A Quick Flight Through the Twittersphere

Twitter is expected to be the first Web service to amass 1 billion users (by 2013), and more than 20 million people are already microblogging into the void. Here's a sample of Twitter's successes, stumbles, and studies -- in 140 characters or less, of course. Find more technology news daily at fastcompany.com.

Users' incessant manual retweeting of others' posts leads to Twitter's Project Retweet, enabling easy automatic retweets.

Fox airs reruns of Fringe and Glee with live Twitter-feed overlay. The crowded screen annoys viewers and earns Fox an epic fail.

Twitter plans to geotag posts, so people will know where you are when that wry observation strikes.

A line-by-line Twitter performance of Broadway musical Next to Normal helps boost lagging audiences to 99% full.

Using a TV remote control to tweet is on the horizon, thanks to IBM. Higher viewer interaction will likely generate more TV chatter.

Caustic tweets after Michael Jackson's death have scientists wondering if heavy users may be "indifferent to human suffering."

Studies show Facebook exercises boost brainpower and memory. Twitter's short streams of information do not.

Chicago's Horizon Realty files a $50,000 lawsuit against one of its tenants after she posted (to 20 followers) about her moldy apartment.

Twitter may seem inescapable, but 69% of U.S. adults still have no idea what it is. Micro-blog what?

Real-time Twitter reviews from movie-goers help tank Bruno's ticket sales, sending cold chills down the spines of studio execs.

Boca Raton, Florida, residents use the cops' tweet stream as a crime-fighting hotline to help nab criminals.

Twitter tries its best to stay ad free, but Time.com doesn't care. The site is selling ad space on its Twitter page anyway.

The Miami Dolphins prohibit tweets at public training camp. Paranoia spreads, and the NFL bans players' game-time tweets.

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