History

Founding and Early Development (2006–2008)

Twitter originated from the podcasting company Odeo, founded in 2004 by Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass. In 2006, Jack Dorsey proposed a short message service (SMS) platform for sharing brief updates with friends. The first tweet, "just setting up my twttr," was sent by Dorsey on March 21, 2006. The platform was publicly launched in July 2006. In October 2006, Williams, Stone, and Dorsey formed Obvious Corporation and acquired Odeo, focusing on Twitter's development. The service gained significant attention at the South by Southwest conference in March 2007, leading to the creation of Twitter, Inc. in April 2007, with Dorsey as CEO. (money.britannica.com)

Growth and Public Offering (2008–2013)

Under Dorsey's leadership, Twitter experienced rapid growth. In 2008, Dorsey was replaced as CEO by Evan Williams, who was succeeded by Dick Costolo in 2010. Twitter's user base expanded significantly, and the platform became a prominent tool for real-time communication and news dissemination. In November 2013, Twitter went public, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TWTR. (money.britannica.com)

Leadership Changes and Feature Enhancements (2014–2021)

Jack Dorsey returned as CEO in 2015, focusing on improving user engagement and introducing new features. In 2021, Twitter launched Twitter Blue, a subscription service offering exclusive features such as an undo tweet option, bookmark folders, and reader mode. (en.wikipedia.org)

Acquisition by Elon Musk and Rebranding to X (2022–2023)

In April 2022, Elon Musk acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter, becoming its largest shareholder. He offered to buy the company for $44 billion, a deal completed in October 2022. Musk's acquisition led to significant changes, including layoffs and policy shifts. In July 2023, Twitter was rebranded as X, with the bird logo retired and the domain changed to x.com by May 2024. (en.wikipedia.org)

Integration with xAI and Recent Developments (2024–2025)

In March 2025, X Corp. was acquired by xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence company, in an all-stock transaction valuing X at $33 billion. This integration aimed to enhance the platform with AI capabilities. In July 2025, CEO Linda Yaccarino resigned following controversies related to the platform's AI chatbot. (en.wikipedia.org)

Features

X offers various features, including:

• –Tweets: Short messages limited to 280 characters.
• –Retweets: Sharing others' tweets with followers.
• –Likes: Indicating appreciation for tweets.
• –Direct Messages: Private messaging between users.
• –Twitter Blue: Subscription service offering features like undo tweet and bookmark folders. (en.wikipedia.org)

Impact and Controversies

X has played a significant role in global communication, news dissemination, and social movements. However, it has faced criticism for issues such as the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and content moderation challenges. The platform's policies and management decisions continue to influence public discourse and digital communication trends.