has been on a variety of features you want on your Twitter — and our intention to keep your Tweets flowing freely is clearly something you feel passionate about too.

    Beyond any specific Tweet, we’re gratified to see that @twitter followers more than doubled this year. (Last January, we had 6.86 million followers; today, at the end of December, you are 15.4 million strong.) Thank you for following along as we continue to develop and strengthen Twitter for you.

    Twitter Blog
    You’ll see some variations here from our top Tweets, and the top 5 posts (by pageview) were all published in December.

    1) Twitter photos: Put a filter on it
    2) Your Twitter archive
    3) New profiles for everyone
    4) Welcome, Pope Benedict XVI
    5) This Year on Twitter

    Interesting sidenote: Since the blog started in August 2006, eight of the most popular posts ever appeared in 2012, including these five. As for frequency, we’ve been ramping up: including this post, we’ve published 204 times in 2012. That's the most ever over a year's time.

    On our other core blogs, you responded to a wide range of news. The changes to our API, and the ever-popular quest for speed and the new Innovator’s Patent Agreement.

    During a 7.3 earthquake that reverberated off the coast of Japan in early December, readers there turned to our info on Trends in more cities. The UK had a huge year in sport, and our posts on new Discover features released in May.

    As always, we’re pleased to bring you news and information about Twitter that you find useful and interesting. Here’s to the year ahead on our global town square.

    Posted by Karen Wickre (@kvox)
    Editorial Director

    Posted by @ at 2:16 PM

  • Resolved: It’s time for resolutions

    The New Year is upon us, and soon many of you will share your wishes and resolutions on Twitter for the year ahead. We'll all be watching as the world rings in 2013 with Tweets from Sydney to London to LA, and everywhere in between.

    Whether you aspire to something silly or serious next year, Tweeting your #bookclub tips. If you need other sources of inspiration, here are a few ideas to spark your resolve.

    Folk hero Woody Guthrie’s resolutions for 1942 are still worthy of consideration:
    A time-honored resolution is (always) to eat more healthy foods:
    Apparently, many of us tend to give up on our resolutions within the first month. Scientific research offers some achievable alternatives, e.g. “If an Olympic medal doesn’t seem to be in the cards, another good route might be sleep more.” So reports @sarahkliff on The Washington Post’s Wonkblog:
    Naturally, there are hardy perennials among resolutions, with something for everyone:
    And what would the eve of 2013 be without an infographic full of data about the success (or failure) of the most popular #resolutions?
    Whatever you resolve, we here at Twitter HQ wish you a safe and happy passage to the New Year ahead.

    Posted by Karen Wickre (@kvox)
    Editorial Director

    Posted by @ at 10:48 AM

  • Your Twitter archive

    Wednesday, December 19, 2012

    It’s no secret: You make Twitter what it is. And if you tweet, you may have found yourself wanting to go back in time and explore your past Tweets. Maybe you wanted to recall your reaction to the 2008 election, reminisce on what you said to your partner on your 10th anniversary, or just see your first few Tweets. We know lots of you would like to explore your Twitter past.

    Today, we’re introducing the ability to download your Twitter archive, so you’ll get all your Tweets (including Retweets) going back to the beginning. Once you have your Twitter archive, you can view your Tweets by month, or search your archive to find Tweets with certain words, phrases, hashtags or @usernames. You can even engage with your old Tweets just as you would with current ones.

    Go to Settings and scroll down to the bottom to check for the option to request your Twitter archive. If you do see it, go ahead and click the button. You’ll receive an email with instructions on how to access your archive when it’s ready for you to download.


    If you don’t see that option in Settings today, know that it’s on the way! We’re rolling out this feature slowly, starting today with a small percentage of users whose language is set to English. Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll make it available to all users around the world, for all the languages we offer. We’re really excited to bring this feature to everyone, and we appreciate your patience as we work to do so.

    This project was first built during one of our quarterly Hack Weeks. Since then, we’ve done the engineering work necessary to make it available to Twitter users. We look forward to seeing the old Tweets you uncover. As you go through all of your Tweets, share your favorites using #TwitterArchive.

    Posted by Mollie Vandor (@mollie)
    User Services Engineering Team

    Posted by @ at 7:28 AM

  • When musicians talk, #TheWorldIsListening

    Tuesday, December 18, 2012

    From the GRAMMYs.

    Every year, the GRAMMYs telecast is given an official name that captures the theme for the evening. Last year, it was “We Are Music”, and included a live-tweeting cast of all-star talent from myriad genres and @TwitterMusic. For the 2013 GRAMMYs, the link between Twitter and music’s biggest night is stronger than ever: the official title of the show will be #TheWorldIsListening.

    To kick off this collaboration, the GRAMMYs are bringing music fans their first #TheWorldIsListening campaign, a series of intimate Q&As between ten pairs of artists. Fans can drop in on conversations between incredible women in the recording industry, ranging from GRAMMY-award-winning music icons (many times over) like Reba McEntire to indie artists like Sharin Foo of the Raveonettes.

    The GRAMMYs will host this series of artist-to-artist Q&As exclusively on Twitter with support from our own @TheGrammys.

    The conversations kick off today (Dec. 18) and run throughout the week:

    12/18 11AM PST @bonniemckee 
    12/18 12PM PST @OfficialITM
    12/18 4PM PST @serenaryder
    12/19 TBD @bridgitmendler
    12/19 11 AM PST @matesofstate
    12/19 11 AM PST @raelynnofficial 
    12/19 1PM PST @reba
    12/20 TBD @kerlimusic
    12/20 11 AM PST Alison Sudol aka @joywilliams of The Civil Wars
    12/20 5PM PST @sherylcrow

    Posted by Tatiana Simonian (@tatiana)
    Head of Music

    Posted by @ at 10:46 AM

  • Twitter for BlackBerry 4.0 update: See all the interactions in your network

    Now BlackBerry will have Connect capabilities on Twitter. New tabs, streamlined design, and simplified navigation makes this the most enjoyable Twitter for BlackBerry app yet.


    Connect shows you who retweeted, favorited and followed you, and gathers all your mentions in one place. And now it’s simple to filter mentions and replies to see only certain interactions.

    We’ve improved access to existing and new functionality. For example, the new Discover tab encompasses Trends, “Who to follow” suggestions, and an easier way to browse categories. You will now find messages, lists, and your favorited Tweets in the Me tab.

    Download the update and enjoy.

    Posted by Martin Essl (@messl)
    Senior Mobile Partnership Program Manager

    Posted by @ at 9:16 AM

  • This week on Twitter: 17 December

    Monday, December 17, 2012

    On most Mondays, we post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, keep current about can’t-miss moments on Twitter in the week ahead. - Ed. 

    Black List Q&A - Dec. 18 
    Movie buffs should flock to Twitter this week for an exclusive Twitter Q&A with Black List founder Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) and screenwriters from this year’s Black List.

    The @theblcklst) is Hollywood’s primary arbiter of taste in unproduced scripts, and once included the scripts for Academy Award winners like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The King's Speech”. As the list includes the “most liked” unproduced screenplays for 2012, movie fans on Twitter can gain access to some of tinseltown's most talented writers behind-the-scenes.

    Fans can watch as the list is announced via Twitter this Monday at 9 a.m ET and can participate in the special Q&A on Tuesday at 8 a.m. ET by using the hashtag #BlackList2012.


    Posted by Rachael Horwitz (@RachaelRad)
    Communications

    Posted by @ at 11:00 AM

  • Coming Soon: Nielsen Twitter TV Rating

    Today Nielsen announced an agreement with Twitter to create the “Nielsen Twitter TV Rating,” an industry-standard metric that is based entirely on Twitter data.

     As the experience of TV viewing continues to evolve, our TV partners have consistently asked for one common benchmark from which to measure the engagement of their programming. This new metric is intended to answer that request, and to act as a complement and companion to the Nielsen TV rating. 

    You can read more about the news on Nielsen’s site here. Ultimately, we have one goal for this new metric: to make watching TV with Twitter even better for you, the TV fan. I look forward to sharing more about this effort in the months to come.

    Posted by Chloe Sladden (@ChloeS)
    Head of Media

    Posted by @ at 9:31 AM

  • The Pope’s first Tweets

    Wednesday, December 12, 2012



    Nine days ago, the Vatican launched the first personal Twitter accounts for the Pope, giving Pope Benedict XVI the opportunity to tweet in English (via @Pontifex) and in seven other major languages.

    The day these accounts were launched, Pope Benedict also invited the world to send him questions about faith via @pontifex has answered: Today, the Pope sent his first Tweet during a live event at the Vatican attended by thousands.


    This Tweet was immediately retweeted thousands of times, and shortly afterwards @pontifex and its seven related language accounts began responding to several questions tweeted in the past week. The first question, asked by Spanish journalist @jcalderero in Madrid, asked:


    The Pope responded:


    The second question, originally in Portuguese, asked how people can remain hopeful in troubled times. His response:


    Third, from an American mother:


    The Pope answered:


    The Pope will be tweeting regularly from here on. Follow him on any of these accounts:



    Posted by Claire Díaz-Ortiz (@claire)
    Social Innovation team

    Posted by @ at 11:30 AM

  • This Year on Twitter

    Tuesday, December 11, 2012



    2012.twitter.com

    Update: We've added two screenshots below for those of you who want the front page artwork for web and mobile versions.

    Every day, we’re amazed and humbled by the many ways in which people use Twitter, which range from simply retweeting to igniting conversations with hashtags (even around lesser-known topics) to sharing spectacular and far-flung views. In 2012, everyone on Twitter brought us closer to moments and places that used to be far away or inaccessible: A Tweet from the backstage moment with a presidential candidate. All of these and millions of other such moments were ours to experience directly wherever we were, in the midst of work or play or travel.

    During big sporting events, fans were the roar of the crowd, tweeting their team passions. Commentators and armchair pundits alike took to Twitter to share their opinions, arguments and reactions throughout the campaigns, conventions, debates and on Election Day. Millions of music fans flocked to Twitter during the MTV Video Music Awards to tweet about the performances and react to winners and losers that night.

    You can explore and discover all of these moments and people who made this year on Twitter unique at 2012.twitter.com, and you’ll have the same immersive experience on your mobile device. We’ve taken a look back at the Tweets of 2012 and use both data and editorial signals to showcase some of these moments and conversations around several themes:
    • Golden Tweets: The top two Tweets that generated the most Retweets for the year, plus honorable mentions for a few others that caught attention around the world. 
    • The pulse of the planet: Some of the biggest conversations of the year that generated large numbers of Tweets and Retweets. 
    • Only on Twitter: Moments of serendipity and just plain awesomeness (if there is such a thing) are what we call #onlyontwitter. We list examples of Tweets that came to life organically on Twitter, and can be appreciated in an instant. 
    • Top trends: Lists of the significant Trends of the year in the U.S., UK and Japan. These phrases reveal what captured our attention based on sudden spike of interest, rather than what was consistently popular. 
    • New voices: From the Pope to Pelé, this year Twitter welcomed new voices from every corner of the world. 
    We’ve also partnered with Try it here.

    Finally, our heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of you for making Twitter as compelling as it is. It’s all about you.

     



    Posted by Karen Wickre (@kvox)
    Editorial Director

    Posted by @ at 5:08 AM

  • Twitter photos: Put a filter on it

    Monday, December 10, 2012

    Every day, millions of people come to Twitter to connect with the things they care about and find out what’s happening around the world. As one of the most compelling forms of self-expression, photos have long been an important part of these experiences.

    Starting today, you’ll be able to edit and refine your photos, right from Twitter. The latest versions of Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android introduce a few new ways to enhance the images you tweet. We’re grateful to our partner, Aviary, for powering our filters and effects.


    Filters. Apply one of eight filters, ranging from black & white to vintage, to add a new look and feel to your photos.

    Take a bird’s-eye view. See how each filter would affect your photo in a single grid view, or swipe through looks to compare your options.

    Frame the action. Crop and pinch to zoom in order to focus attention.

    Auto-enhance. Make your photos pop with balanced light and colors by tapping the wand.

    In June, 2011, we introduced the ability to attach a photo to your Tweet, a first step toward improving the entire photo experience on Twitter. Since then we’ve been making it easier and faster to share and discover and enjoy great photos on Twitter every day:

    • You can expand Tweets to view photos from various photo services right on Twitter;
    • You can preview photos directly in Discover and search;
    • You can quickly swipe through images on Twitter with photo streams in profiles and search results.

    We've released this update in this video to learn more about our photo filters.



    Posted by Coleen Baik (@colbay)
    Senior Designer

    Posted by @ at 3:12 PM

  • New profiles for everyone

    A few months ago, we brands and clever ways.

    On December 12, we’re rolling this out to all users: you’ll automatically get this new version of the profile on twitter.com. If you don’t upload a header photo by then, you (and everyone else) will only see a default grey image on your page. That’s not fun! To get inspired about what you can do, check out this video to see how to make your profile a little more “you”, less generic. Have fun out there.

    Posted by @ at 10:52 AM

  • This week on Twitter - 10 December

    On most Mondays, we post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, keep current about can’t-miss moments on Twitter in the week ahead. - Ed.

    Dec. 10: Richard Hammond’s Crash Course at Twitter HQ 
    “Crash Course” (@thehamsterscage) attempts to work as a bike messenger in San Francisco. His first stop is Twitter HQ, where he finds irony in working at a very old means of information transfer while Tweeting. The season finale airs tonight, Dec. 10, at 10 p.m. ET.

     
    Dec. 10: Dexter’s Yvonne Strahovski Twitter Q&A 
    Today, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. ET, “Dexter” (#AskYvonne; then, check Twitter to see if your questions are answered.

     
    Dec. 13: @bravotopchef’s “Saves a Chef” 
    Each week on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen,” fans vote to save a chef who was eliminated from a previous episode. The ultimate winner will return to compete in the @ChefKuniko) are eligible to be saved. You can vote using hashtags #savechefkuniko for a chance to send them back into the competition. The voting period ends this Thursday, Dec. 13 at 9 a.m. ET.



    Posted by Rachael Horwitz (@RachaelRad)
    Communications

    Posted by @ at 5:00 AM

  • See Trends for 100 more cities

    Wednesday, December 05, 2012

    Today, we’re bringing Trends to 100 more cities around the world including Istanbul, Frankfurt, Guadalajara and Incheon. With this update, we now surface the ‘most breaking’ news in more than 200 locations. To view Trends for different locations, just click “Change” in the Trends section.


    People around the world turn to Twitter to talk about a range of topics – from sharing information and resources during natural disasters and emergencies. This is why Twitter uniquely captures the pulse of the planet, and the pulse of your city: by surfacing the topics that people care about. We’ll continue to add Trends locations so that it’s easy for more people to quickly see what others are talking about, globally and locally.

    Posted by Kostas Tsioutsiouliklis (@kostas)
    Engineer, Search and Relevance

    Posted by @ at 10:15 AM

  • NFL on Twitter: Week 13

    Tuesday, December 04, 2012

    The @STLouisRams were just 26 seconds away from their second tie of the season — but that didn’t land them on top of Twitter chatter this week. Instead, the top games were:

    

1. @redskins
    
2. @atlanta_falcons
    
3. @dallascowboys

    

Players who received a good deal of Twitter attention this week were @NFL community and those affected. 




    Posted by Omid Ashtari (@omid)

    Head of Sports & Entertainment

    Posted by @ at 12:18 PM

  • Welcome, Pope Benedict XVI

    Monday, December 03, 2012

    Today, the Vatican #AskPontifex. Questions will be curated by the Vatican staff for the Pope to respond to via his new Twitter account on December 12th in a live tweeting event at the end of his weekly audience.

    Spiritual and religious leaders around the world spread their messages and maintain an exceptionally strong presence on Twitter. Perhaps not surprisingly, we see a very high level of engagement with religious and spiritual content: followers respond to these topics with replies, retweets, and clicks on links much more often than they do other subjects. From globally-recognized names to local pastors and faith groups, a wide range of spiritual leaders embrace Twitter to minister to their communities and share meaningful messages.

    While @Pontifex will be the Pope’s primary account in English, he will oversee many more accounts in major languages that offer translations of his Tweets, including these:
    - Spanish: @pontifex_es
    - Italian: @pontifex_it 
    - Portuguese: @pontifex_pt 
    - German: @pontifex_de
    - Polish: @pontifex_pl 
    - Arabic: @pontifex_ar
    - French: @pontifex_fr 

    The Pope’s presence on Twitter means that no matter where you live or where you are, you can connect with, and get inspiration directly from, one of the world’s most influential religious leaders.

    Posted by Claire Diaz Ortiz (@claire)
    Manager of Social Innovation

    Posted by @ at 8:00 AM

  • This Week on Twitter: 3 December

    On most Monday mornings, we’ll post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, this is the way to keep current on the can't-miss moments on Twitter for the week ahead. - Ed. 

    Dec 1-25: ABC Family’s 25 Days of Giving Back
    This effort started Dec. 1 and runs throughout ABC Family’s annual “25 Days of Giving Back.” The network is partnering with Feeding America (@abcfamily.


    Dec. 5: A&E’s Duck Dynasty (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET)
    A&E’s Duck Dynasty’s one hour Christmas Special will air this Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to tweet during the episode, and A&E will be rewarding tweeters with custom holiday cards based on the show’s characters. In addition, the series’ executive producer will answer your questions from @DuckDynastyAE.


    Dec. 6 - Scandal, ABC - #WhoShotFitz
    Following last week’s shocking episode of ABC’s Scandal (here as the cast live-tweets the episode titled “Happy Birthday Mr. President”.


    Follow the Scandal cast and team on Twitter:
    Kerry Washington @kerrywashington
    Columbus Short @ColumbusShort1
    Guillermo Diaz @guillermodiazyo
    Katie Lowes @KatieQLowes
    Joshua Malina @JoshMalina
    Darby Stanchfield @darbystnchfld
    Tony Goldwyn @TonyGoldwyn
    Dan Bucatinsky @DanBucantinsky
    Jeff Perry @JscandalP
    Bellamy Young @BellamyYoung
    Shonda Rhimes @ShondaRhimes
    Scandal Writers @ScandalWriters

    Posted by Rachael Horwitz (@rachaelrad)

    Communications Team

    Posted by @ at 6:00 AM