Keith Olbermann Joins Twitter (VIDEO)

Thursday night on MSNBC's "Countdown," Keith Olbermann announced that he has joined Twitter and sent off his first tweet.

"I give up. I was wrong. Young and foolish. Now my twitter-cot belongs to the ages. Behold: I tweet," his first tweet read.

Olbermann, who will tweet at @KeithOlbermann, already blogs at both MLBlogs and Daily Kos, but had resisted Twitter before Thursday night.

"Late in the summer of 2008, I even signed up for Twitter. Then I suddenly thought, 'I think I might accidentally give a bunch of people my e-mail address.' So I blinked...but adjustment is life," he said.

"I always thought people were following me, so why add technology to paranoia?" he joked.

Olbermann hosted John Hodgman to help show him the Twitter ropes.

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By Friday morning, Olbermann had over 18,000 followers.

Last year, Olbermann actually named Twitter the Worst Person in the World for allowing a fake account under his name to amass thousands of followers.

You can also follow Olbermann at our HuffPost Media Twitter edition — he's just been added to our Media Personalities list.

Comments

[Packerfan]

02:09 PM on 04/18/2010

Big mistake.....already he's blocking people...."If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen" Keith
or bathtubboy. LOL

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:26 PM on 04/11/2010

I just laughed so hard I peed myself, when KO ad i HAVE the same thought, "Its the end of the world a we know it!

[Gladys1963]

06:36 PM on 04/10/2010

I just got here--have the rightie KO h@ters started quoting ratings yet?

[CynAnne]

10:44 PM on 04/10/2010

Nope, not yet Gladys...maybe we've finally thrashed them with quality, not quantity... ;)

[Gladys1963]

12:25 AM on 04/11/2010

Yay!

Or maybe they left--that'd be even better!

[The-JuRK]

12:39 AM on 04/11/2010

Yaaaay, and maybe Air America will come back! And just wait til KO's tweets are transcribed on the HuffPo! Then all the KO haters and everyone else who doesn't care won't read them! Yay! We'll show them!!!

[mad world]

05:46 PM on 04/11/2010

They're gonna be all like "Rawr Glenn Beck has more followers than KO"

[Deli]

06:18 PM on 04/11/2010

Say, mad world, I am replying here because I could not on your comment to me, below. Yes, I could stop watching Keith. But you must understand, I have been a longtime fan, I would say 2004 or so. I am no Keith hater. It is just that his soapbox persona has grown progressively more grating -- and as a true fan, that pains me because I would love for him to appeal to a wider audience, and I think he is going in the other direction. In fact, I did mute the Thurber stuff, then unmuted, a few times trying my best to stay with him.

I feel to non-fans (many I have recommended to his show over the years) he comes off as arrogant and condescending, and it gives the haters more fodder. Contrary to Maezeppa's knee jerk judgment of me, I very much appreciate his top five stories format and his (now rare) presentation of straight news. Perhaps he has been through a lot lately.

I just can't quit him. :)

[serindipity803]

02:47 PM on 04/10/2010

I like Keith - even if I don't watch him all the time. He is perhaps the most intelligent person in his chosen TV trade. I imagine he is remarkable with his sports gig....It is refreshing when I do drop in to watch and listen to his brilliant mind on 'cruise'. He is far smarter than the 'analysts' he has on. He has introduced several talents in that business, who now 'entertain' a sector of the crowd - and have become very popular. All Hail KO! Hoorah!

[ChelseaC]

02:26 PM on 04/10/2010

Keith Olbermann on Obama's Assasination Program
by Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/04/09-4

[Dustee]

09:59 AM on 04/11/2010

I wonder why? What does the President know that know one else does? Does he fear another Timothy McVeigh, perhaps?

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:24 PM on 04/11/2010

"A"? our gov. is concerned about dozens,unfortunate that they will end up infiltrating the Coffee party.due to hangers frm the Bush error

[Ifticar2]

01:33 PM on 04/10/2010

Keith needs to be careful. He just got back from one suspension.

[serindipity803]

02:26 PM on 04/10/2010

Really? I thought he was gone because his father died? I read nothing anywhere about him being suspended....

[BLinCincinnati]

02:33 PM on 04/10/2010

He wasn't. Just another wingnut lie. Just like how they have constantly claimed he's about to be fired... for the last 6 years now.

[itjustis]

08:02 AM on 04/10/2010

You've got to see Ben Affleck's hilarious turn as Olbermann on SNL! It's priceless.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/42024/saturday-night-live-countdown-with-keith-olbermann

[BMinDC]

04:25 PM on 04/10/2010

Thanks, I've been looking for that video.

[Gladys1963]

06:31 PM on 04/10/2010

Love it!

[Margo Arrowsmith]

06:29 AM on 04/10/2010

Looking at the comments below and I couldn't help but wonder why all these people are so afraid of Keith Olbermann. Rachel, I can understand, Cons should get night terrors about Rachel, but Keith? Oh, wait he tells the truth about them and does it as a great orator who sounds like he is talking to each person. I see now what the fear is about.

[Ifticar2]

01:35 PM on 04/10/2010

Who is afraid of Olbermann?

Beck and O'Reilly have teamed up for "Bold, Fresh" live tours. Olbermann and Grayson could team up for a "Liberal Clowns" live tours.

[Maezeppa]

05:18 PM on 04/10/2010

Beck and O'Reilly? LOL - they're on the Falafal and Gawd-Awful Tour.

[Deli]

09:01 PM on 04/09/2010

I just came here to say I am watching Keith Olbermann read from a fake fairy tale right now on his show, and it is a major fail. What is he doing? I use to be a big fan. Plus, being late to Twitter and bragging about 24K followers in a day (not much as celebrities go) is, well, lame.

[Maezeppa]

10:51 AM on 04/10/2010

James Thurber didn't write fairy tales. He wrote salient allegorical essays and short stories and was one of the greates American humorists of the 20th century. Keep listening - it may be out of your comfort zone, but like spinach instead of Cheetos, it's good for you.

[Deli]

12:24 PM on 04/10/2010

II have no problem with Thurber. I am referring to Keith's arrogant style.

[serindipity803]

02:28 PM on 04/10/2010

LOL - instruction so sweet...

[Pegi]

07:13 PM on 04/09/2010

I love you Keith but I don't use Twitter. Can't be bothered. too old - internet is enough for me.

[Dustee]

10:08 AM on 04/11/2010

I'm with you!

[Billyguitar]

05:20 PM on 04/09/2010

I think I can still resist Twitter. Who wants more distractions? I don't need anything else beeping at me all the time. I'd be surprised if Kieth keeps it up for long. Of course, I could be totally wrong, but I'm a ... dancin' fool!

Tonight he'll read some Thurber. He's pretty good at it!

[microsoap]

04:26 PM on 04/09/2010

A screen cap of his FIRST tweet at 8:58PM (ET) last night:

http://tinypic.com/r/10pad0x/5

He (((literally))) went from 200 followers to 3000+ by the time it was 9PM. He started the segment at 8:53PM.

[LOU29]

04:11 PM on 04/09/2010

If Olbermann tweets and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

[Maezeppa]

04:34 PM on 04/09/2010

Immaterial. He's got a gazillion followers already.

[Chuck849]

06:03 PM on 04/09/2010

you really beleive that?

[LOU29]

06:37 PM on 04/09/2010

Too bad for Keith those "gazillions" you speak of don't watch his TV show.

[microsoap]

04:43 PM on 04/09/2010

You typed "Sarah Palin's" name incorrectly.

[MFM008]

04:08 PM on 04/09/2010

i joined as well. Following Rachel and others..

[Deli]

01:44 AM on 04/11/2010

Rachel sends very compelling links to out-of-the-ordinary documents.

[mybostonjack]

03:47 PM on 04/09/2010

It's pretty amazing that I got his tweet the moment he sent it live.