Tweets Of The Year: The 13 Most Powerful Tweets Of 2011

A handful of words can pack a punch.

This year, messages 140 characters or fewer in length helped bring down elected officials, mobilize protesters, break the news of dictator's death and much, much more.

Twitter's growth has helped amplify its reach and the power of its 140-character posts. The social media service now boasts more than 100 million active users and processes 230 million tweets per day.

We've put together our picks for the 13 most powerful tweets of 2011. Are there others we should add to our list? Let us know by clicking "Add a slide" below.

For more Twitter highlights, check out the most retweeted tweet of the year, the top tweets per second, the most popular hashtags of 2011, and Twitter's picks for the best "Twitter Stories."

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Comments

[rabbyradical]

12:29 PM on 12/29/2011

The only tweets that made a real impact are the ones in the middle east from protesters.

[Bethany Latta]

11:36 AM on 12/29/2011

What a year! Can't wait to see what 2012 brings.

[Onutz]

10:04 AM on 12/29/2011

I got instant tech support for an iPhone app at 2:00 in the morning through twitter. There's nothing else like it!

[akrazyrunner]

10:02 AM on 12/29/2011

Oh great I can just see another awards show coming out of this.
"The Tweeties"
I just hope the acceptance speeches are 140 characters or less

[Tyler Nieves Smith]

10:17 PM on 01/01/2012

That was really clever!

[kiran1207]

11:25 PM on 12/28/2011

best news sTory bye bye bin laden

[MichaelAKD]

09:02 PM on 12/28/2011

and all the ovis aries that follow them, at least in this country pun intended. abroad however and on a serious note the ones in reference to Neda Agha-Soltan. i realize it was 2009 but i still have not forgotten her and personally that was the only time i ever paid any attention to twitter. strange how some things commit to memory without any overt effort.

[Boffer Bings]

07:27 PM on 12/28/2011

The only tweet that truly impressed me this year came from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:

"The #Capitol looks beautiful and I am honored to be at work tonight,"

[Hard2kill]

07:02 PM on 12/28/2011

Where is the Mavericks winning their first ring?

[SmartladyDem]

06:59 PM on 12/28/2011

OBL-"Having a nice d......."

[garystartswithg]

06:16 PM on 12/28/2011

Is Steve Jobs dead?

[UserNameJane]

06:45 PM on 12/28/2011

Yes he is.

[SmartladyDem]

06:58 PM on 12/28/2011

=(

[GirlUsingBrain]

05:54 PM on 12/28/2011

Impressive ... with hindsight! Congratulations to all the tweeters!

I think the Bin laden tweets are fascinating!

[Weirdmage]

03:57 PM on 12/28/2011

Loved the way you "ironically" put in one of the most annoying types of Twitter-spam as picture 14.