How to Navigate Twitter’s Early History?

Summary

The web content provides a historical exploration of Twitter's early days by examining its first tweets and the significance of their sequence numbers, including the sale of the first tweet as an NFT.

Abstract

The article delves into the early history of Twitter by analyzing the platform's first tweets, starting with Jack Dorsey's inaugural tweet "Just setting up my twttr," which later sold as an NFT for $2.9 million. It explains how to navigate through Twitter's historical tweets by altering the status number in the URL, revealing tweets from early users like Noah and Ev Williams. The piece highlights the curiosity of Twitter's early adopters, the deletion of some of the first tweets, and the playful reference to tweet number 42, alluding to the famous question from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." It also touches on the platform's growth and culture, as seen through the lens of these early tweets, and invites readers to explore this history themselves by manipulating the URLs of tweets.

Opinions

The author finds it interesting that Jack Dorsey's first tweet, a simple status update, became a multi-million dollar NFT.
The author suggests a sense of discovery and nostalgia in exploring the early tweets of Twitter's founders and early team members.
There is an element of humor and intrigue in the discussion of missing tweets and the reference to the number 42 as a nod to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
The author expresses amusement at the content of some early tweets, such as offers of free lunch and discussions about setting up twttr accounts.
The author reveals a personal connection to Twitter's history by mentioning their own past as a competitive undies thrower and their interactions with early Twitter employees.
The author encourages reader engagement by inviting them to explore Twitter's history and to retweet the article, indicating a belief in the value of this historical exploration for the Twitter community.

To navigate Twitter’s history, replace the number at the end

Notice the number 20?

What about tweet #19? What about tweet #21?

Jack’s tweet is the first visible one. Tweets #1 to 19, if existing, aren’t visible. Tweet #21 and millions of others after are.

The second tweet ever sent is also about setting up a twttr account:

To get to #22, you don’t need to know the user. Just copy-paste the IP and replace 21 by 22, the username will update itself.

Plot twist. Noah is also setting up his twttr.

Some fun with the numbers