In June 2007, Twitter was 15 months old, and not yet a mainstream phenomenon. It was, however, developing a booming audience among the technorati. So when the first iPhone arrived at Apple Stores–still maybe the most-hyped moment in the history of consumer technology–it’s no shocker that it kind of took over Twitter.
Thanks to Twitter’s advanced search feature, I was able to revisit the iPhone tweets that got posted on that day, and the memories came flooding back. (Of iPhone launch day, not Twitter–I had an account, but it was dormant at the time, and I didn’t really figure out Twitter until 2008.)
Among the chatter, I found a few folks live-tweeting their experiences buying an iPhone, something that would become a lot more common with later models. (I did it myself a year later.) Here’s a sampling of Tim Brunelle’s iPhone-buying tweets:
wonder if the Easy Spirit and Gap are getting any residual biz today.
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
employees are walking the line, not answering the important question: how many in the store?
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
still…why are there 20 odd people standing here watching us stand in line? to shop? all hail consumer culture!
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
huh. there's a big bucket where you can chuck your old phone after you're done shopping.
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
some guy is in line with a 17" macbook and he seems to be tracking iPhone news, data, etc. people are crowding around. shuffling.
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
the Abercrombie & Fitch employees seem genuinely mystified. $600 phone?! we have $600 pants!
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
the Abercrombie & Fitch employees seem genuinely mystified. $600 phone?! we have $600 pants!
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
And here are … well, just some random 6/29/07 iPhone tweets that struck my fancy. Note that they’re all purely text-based–skimming them reminded me that Twitter was a far less rich experience before it began embedding photos, videos, polls, and previews in article links.
Unsubscribe iPhone. Remove iPhone. Cancel iPhone. Go Away iPhone. Don't care iPhone. Hate iPhone.
— Peter Shankman (@petershankman) June 29, 2007
Topping off the charge on my camera battery for unboxing photos of the iPhone.
— (⌐■_■) (@MitchWagner) June 29, 2007
iPhone line and back home within an hour…feel bad for the people who waited all day
— beerad 🟠 🍻 (@beerad) June 29, 2007
https://twitter.com/leland/status/127002222
iPhone's missing features: voice dialing, instant messaging, extra ring tones beyond the 35 included, and video recording.
— vitaminjeff (@vitaminjeff) June 29, 2007
iPhone in hand. Way cool. They stamp your hand with a little iPhone thank you stamp
— Paul Camarata (@pcamarata) June 29, 2007
Micro-capitalism has begun in the iPhone line. Barter for pole-position and bribeing the 1-phone only buyers. I love America!
— Frederick Van Johnson (@frederickvan) June 29, 2007
The iPhone is definitely cool, but not worth the price or the carrier.
— David Rathbun (@starvedfool) June 29, 2007
the guy who was first in line here just walked past holding his iPhone bag aloft. people cheered. i didn't.
— Tim Brunelle (@tbrunelle) June 29, 2007
Folks will be frustrated by this iPhone authentication process
— Bill Bessette 🌲 NJ 🌲 (@BillBessette) June 29, 2007
I totally got the fifth iPhone sold in Cincinnati.
— Chris Ainsworth 🥸 (@chrisainsworth) June 29, 2007
https://twitter.com/NickStarr/status/126959682
iPhone: it's AWESOMEAWESOMEAWESOME gonna sell like hotcakes. Typing is *easy*. Videos gorgeous. All demos are true, it works as advertised.
— Suzi just joined bsky (@SuziFoo) June 29, 2007
https://twitter.com/rsa/status/126945472
Ok… so the iphone is cool, but in a few months there will be at least 3 knock-offs that cost 1/3rd the price and WON'T require AT&T
— Twila Marie (@twila_zoned) June 29, 2007
https://twitter.com/cc_chapman/status/126924752
https://twitter.com/noahmittman/status/126919142
I now believe iPhone line waiting is all part of our inner desire to just be part of something big. Like Hands Across America or Twitter.
— The Microphone Assassin (@MYN) June 29, 2007
iPhone madness … apparently the Apple stores on the East Coast are full of them. No supply shortage, it seems …
— Chaz (@chaz) June 29, 2007
https://twitter.com/Flyswatter/status/126888192
https://twitter.com/doubleadoublek/status/126851612
waiting for twitter to go down when thousands of giddy iPhone owners send out their first tweets simultaneously
— Dave Lowe (@davelowe) June 29, 2007
I feel bad for all you jerks on the West Coast, who'll have to wait in line while I twitter from my IPHONE in an hour.
— John Gruber (@gruber) June 29, 2007
in line for the iPhone at the apple store in downtown SF. about 300 people in line ahead of me. I got here just before 1pm, on sale at 6pm
— Glen Lubbert (@glenlubbert) June 29, 2007
Tonight i'm going to watch Terminator 2 and mentally replace all references to "SkyNet" with "iPHONE."
— James (@SoylentJames) June 29, 2007
Woz is in line for an iPhone? http://tinyurl.com/yqohx6 Guess he can't wait for his free one as an apple employee
— Daniel Morrison (@danielmorrison) June 29, 2007
https://twitter.com/jimray/status/126652282
https://twitter.com/stevenf/status/126615082
https://twitter.com/kellysue/status/126504042
@drustar an iPhone is an overpriced 8GB mp3 player with limited capabilities and a contemporary web2.0 looking interface. Buy an N95.
— nrek (@nrek) June 29, 2007
…remember back in '07 and those…what was it, yes "bloggers" and 'vloggers" and "print media" … oh, and other people, got the iPhone?
— Chris Judson (@vergil66) June 29, 2007
my understanding is that v2 of iphone, due out in q4 will be the one to get. kinks will be worked out, just like the original newton.
— Vinnie Vrotny (@vvrotny) June 29, 2007
Pretty sure the people waiting in line for an iPhone are the same people who waited in line for Star Wars. Wait, I waited in line for SW.
— Jen G. (@onenjen) June 29, 2007
https://twitter.com/prescottesque/status/126355822
I’m grateful for the fancy Twitter search options that let me find these tweets, but they’re not that easy to use, and I sometimes wonder if I’m the only person who cares about them. (When I try to use them on my iPad, they not only don’t work, but I get a spurious error message about a nonexistent @search-advanced account.) In the years, decades, and even centuries to come, tweets will be an invaluable record of what the world thought about significant events as they happened; it would be great if that real-time historical record got easier to find and share.
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