Econintersect: After five years of operation, twitter now has 200 million users, including tech luminaries, celebrities and the president of the United States. This multitude transmits over 140 million Tweets per day. However,it started off slowly: In 2007, Twitter averaged just 5,000 tweets per day. But in 2009, the site hit a tipping point and became a broadcast channel for major news events. Twitter is now a major vehicle in communication of live political action news, as well as other significant events coverage.
From CNN Money:
The site’s most dramatic moments have come during political uprisings. In Moldova, Iran, Tunisia and Egypt, protestors turned the site into a communications hub, using it to coordinate plans and broadcast their message. The U.S. State Department spotlighted Twitter’s growing role in global statecraft when, during the Iranian election protests, it asked the company to delay planned maintenance and keep its network running.
“I’ve had a career-long interest in this democratization of information, getting people to express themselves, especially places where they wouldn’t have a voice,” co-founder Biz Stone told CNNMoney in an interview last year.
Source: CNN Money