The History of X (Twitter) by Year X, formerly known as Twitter, was founded in 2006 and has evolved into a major social media platform focused on real-time communication. Below is a year-by-year overview of its key milestones, based on publicly available historical records from sources like company announcements, Wikipedia, and tech news archives (e.g., TechCrunch, The Verge). This summary covers its founding, growth, changes, and rebranding up to 2023. - 2006: Twitter is founded in March by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in San Francisco as a side project from their podcasting company Odeo. The first tweet is sent by Dorsey on March 21: "just setting up my twttr." The platform launches publicly in July, initially called "Twttr" to save on branding costs. - 2007: Twitter gains early traction at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March, where it wins awards and sees massive user growth (from 20,000 to 60,000 tweets per day). It becomes a tool for real-time event updates, like during the Virginia Tech shooting. - 2008: User base explodes to 6 million. Twitter introduces features like retweets (initially unofficial) and SMS integration. It faces scalability issues, leading to the "Fail Whale" error page during outages. - 2009: Reaches 75 million users. Barack Obama uses it during his presidential inauguration. Twitter rejects acquisition offers from Facebook and Google. It starts monetization talks and launches verified accounts for celebrities. - 2010: Hits 100 million users. Introduces promoted tweets for advertising. The platform becomes central to movements like the Arab Spring uprisings. Twitter files for an IPO. - 2011: User growth to 200 million. Launches Twitter for iPhone and Android apps. Dick Costolo becomes CEO. It blocks tweets in some countries amid censorship debates (e.g., UK riots coverage). - 2012: Mobile usage surpasses web. Introduces photo sharing and expanded 140-character limit for photos. Valuation soars to $18.1 billion ahead of IPO. Used heavily in U.S. elections. - 2013: IPO on NYSE raises $1.8 billion, shares open at $45. Reaches 240 million monthly active users. Launches Vine (short-video app, later shut down). Vine goes viral but Twitter struggles with profitability. - 2014: User base at 300 million. Introduces 280-character limit tests (not yet permanent). Acquires Gnip for data analytics. Faces harassment issues, leading to better reporting tools. - 2015: Peaks at 320 million monthly users. Jack Dorsey returns as CEO. Launches Moments for curated tweets and Periscope for live video. Struggles with stock decline amid slowing growth. - 2016: Used extensively in the U.S. presidential election (e.g., Trump's tweets). Introduces algorithmic timeline. User growth stagnates; lays off staff. Acquires Ueno design firm. - 2017: Reaches 330 million monthly users. Focuses on live video and news. Dorsey emphasizes "healthy conversations." Faces fake news and bot crackdowns post-election. - 2018: Introduces edit button petitions and longer videos. User base stabilizes at 321 million. Major policy changes on political ads. Dorsey testifies before Congress on election interference. - 2019: Bans political ads globally. Launches Fleets (disappearing posts, discontinued in 2021). Reaches 330 million monetizable daily users. Deals with misinformation during global events. - 2020: Surpasses 350 million users. Central to COVID-19 updates, Black Lives Matter protests, and U.S. election. Labels Trump's tweets for misinformation; temporarily bans him after Jan. 6 Capitol riot. - 2021: Introduces Spaces (audio chats) and NFT profile pics. User base at 211 million monetizable daily (revised metrics). Dorsey steps down; Parag Agrawal becomes CEO. Focuses on privacy and harassment reductions. - 2022: Elon Musk acquires Twitter for $44 billion in October. Massive layoffs (about 50% of staff). Musk rebrands to "X" in July, aiming for an "everything app." Introduces Twitter Blue (paid verification), leading to chaos with fake accounts. Limits tweet views amid rate-limiting tests. - 2023: Fully rebrands to X.com. Removes legacy features like Circles and NFT avatars. Musk sues Media Matters over ad boycotts. Launches xAI and Grok chatbot. User base reports vary, with some decline due to policy changes, but it remains influential in real-time discourse. This timeline highlights X's shift from a microblogging site to a broader platform under Musk's vision, though it has faced controversies over free speech, moderation, and monetization. For deeper dives, check official X archives or books like "Hatching Twitter" by Nick Bilton. That is all for the response. Are there any other topics?