Twitter in 2011 was the go-to outlet for everyone ? celebrities, businesses, politicians, religious leaders and the average user alike. Across the board, Twitter users shared hair-trigger reactions to the year’s biggest news.
When Steve Jobs and Osama bin Laden died, you turned to Twitter. When Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak resigned, the world (including @KennethCole) tweeted.
To relive the year in tweets, Twitter recently shared its most tweets-per-second list, and Storify released its list of most-quoted tweets. But Mashable‘s presenting you with something different: 21 tweets you’ll likely remember long after the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31.
What better way to show off these tweets than by using Twitter’s new embeddable tweets feature, which launched Dec. 8. The tool allows you to reply, retweet and favorite any of the tweets without leaving this page.
Which tweets will you remember most? And which ones did we leave off the list? Add your contributions in the comments.
Steve Jobs
When Steve Jobs died Oct. 5, many fans discussed his passing through tweets. The hashtag #RIPSteveJobs immediately became a trending topic, and his death was number nine on Twitter’s most tweets-per-second list this year. Since his passing, the world ? including U.S. President Barack Obama, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg ? has mourned his death and celebrated his achievements.
Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. From all of us at #Obama2012, thank you for the work you make possible every day?including ours.
? Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October6, 2011
For those of us lucky enough to get to work with Steve, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely. b-gat.es/qHXDsU
? Bill Gates (@BillGates) October6, 2011
Osama bin Laden
At 11:35 p.m. on May 1, the White House’s Twitter feed posted a quote from President Barack Obama that confirmed terrorist Osama bin Laden’s death. But before Obama uttered those words, Twitter was abuzz with speculation, including a tweet from Keith Urbahn, chief of staff for Office of Donald Rumsfeld, at 10:24 p.m. ET. Before all of the stateside tweets, however, Sohaib Athar (a.k.a. @ReallyVirtual) unknowingly began live-tweeting the top-secret raid that killed bin Laden in Pakistan.
So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn.
? Keith Urbahn (@keithurbahn) May2, 2011
Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).
? Sohaib Athar May1, 2011
Ryan Dunn
Hours before his June 20 death, the Jackass star tweeted a photo of him drinking with friends. That tweet has since been taken down. Film critic Roger Ebert took a jab at the incident with this tweet that drew major criticism.
Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive.
? Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) June 20, 2011
Amy Winehouse
Following singer Amy Winhouses’s July 23 death, a small PR account for Xbox used a tweet to promote one of her albums. Many people found the message distasteful and subsequently criticized Microsoft. The company eventually apologized, saying, “Apologies to everyone if our earlier Amy Winehouse ‘download’ tweet seemed purely commercially motivated. Far from the case, we assure you.”
Stay classy, Microsoft PR jackalsRT @tweetbox360: Remember Amy Winehouse by downloading the ground-breaking ‘Back to Black’ over at Zune
? stuart houghton (@stuarthoughton) July 25, 2011
Muammar Gaddafi
On Oct. 20, rebel fighters captured and killed former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled the country for 42 years, until NATO-backed rebels overthrew him earlier in 2011. Journalist Malik Al-Abdeh is credited as the first on-the-scene person to confirm Gaddafi’s death.
First to tweet this from on-ground sources and I can confirm: #GADDAFI IS DEAD. He was shot dead by #FF in #Tripoli. #Libya
? Malik Al-Abdeh (@MalikAlAbdeh) August 21, 2011
Red Cross
A Red Cross employee inadvertently tweeted from the Red Cross Twitter account instead of her personal account on Feb. 16: “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer…. when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd.” The tweet has been deleted, but in response, the Red Cross used humor to diffuse the situation. Dogfish Head also chimed in, using the #gettnslizzerd hashtag and asking beers fans to donate to the Red Cross.
We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.
? American Red Cross (@RedCross) February 16, 2011
Wendy’s
Twitter says this promoted tweet from Wendy’s, an international fast food chain restaurant, was the most-retweeted tweet of 2011, and ultimately raised $50,000 for foster children.
RT for a good cause. Each retweet sends 50￠ to help kids in foster care. #TreatItFwd
? Wendy’s (@Wendys) June 15, 2011
Kenneth Cole
Attempting to weave current events into its social media strategy, Kenneth Cole’s Twitter account posted this offending tweet, which immediately backfired: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC.” The tweet has been removed, but not before people online ignited a firestorm of terse tweets criticizing the message. Kenneth Cole later apologized.
Re Egypt tweet: we weren’tintending to make light of a serious situation. We understand the sensitivity of this historic moment -KC
? Kenneth Cole (@KennethCole) February3, 2011
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher
When Demi Moore publicly announced Nov. 17 that she plans to divorce Ashton Kutcher, her husband turned to social media to express his feelings. His tweet linked to the extended and original version of his statement ? posted on social platform Chime.in ? which says, “Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail. Love and Light, AK.” Moore acknowledged the split for the first time on Twitter on Dec. 14, saying changing her @MrsKutcher Twitter handle to something else “isn’t a top priority.”
I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi.Marriage is… bit.ly/uB2q2Q
? ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 17, 2011
changing my twitter name isn’t a top priority right now. sorry it bothers so many of u. should I not tweet until I do?does it really matter?
? Demi Moore (@mrskutcher) December 14, 2011
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries
On Nov. 1, Kim Kardashian divorced NBA player Kris Humphries, just just 72 days into their high-profile marriage. The split sparked two worldwide trending topics on Twitter ? #ThingsLongerThanKimsMarriage and #KimKMarriageWasShorter. Sisters Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian and media personality Ryan Seacrest also announced the breakup via Twitter.
Just got @KimKardashian‘s statement, “sometimes things don’t work out as planned.” Read here bit.ly/sjUvVg
? Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) October 31, 2011
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Airplane passenger Stefanie Gordon documented the May 16 Endeavour launch. Gordon’s Twitter photos of the space shuttle soon went viral, attracting the attention of @NASA, media outlets and fellow Twitter users.
Three things about my flight: I can lay down across 3 seats just fine, it was freezing & I got to see this.http://twitpic.com/4yg4ur
? Stefanie Gordon (@Stefmara) May 16, 2011
Egypt
Google employee Wael Ghonim famously tweeted this on Feb. 11, after Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak resigned. Ghonim, an Internet activist during the Arab Spring, was arrested and subsequently released in Cairo after using Facebook to organize protests that helped incite Mubarak’s resignation.
Welcome back Egypt #Jan25
? Wael Ghonim (@Ghonim) February 11, 2011
Vatican
Via the Vatican’s Twitter news account, the Pope sent his first tweet using an iPad on June 28.
Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI
? Vatican ? news (@news_va_en) June 28, 2011
Steve Jobs
Among the countless tweets about Steve Jobs’s death, this was one of Storify’s most-quoted tweets this year.
Steve Jobs was born out of wedlock, put up for adoption at birth, dropped out of college, then changed the world. What’s your excuse?
? Jonathan Moss (@jwmoss) October6, 2011
TwitPic
When TwitPic founder Noah Everett (@noaheverett) was getting arrested on June 29, he turned to his own photo-sharing service to broadcast the news. Police reportedly arrested him for being topless in public, but no charges were filed.
Getting arrested…in the back of a cop car now
? Noah Everett (@noaheverett) June 29, 2011
11/11/11
Stomping on everyone’s excitement for Nerd New Year, The Onion and Saturday Night Live writer Mike Drucker intelligently shared this bit of knowledge with the masses.
Stop saying “11/11/11″ only happens once in a lifetime. EVERY date only happens once in a lifetime. That’s how time works.
? Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) November 11, 2011
SHAQ
On June 1, NBA star Shaquille O’Neal announced his retirement via tweet, which included a video link to startup Tout.
im retiring Video: http://bit.ly/kvLtE3 #ShaqRetires
? SHAQ (@SHAQ) June1, 2011
Charlie Sheen
Actor Charlie Sheen joined Twitter on March 1, and immediately broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest person to reach 1 million followers. He accomplished that feat ? for his tweets like the one below ? in 25 hours and 17 minutes. He now has more than 5 million followers on the social network.
Winning..!Choose your Vice…#winning#chooseyourvice http://twitpic.com/455ly9
? Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) March1, 2011
Sheen is just one of many well-known people to have joined Twitter in the past 12 months. Here are others:
View As Slideshow ≫TV personality and music executive Simon Cowell is Twitter's newest celebrity. Cowell, who became a household name in 2002 as the brutally honest judge on American Idol, used his first tweet on Nov. 16 to pimp the U.S. version of The X Factor for which he’s a judge. Since then, he has argued with @PiersMorgan, live-tweeted about his X Factor finalists (while dissing other contestants as well as fellow judges) and shared random thoughts just like most Twitter users do.
Napster co-founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker graced Twitter streams starting on Oct. 3. His first tweet was apparently an apology to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for joining a rival service: “Sorry Zuck, I had to do it eventually. (Actually @scooterbraun made me do it.)” Scooter Braun is Justin Bieber’s manager.
Once not a fan of Twitter, funnyman Jerry Seinfeld changed his tune on July 15. On that day, he sent his first tweet: "Greetings Tweetarians! I have just landed on your Planet. This could be my last Tweet." His second tweet: "Second Tweet! Am I done yet?" His stream now has 86 more tweets.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice entered the Twitterverse on Oct. 12. She tweets about her daily activities -- and quite a bit about football.
Actor Samuel L. Jackson has taken his no-holds-barred commentary to Twitter. But on his first day on Twitter, he polled his followers to find out whether he could curse: "Can-a muh fukkasay fuck on here?" His followers responded with a resounding yes. On Thanksgiving, he tweeted, "From one thankful muhfukkah to the resta yall, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!"
Good Morning American anchor brought her charm to Twitter in March. Her multimedia grid on Twitter is chalk full of photos of her with her celebrity guests.
Actress and singer Gwyneth Paltrow explained in her first tweet (via a link to a video on June 1) why she's on Twitter: "I'm trying to join the 21st Century so it's me. I'm on Facebook and Twitter but not right now ... I'm walking down the street looking for a cab. See ya!"
Author Salman Rushdie used Twitter in November to fight a very public battle against Facebook regarding a controversial naming policy. Rushdie shared his frustrations on Twitter and eventually got his Facebook account reinstated.
Gary Barlow -- most known for being a member of Take That and now a judge on the UK version of The X Factor -- already has 412 tweets since he jumped on the Twitter express on Oct. 9. He's had conversations with fellow Take That alum @RobbieWilliams, whose app is a finalist for Best Branded Mobile App in this year's Mashable Awards.
Melinda Gates, one-half of the famous Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has brought her love for social good to Twitter. She tweets about philanthropic efforts and social issues.
British pop star Cheryl Cole, of Girls Aloud fame and a former judge on the UK version of The X Factor, was the lone celebrity to brave Twitter's sea of users in August. She appeared on two episodes of the U.S. X Factor this fall.
Record producer and rapper Pharrell Williams has given his Twitter stream a visual twist, tweeting links to photos of his celebrity friends such as Usher, Mary J. Blige and CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien.
U.S soccer player goalkeeper launched her account in June but already has plenty of photos in her Twitter gallery
United States National Women's Soccer Team player Abby Wambach gives followers a glimpse into her sporty mind.
Comedian Lewis Black runs a tame Twitter account, which he uses to promote his shows and thank fans.
Matt Drudge is the creator of Drudge Report, a news-aggregation service.
New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress started tweeting on June 5.
Comedian Steve Coogan brought his fictional character Alan G. Partridge to Twitter on Sept. 16 when he tweeted, "Although deeply suspicious of the motives of social media users, I welcome you to this account on the basis it will boost sales of my book."
Long-time Mexican singer Juan Gabriel manages a fairly active account, which launched Sept. 14.
American soccer player-turned-coach Mia Hamm's tweets have been absent from Twitter since Nov. 12.
President of the Republic of Ecuador Rafael Correa began tweeting on July 29.
Film director James Cameron joined in January and hasn't tweeted since April.
Willy M. Mutunga is a famous Kenyan lawyer and activist.
Roberto G. Bolanos, a popular entertainer from Mexico, has nearly 2 million followers.
Actress Eva Mendes joined Twitter on Oct. 12. However, she has posted only one tweet.
Jacob G. Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa, joined Twitter on May 10.
The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. According to its bio, the Twitter account is produced by its staff "to show how the Lords checks and challenges the UK government."
Jang Keun-Suk, a South Korean actor, singer and model, has amassed more than 220,000 followers since he joined Sept. 14.
The U.S. Secret Service's Twitter account publishes links to press announcements.
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