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>something so unappealing... I thought Twitter was unappealing and pointless when it started. I guess I'm still not sure why it actually hit mainstream.

• pmoriarty 5y ago
  It hit the mainstream because news outlets started reporting "Celebrity-so-and-so said such-and-such on Twitter", and the constant barrage of this free advertising eventually resulted in brand name penetration. Meanwhile, celebrities used Twitter because they read on the news of other celebrities using it. And so the cycle continues.
  • ineedasername 5y ago
    Ah, that's true. I also remember for a brief bit 24 hours news channels trying to fill time would report on a story and then watch the tweets & comment on user's reactions. It was very weird, but on reflection that seems about the time it exploded in popularity, and large events would urge you to tweet a specific hashtag to try to get on the front trending page.
  • t-3 5y ago
    Yep. Just like Tiktok. One day it wad mentioned in an article as something kids use, next day it's being mentioned by every journalist, next day it's mainstream.