Tweets that changed the world

What began as a site for friends to “bounce random thoughts around” has gone from 224 tweets a day to a daily storm of 500million.

Its 336million users across the globe have made it a huge driver of social change.

Twitter’s name was picked as it meant “a short burst of inconsequential information” and “chirps from birds”.

But since its public launch in July 2006 by creators Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, it has stretched its wings to become a platform for breaking news, where A-listers and world leaders can reach the public.

Here are 12 tweets that charted historic change – and helped Twitter define an era.

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