How They Work

“How Twitter Works” Have you heard of the term “Social Networks”? Many social networking Web sites have lots of bells and whistles. Sites like MySpace and Facebook let users build profiles, upload pictures, incorporate multimedia, keep a blog and integrate useful or bizarre programs into homepages. But one Web company with a very simple service is rapidly becoming one of the most talked-about social networking service providers: Twitter. Talk of social networks or Twitter, how does Twitter work anyway? First and foremost, you must have a user ID or account through which the network will identify you vis-à-vis other users. When you sign up with Twitter, you can use the service to post and receive messages to a network of contacts. Instead of sending a dozen e-mails or text messages, you send one message to your Twitter account, and the service distributes it to all your friends. Members use Twitter to organize impromptu gatherings, carry on a group conversation or just send a quick update to let people know what’s going on. This more or less works like “Bulk SMS” but differs in that; it creates a two way conversation. You post, they receive and read and they too can post! It is a cost effective tool for mobilising. Twitter was formed by Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey. Some years ago, before Twitter Williams created Blogger, a popular Web journal service. Internet giant Google purchased Blogger, and Williams began to work directly for Google. Before long, he and Google employee Stone left the Internet giant to form a new company called Odeo. Odeo was a podcasting service company. According to Williams, he didn’t have a personal interest in podcasting, and under his guidance, the company temporarily lost focus. However, one of Odeo’s products was just beginning to gather steam: Twitter, a new messaging service. Stone gave Twitter its name, comparing the short spurts of information exchange to the chirping of birds and pointing out that many ring tones sound like bird calls. As the service became a more important part of Odeo, Stone and Williams decided to form a new company with Twitter as the flagship product. Williams bought out Odeo and Twitter from investors, then combined the existing company and service into a new venture called Obvious Corporation. Jack Dorsey joined the team and began to develop new ways for users to interface with Twitter, including through computer applications like instant messaging and e-mail. In March 2006, Twitter split off from Obvious to become its own company, Twitter Incorporated. (To be Cont’d) eddie@afrowebs.com