The Top 10 Most Important Tweets of 2009
This was a groundbreaking year for Twitter, the microblogging site, which was a game changer for the online landscape dominated by Google and Facebook. Outside of the tech world not many people had heard of the new site; however that is far from the case now. Without further ado, here’s this year’s The Top 10 Most Important Tweets of 2009 and their importance for Twitter, the online landscape, media and journalism, and how we communicate.
1. Tweet: We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you. Thanks*
From: @BarackObama
Why it’s Important: Barack Obama (@BarackObama), Nobel Prize winner and President of the United States of America, announces his winning election to the world on Twitter, fully embracing the open web as a means to connect with the world.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - On winning the election from @BarackObama
(Note: While this actual tweet was made on November 5th 2008, there is no question regarding the impact of @BarackObama’s twitter account in 2009. Just look at the spike in tweets on January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day). If you’re looking for a specific tweet that was a 2009 gamechanger, try March 25, 2009, when Barack Obama actually opened the White House to feedback with his 1st tweet after his inauguration: Question about the economy? Ask President Obama http://whitehouse.gov/openforquestions)
2. Tweet: Victory is ours!!!!!!!!
From: @aplusk
Why it’s Important: Ashston Kutcher (@aplusk), Hollywood A-lister, social media advocate and Twitter enthusiast, is the first user to reach one million followers on the platform, beating news network CNN. He livestreamed the moment saying that it marked a paradigm shift in the way in which people consume information.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - On being the first to 1 million followers from @aplusk
3. Tweet: From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificant views, the adventure of a lifetime has begum!
From: @Astro_Mike
Why it’s Important: Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike), NASA astronaut and mission specialist for STS-125, tweets from space. Repeat, he tweets from space. Enough said.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - on the launch of NASA mission STS-125 from @astromike
4. Tweet: There’s a plane in the Hudson. Im on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy
From: @jkrums
Why it’s Important: Janis Krums, (@jkrums) released the first image of the Hudson plane crash on Twitter. If any one event opened the eyes to the media and the public about the power of quickly communicating real time events – even in 140 characters or less – it’s the Hudson plane crash Twitter story. This was a turning point for the relationship of news, journalism and Twitter.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - Hudson Plane Crash from @jkrums
5. Tweet: Allah – you are the creator of all and all must return to you – Allah Akbar – #Iranelection Sea of Green
From: @persiankiwi
Why it’s Important: @persiankiwi, who was the most prominent reporter of the Iranian regime and was later killed (note: presumed), communicated to the world what was happening in Iran despite the regime shutting down email, SMS, Facebook, emails, and phone calls. This was the last tweet sent from @persiankiwi. The tweet highlights how word about a world crisis can be spread online, and change result from it.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - On the Iran Election from @persiankiwi
6. Tweet: HI TWITTERS. THANK YOU FOR A WARM WELCOME. FEELING REALLY 21st CENTURY.
From: @Oprah
Why it’s Important: Oprah (@Oprah), media mogul and American icon, tweets for the first time on television after Ashton Kutcher beats CNN to one million followers. This tweet symbolizes the emergence of Twitter into mainstream popularity and marks the close to its niche platform beginnings and initial traction with the early-adopter tech community.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - Oprah's First Tweet from @Oprah
7. Tweet: We have just got word that Michael Jackson has died… http://bit.ly/fSQdc
From: @HarveyLevinTMZ
Why it’s Important: TMZ (@HarveyLevinTMZ), celebrity gossip enterprise, broke the story of the death of world icon Michael Jackson, before it was confirmed. This tweet reconfirms the shift in which news is reported, shared and spread to the mass populous. The news of the King of Pop’s death also resulted in Twitter shutting down due to overcapacity, which isn’t that unusual.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - Michael Jackson Dies from @HarveyLevinTMZ
8. Tweet: Man! This is so crazy and hella fun! I love New York!
From: @NickSwisher
Why it’s Important: Nick Swisher (@NickSwisher), New York Yankees baseball player, tweets during the parade after winning the 2009 World Series. Celebrities, whether athletes or movie stars, are connecting with fans in real-time and in unprecedented ways with the emergence of Twitter.
2009 Top 10 Most Important Tweets - On the World Series Parade from @NickSwisher
9. Tweet: Yes, this is the real Mark Zuckerberg. Thanks for following me!
From: @finkd
Why it’s Important: Mark Zuckerberg, (@finkd) founder of Facebook the largest social networking site in the world, joins Twitter. Twitter proves itself as a competitor to Facebook and since this tweet, Facebook has released ‘Twitter-like’ functionality on its own platform.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - The Real Mark Zuckerberg from @finkd
10. Tweet: I’m 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101100 01110101 01100011 01101011 01111001 00001010
From: @google
Why it’s Important: Google (@google), the largest search engine and destination of users on the internet, also joins Twitter. The first tweet was written in binary script and translates to read ‘I’m feeling lucky.’ Since the tweet Google has introduced real-time results in their search engine results. This tweet speaks volumes of the threat, competition and influence Twitter has on one of the biggest players on the internet.
2009 Top 10 Tweet of the Year - Google's First Tweet from @google
Are there any other game-changing Tweets you’d add to this list? Share here!
If you want to follow this Twitter user, I can be found tweeting from @helenstravels.
*Updates: We’ve received feedback that this post contains too many USA-based tweets. International readers, please share the most important Tweet from your country in the comments section. Also, we’ve posted a Top 10 Social Media Top Ten List here. Happy New Year!
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Nice work. Very intressting, therefore you got in the ten most important links index from: http://www.tenmostimportant.de/ I think twitter will show us the most intressting and shocking news in 2010 as well, so you can do the samethink for next year. I think it´s pretty cool
you should embed the tweets directly into the page… then i could go back and look at those historic tweets… i just made the code and im trying to get more people to use it http://goo.gl/fb/vKFT
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I think the Ashton Kutcher action of a million followers is big but the tweet is stupid, as is he
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As a frequent Twitter user, I STRONGLY disagree with #2 Kutcher.
Firstly, there was a lot of dishonesty and suspicion surrounding Kutcher’s benchmark. Most of the people following him were “empty” accounts that had no picture, no information, and were only following his account. Very strange, no?
Not to mention the rumors that major celebrities were blowing up their Twitter accounts so they could demand compensation from Twitter for bringing them that traffic.
But even if all these points were bunk, the fact remains that these mainstream celebrity accounts go against the very spirit of twitter… beneficial interaction between people from all over the world.