Trivia

5 Surprising Facts About X (Twitter)

Before it was X, it was Twitter. And before that? It was "twttr". Here are 5 facts you probably didn't know about your favorite platform.

1. The Bird Had a Name

The iconic blue bird logo wasn't just a bird. Its name was Larry. It was named after Larry Bird, the legendary NBA player for the Boston Celtics, because Twitter co-founder Biz Stone was a huge fan.

2. The First Tweet

The first ever tweet was sent by Jack Dorsey on March 21, 2006. It simply said: "just setting up my twttr". It was later sold as an NFT for millions of dollars.

3. Why 140 Characters?

Originally, Twitter limited tweets to 140 characters because that was the standard limit for SMS text messages (160 characters minus 20 for the username). Now, X Premium users can write entire essays!

4. The Hashtag Revolution

Twitter didn't invent the hashtag (#), users did! In 2007, a user named Chris Messina suggested using # to group conversations. Twitter initially thought it was "too nerdy", but it changed the internet forever.

5. X Corp

In 2023, Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X, aiming to create an "Everything App" similar to WeChat in China, integrating payments, video, and social media.