Retweeting is a Twitter convention created by users. Likewise, many other Twitter conventions, such as the #hashtag, were also created by users. Because of its speed of delivery and its potential reach, retweets are fast becoming the most viral way to spread ideas in human history.
The founders of Twitter launched an open platform into the world. Then developers built applications atop it and users created conventions to augment the platform's usability and to improve its value as a conversational tool. This is one of several reasons why Twitter has experienced such explosive growth during the past year.
There must have been one single person who first used the retweet (RT) convention on Twitter. Help me figure out who this person is. Please tweet (and retweet) this blog post so that it spreads wide.
If you have ever sent a RT message, please add a Comment below indicating the date of your first-ever RT message. Perhaps we'll find the original retweet message. My guess is that it was sent by someone who lives in the Silicon Valley area sometime in late 2006 or early 2007. Let's see if I'm correct.
Follow Ben Arnon on Twitter: www.twitter.com/barnon
great analysis of retweets.
Not a Tweeter but your FB friend. Good to see you here. You graciously took a pic of me with my sister at an Inaugural Ball. I live in LA, am from DC, but you had just moved there. Chirp, chirp. Enjoy the red cardinals in winter.
However, I am constantly fascinated by the individual power facebook and twitter in particular, in having open platforms, have given the average consumer.
An interesting example is what happened in the aftermath of the Iranian elections and the significant role twitter played in empowering protesters, observers and journalists to feed raw, real time information. And I know many of the twitter posts during that period were retweeted. The fact that the Iranian government were threatened by twitter and attempted to shutdown the ability of its people to disseminate information through that meduim certainly speaks to the times we live in.
On a side note, there is an interesting show airing tomorrow night on CNBC at 10pm p/1 am est called Planet of the Apps, looking at how the app industry is changing the way we live.