Twitter: From First Tweet to Going Public!

#1 The Famous Design

Twitter may be a billion dollar company about to go public, but this was the logo that started it all. Twitter's first design featured this little bird on a branch with a nice, blue backdrop. Designer Simon Oxley had posted this drawing to iStockPhoto, where customers can pay to use designs. After browsing the site, Twitter's founders decided on Oxley's design and paid the $4 price for it.

#2 First Tweet

Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey changed social media forever on March 21, 2006. At the time it was referred to as 'Twttr' which was its project code name. It was a prototype until July of that year.

#3 First Million Users

By March 2008, Twitter was officially popular. They boasted 1.3 million users at the time. Who could have guessed how far they'd go after that?

#4 6 MILLION USERS!

In a year, the site gained nearly 5 million registered users! By this time, Twitter was getting way too hot for anyone to ignore anymore. By the end of April 2009, Twitter had 6 million users. That's some impressive growth!

#5 The King of Pop Makes One Last Record

On June 25th 2009, Twitter broke its first record for live tweeting when Michael Jackson died. There were 456 tweets per second! It was one of the first times the public began to realize Twitter's power in spreading the news.

#6 Everything Can Go Viral

Cultural memes account for the largest amount of twitter traffic. If there is something funny, embarrassing, or both, twitter is where you're going to find it.

#7 Twitter Takes Over Work

It's become very important for professionals. It is a great place to stay updated on what is happening in your industry and get the latest breaking news. 62% of users use Twitter for work updates and 55% for other forms of productivity.

#8 Over 100 Million Users!

By September 2010, Twitter had shattered some serious records. The most impressive may have been the 145 million users on the site! The website had grown to insane popularity in just four short years.

#9 400,000+ Tweets Per Minute!

Twitter was freaking out over the new year in 2011. It probably had to do with the date being 1-1-11 (but shouldn't November 11th have been the day to break the record?) In Japan, they boasted about 7,000 tweets per second for nearly an entire day!

#10 Lady Gaga And Justin Bieber Rule Twitter

By March of 2011, the Twitter hierarchy was beginning to take shape. It was clear the mega stars like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber had effectively crafted their twitter presence with massive followings.

#11 100 Million American's Love Twitter

As this graph illustrates, by 2012 there were over 100 million Americans using twitter, more than any other country. The next largest consumer was Brazil.

#12 Brand New Profiles

Twitter went through a makeover in 2012. In September, all everyone could talk about was the new headers made to give your profile a little more personal flavor. Of course, some people have cooler headers than others (Ryan Seacrest is doing it right).

#13 Everyone Wanted To #stopkony

In 2012 the group Invisible Children started the 9th most popular tending topic of all time when they set out to find and capture fugitive Joseph Kony. It is estimated that more than half of all Americans heard about this campaign and it gained worldwide attention. It eventually resulted in the Obama administration offering up to $5 million in reward money for information leading to the capture of Kony. That's some powerful stuff!

#14 Tailored Suggestions

Twitter used to suggest users follow the same people. It was often politicians, media outlets or celebrities. In May 2012, they began offering tailored suggestions based on your interests and who you're already following.

#15 The Most Re-tweeted Image Ever

This heartwarming photo filled us with renewed hope on Election Day 2012. It was very touching and with over 817,000 re-tweets and 300,000 favorites, the world thought so too as it made history.

#16 First Pope To Join Twitter

Benedict XVI joined Twitter and posted his first of eight tweets on December 12, 2012. He said, "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart." and more than 60,000 people re-tweeted that. He also tweeted to his followers in seven other languages.

#17 Users Always Online

As of 2012, about 1/4 of all users checked Twitter multiple times per day. 12% check it only once a day and 12% check it once or twice in a week. Only 7% of users check it every few weeks or so meaning that for most users, Twitter is a part of their everyday lives!

#18 The Billion Dollar Tweets

As of January 25, 2013 Twitter was worth billions of dollars. Early employees sold $80 million in shares to a fund managed by BlackRock Inc. Because of the sell, Twitter Inc. was valued at about $9 billion!

#19 Twitter's Going Public!

Twitter announced on September 12th that it would be going public. They have filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to start the IPO process. Though it's been in talks for a few years now, this year has given plenty of signs that it would be happening soon as the company as made acquisitions and strategic hires that would make it ready for something like this.

#20 How to Invest in Twitter

Typically much-anticipated IPOs are given out by the investment bankers in charge to their favored clients and long-standing customers. In other words, it's going to be first come, first served. Twitter's close clients, customers and advertisers will be the first to get in on the IPO, leaving the rest to the public beyond that point. It sounds fair to us and it seems the best time to strike will be in the coming months!