Twitter

Twitter may have made its name through 140-character musings in text, but the social network is betting big on the future of video. In 2016, Twitter extended the maximum of length of videos posted to the service from 30 seconds to 140 seconds and doubled-down on live-streaming with its mobile app Periscope. In the fourth quarter of 2016 alone, Twitter doled out 600 hours of live video and reeled in 31 million viewers. It capitalized on its natural role in the news cycle and became a destination for millions during the presidential debates, election night, and the 2017 presidential inauguration. By forging media partnerships with the likes of Disney, the NFL, and BuzzFeed, Twitter is doing everything it can to ensure that people’s ever-distracted eyeballs remain fixated on its video content during major pop-culture moments, sporting events, and news breaks.

Lists

2017: Live Events, Sports, Video

2014: Top 50, Education, Social Media

2012: Top 50, Media

2011: Top 50, Media, Video, Web

2010: Top 50, Web

2009: Web 2.0

Data

staff: 3,900

users: 313 million

headquarters: San Francisco, California

Competition: Facebook

Twitter On The Web

Twitter

Stories about Twitter

Twitter admits it used info shared for security to target ads

Meet the mastermind behind The Great Baby, the weirdest government Twitter campaign ever

This is how Nickelback reminds Trump what he really is (an unpopular president)

The famously divisive band likely picked up some new fans by filing a copyright complaint against Trump for using one of their biggest hits in a bizarre tweet.

Why won’t Jack Dorsey ban Trump from Twitter? Kamala Harris wants to know

Bob Iger didn’t let Disney buy Twitter because its ‘nastiness is extraordinary’

Twitter will now let you hide the replies of other users

Beto O’Rourke’s violent troll shows how easy it is to keep breaking Twitter’s rules

9/11 passes without any major screwups from brand Twitter—almost

No matter who you think wins a Trump vs. Chrissy Teigen Twitter war, we all lose

The presidential Twitter may have met its match, but it also just may not matter anymore.

Coming to America? The U.S. government wants your Myspace name

Twitter just disabled its SMS tweet feature after CEO Jack Dorsey got hacked

More than half of all login attempts on social media are scammers

Stock market tanks after Trump ‘hereby orders’ American companies to find alternative to China

Twitter bans advertising from state-run media after disinformation about Hong Kong

Twitter is displaying ads by Chinese state-run media condemning the Hong Kong protests

Welcome to housing Twitter, the shoutiest debate on the internet

Every day, there’s a vital (and vitriolic) debate happening in Twitter comment threads about how we solve the country’s housing crisis. Is the issue too complex to be grappled with on a platform that encourages single-sentence thoughts? Probably—but that isn’t stopping anyone from trying.

Twitter is testing a way to make unwanted DMs less obnoxious

Here are some real (and unreal) problems Trump has somehow blamed on the ‘Fake News Media’

An incomplete list of just some of the things the president has lately blamed on the Fake News Media.

The GOP and Republican groups won’t advertise on Twitter over bias claims

Here’s why Twitter unfollowed founder and CEO Jack Dorsey

Impact

How to get buses to run on schedule? Restrict other traffic

Encouraging pride—not guilt—could be a key to saving the planet

This kit of parts is designed to build cheaper, faster affordable housing on small urban lots

Creativity

The internet’s kangaroo court has sentenced Matt Gaetz to be mocked for his Captain Kangaroo zinger

Watch out, AI is coming for your playlist next

It’s not about ‘beliefs,’ Ellen: Why DeGeneres’s weak defense of George W. Bush is a denial of reality

Co.Design

Trump’s old lawyers really, really love Comic Sans

This home goods startup wants to be an eco-friendlier Proctor & Gamble

Federal judge responds to iPhone notch design lawsuit with brutal one-liner

Work Life

Why you need to accept that ‘doing your best’ looks different every day

How to encourage mental toughness in anyone

Advice from female entrepreneurs who hired their former bosses