Image: Brian Arch/WireImage/Getty Images
About This Quiz
It's taking over the world 140 characters at a time. Some people use it to gather news. Some treat it as a race to get the most followers. It's Twitter, but how much do you know about it?
When did the project that grew into Twitter begin?
2006
Twitter began as a side project for a startup company in March of 2006.
2007
2008
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Whose idea was Twitter?
Biz Stone
Evan Williams
Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey got the idea for Twitter when he wondered if someone could build a simple but interesting application that would let a person know what his or her friends were up to at any given time.
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What was Twitter's private venture valuation in September 2009?
$500 million
$1 billion
Twitter's valuation reached $1 billion in September 2009. That's staggering for a company that was famous for not having a clearly-defined business plan.
$15 billion
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Which celebrity issued a challenge to CNN to see whose Twitter feed could gather 1 million followers first?
Drew Carey
Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher threw down the gauntlet in 2009, challenging CNN in a race to 1 million followers. Ashton won the unofficial contest.
Oprah Winfrey
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What would you see if you visited the Twitter site while the service was down?
Nothing
A 404 file not found message
The Fail Whale
The Twitter "fail whale" showed up often during Twitter's first growth spurt. Along with a brief message about the service being down, the page shows a cheerful whale supported by birds.
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What's the name of the award given to the best people and organizations on Twitter by the Twitter community?
The Shorty Awards
The Shorty Awards go to the best Twitter users in categories like tech and music. The Twitter community nominates and votes for the users they like best.
The Tweeties
The Whalie Awards
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According to the Nielsen Wire, what was Twitter's retention rate in April 2009?
80 percent
60 percent
40 percent
Nielsen Wire said that only 40 percent of Twitter users stuck with the service. The other 60 percent gave Twitter a try but abandoned it soon after.
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Currently, the message above where you type in your Twitter messages says "What's happening?" What did it used to say?
What's going on?
What are you doing?
The original prompt said "What are you doing?" Perhaps Twitter changed the message after too many people typed "I'm using Twitter."
Who are these people?
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What did James Karl Buck's creative use of Twitter lead to?
He became a contestant on The Apprentice.
He was dismissed from a political campaign for posting inappropriate messages.
He got out of jail.
James Karl Buck twittered the word "arrested" as Egyptian police took him into custody. Friends and colleagues were able to contact U.S. authorities who arranged Buck's release.
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Who was the first astronaut to send a tweet from outer space?
Mike Massimino
Mike Massimino, aka astro_mike on Twitter, sent the first tweet from space. His message read "From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!"
Kathryn Hire
Gregory C. Johnson
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You Got:
/10
Brian Arch/WireImage/Getty Images
