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  • Giving and receiving thanks

    Wednesday, November 21, 2012

    That most American holiday, Thanksgiving, is upon us. Lots of you are turning to Twitter to express gratitude for the things you feel most grateful for this year — and it turns out that besides being an easy way to give thanks, Twitter is a useful tool for discovering more ways to give back. Food banks and volunteer organizations are tweeting about how people can give back this Thanksgiving season. You’ll find lots of opportunities to support a wide range of community needs. As #Sandy victims are still very much in need, some of the Twitter examples here suggest ways to help make this season brighter for those affected by the storm:
    No matter where you live, you can follow your local food bank on Twitter to help your neighbors. Here are a few Twitter accounts serving regional and local communities around the country. Posted by Karen Wickre (@kvox) Editorial Director

    Posted by @ at 7:21 AM

  • #OnlyOnTwitter: Taking office

    Friday, November 16, 2012

    During this election cycle, candidates used Twitter to take voters all along the campaign journey. Now, the winners have headed to Washington to prepare for the new term. Tweets from the new and re-elected members offer a glimpse of what the Capitol will look when the 113th Congress convenes.

    Senators-elect Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Ted Cruz of Texas and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts shared pictures as they visited their new digs:

    News also broke out about who will fill leadership positions in the upcoming session:
    Veteran Congressional leaders also celebrated the historically diverse influx of new electees, with record numbers of women and minorities.
    House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi reflected on this diversity:
    Senator Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving female in Congress, hosted a lunch for current and incoming women Senators:
    The record number of women Senators also presented a bit of logistical problem, as we learned from two Senators who tweeted about an impromptu meeting with their new colleagues:
    Posted by Bridget Coyne (@bcoyne)
    Government, News, & Social Innovation Team

    Posted by @ at 3:00 PM

  • Search for a new perspective

    Thursday, November 15, 2012

    Over the last few months we’ve made it easier to search for what’s happening in real time with autocomplete, related queries and spelling corrections. And starting today you’ll see better search results that highlight the photos, videos and news shared on Twitter, all wrapped up in more social context tailored for you.


    Here are three new elements you’ll see when you search:

    View photos and videos first: People tell incredible stories on Twitter through photos and videos. When you search for a person, an event or a hashtag, you can now see a grid of the most relevant media above the stream of Tweets.

    See headlines and photos: You can also see media instantly in your search results stream on iPhone and Android. Photos and article summaries automatically show previews to give you a bird’s eye view on what’s happening.

    Understand context: About a year ago we launched tailored ranking of your search results, but until now you couldn't see why a specific Tweet might matter more to you. Now you can see context like who favorited or retweeted right there in the Tweet.

    You can enjoy these results now on twitter.com and updated mobile apps for iPhone and Android. Stay tuned, as we continue to make search on Twitter an easier, more delightful experience.

    Posted by Tian Wang - @wangtian
    Engineer, Search and Relevance

    Posted by @ at 3:22 PM

  • More to see on iPhone and Android

    In the past few months we’ve expanded the Tweet so you can enjoy more with 140 characters. You can now view article and photo previews from more than 2,000 partners or view photos and videos in beautiful fullscreen. And now it’s easier for you to see this great content when you check Discover or search to find out what’s happening.


    See headlines and photos: Now you can preview photos and article summaries without a tap in Discover and search results. This new design for mobile brings the content of each Tweet front and center, so you can easily enjoy the view.

    Discover popular Tweets: Find out what’s popular among the people you’re connected to in a simple stream of Tweets, like Discover on twitter.com. Just tap “View all Tweets” to see a continuous stream of news, photos and other stories shared by the people in your network.

    Search for a new perspective: In search, photos from relevant results also appear right at the top of the stream so you can see what’s happening from multiple perspectives. You can also understand what's resonating in your network with context like who favorited a Tweet.

    Keep an eye out as we continue to improve search and Discover so that you can learn about what’s happening around the world, while you’re out in the world. Get the new apps to see more today.

    Posted by Sung Hu Kim - @sunghu
    Product Manager, Mobile

    Posted by @ at 3:21 PM

  • Sharing Tweets just got easier

    If you’re like me, you probably come across Tweets every day that you’d like to share. They might be funny or include a striking photo. They might be breaking news or feature old news. Of course, you can retweet any of these to your Twitter followers, but sometimes you want to share with another group, like your college roommates or your parents or a friend who isn’t yet on Twitter.

    That’s why we’re introducing the ability to email a Tweet directly from twitter.com –– a feature that will be rolling out to everyone over the coming weeks. You can email a Tweet to anyone, whether they use Twitter or not, right from your Twitter stream or from the details view of any Tweet. Just click on the “More” icon next to the reply, retweet and favorite buttons in order to email a Tweet to anyone you know. You can add your own comment, and we’ll send an email with your comment and the Tweet together. Just like that.


    Posted by Stefan Filip @Prostu
    Engineer, Growth Team

    Posted by @ at 2:35 PM

  • NFL on Twitter: Week 10

    Tuesday, November 13, 2012

    The @saints’ victory over the @atlanta_falcons was a sure headline maker, but on Twitter, the @Eagles vs. @DallasCowboys took the cake for most-Tweeted about game during Week 10. Meanwhile, @MikeVick’s injury gave him the title of most buzzed-about player.

     Most tweeted about games:
    1. @Eagles vs. @DallasCowboys
    2. @Giants vs. @Bengals 
    3. @HoustonTexans vs. @ChicagoBears 
    Most tweeted-about player:

    1. @mikevick
    See you back next week.

    Posted by Omid Ashtari (@omid)
    Head of Sports and Entertainment

    Posted by @ at 6:06 PM

  • Announcing the Twitter Fiction Festival panel

    Monday, November 12, 2012


    With the submission deadline for our Twitter Fiction Festival coming up on Thursday, now’s a good time to introduce you to the people who will help us decide what to showcase. They come from all across the writing world, and we’re thrilled to have their input.

    Ben Marcus' most recent book is The Flame Alphabet. His stories have appeared in Harper's, Conjunctions, The New Yorker, and The Paris Review. He teaches at Columbia University. 

    Emily Raboteau is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Professor's Daughter, and the forthcoming Searching for Zion: The Quest for Home in the African Diaspora. Her fiction and essays have regularly appeared in the Best American series. Raboteau also teaches creative writing at City College, in Harlem. Her website is www.emilyraboteau.com.

    Lee Ellis (@lhe2103) is the Assistant Fiction Editor at The New Yorker. For the magazine he has edited Michael Ondaatje, Paul La Farge, and William Gibson, among others. He is the recipient of The Henfield Award at Columbia University, where he completed his MFA in fiction.

    Meg Waite Clayton (@megwclayton) is the nationally bestselling author of four novels: The Four Ms. Bradwells, The Wednesday Sisters, the Bellwether Prize finalist The Language of Light, and the forthcoming The Wednesday Daughters. Find out more at www.megwaiteclayton.com.

    Ryan Chapman (@chapmanchapman) is the marketing director for The Penguin Press. His recent campaigns have been for books like Zadie Smith’s NW, Nate Silver’s The Signal and The Noise, and Thomas Pynchon’s work in e-book format.

    Sean McDonald (@neverrockfila) is Executive Editor of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

    Teju Cole (@tejucole) is currently Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College. His novel Open City won the PEN/Hemingway Award. “Small fates,” his Twitter storytelling project, has been featured in the New Yorker and other magazines.

    Yael Goldstein Love (@ygoldlove) is the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Plympton, a publishing house devoted to serialized fiction. Her first novel, Overture (paperback title: The Passion of Tasha Darsky) was published by Doubleday in 2007. She graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in Philosophy.

    Looking at the incredible array of submissions from around the world thus far, our panelists certainly have their work cut out for them. In addition to the stories they elect to spotlight, we hope to hear from many other voices sharing their stories throughout the Festival with the #twitterfiction hashtag. There’s still time to get your submission in front of the panel — if you have a big idea that could revolutionize storytelling on Twitter, submit it here!

    Andrew Fitzgerald (@magicandrew)
    Media Team

    Posted by @ at 4:31 PM

  • This Week on Twitter: 12 November

    On most Monday mornings, we’ll post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, this is the way to keep current on the Can’t-Miss-Moments on Twitter for the week ahead. - Ed. 

    Food Network’s Thanksgiving Live (Nov. 18, 12 p.m. ET) 
    To celebrate the fact that Thanksgiving is almost upon us, the Food Network (@FoodNetwork) is giving fans a chance to ask questions, connect with their favorite chefs and each other.

    Throughout next Sunday’s (Nov. 18) two-hour live show, Alton Brown (@altonbrown) is encouraging viewers to tweet their cooking questions using the hashtag #ThanksgivingLive. There will also be several polls throughout the show asking Thanksgiving-related questions, and @FoodNetwork will embed a Livestream feed into its Twitter account. To add to the fun, Food Network chefs will be answering throughout the day to answer Twitter questions from eager (and busy) cooks at home.

    Tweet from @IFCPortlandia (ongoing) 
    “Portlandia” fans, kick off the show’s third season by taking over the @IFCPortlandia Twitter account for a week. Sign up here to nominate yourself and join the Portlandia Co-Op.
    Contestants will want to keep an eye out for @IFCPortlandia’s Twitter challenges, which will determine the winners in the weeks leading up to the show’s season premiere on Jan. 4 at 10 p.m. ET. A new winner will be chosen each week during the ten-episode season.
    Posted by Rachael Horwitz - @rachaelrad
    Communications Team

    Posted by @ at 5:00 AM

  • Celebrate the Festival of Lights with #Diwali, #MyLights

    Sunday, November 11, 2012


    This week, hundreds of millions of people in India and around the world get set to celebrate Diwali. Popularly known as the "Festival of Lights," Diwali marks the triumph of good over evil and is celebrated by the lighting of lamps, bursting of firecrackers, and exchanging of sweets.

    We're excited to join the celebration with a special #Diwali events page. We want to highlight your  #Diwali good wishes and pictures of your own lights with the hashtag #MyLights, so everyone can enjoy them. Just search on Twitter for #MyLights to see them all.

    Please tweet away, show off your lights and join the celebration! Here are a couple of tweets we've already spotted to inspire you.


    Posted by Rishi Jaitly - @rsjaitly
    India Market Development Team

    Posted by @ at 5:31 PM

  • Election Night 2012

    Tuesday, November 06, 2012

    One hundred million votes and 31 million Tweets later, Election Day 2012 has come to a close. As the results of the election were called by news organizations, the conversation about the election on Twitter surged, hitting a peak of 327,452 Tweets per minute (TPM). Before President Obama took the stage to address the nation, he shared a special update on Twitter. As thousands of supporters cheered in Chicago, more than 455,000 (and counting) retweeted his celebratory message:

    While the announcement of results was the biggest moment of the election cycle, there were many other notable Twitter moments tonight:
    -327,452 TPM - 11:19pm ET - Networks call Obama's reelection
    -85,273 TPM -11:12pm ET - IA presidential race called
    -69,031 TPM - 9:33pm ET - PA and WI presidential races called
    -65,106 TPM - 8:03pm ET - Polls close in various states; AP calls races for IL, CT, ME, DC, DE, RI, MD, MA

    As international leaders tweeted diplomatic messages directly to @BarackObama, Twitter also provided a glimpse into global politics:

    Since the campaign cycle unfolded on Twitter, it’s only fitting that for candidates nationwide, the journey also culminated here. After the votes were tallied, the candidates came to Twitter to share their final campaign Tweets. And so we'll wrap things up by letting them speak for themselves.
    Posted by Adam Sharp (@AdamS)
    Head of Government, News, & Social Innovation

    Posted by @ at 11:16 PM