5 Things You Didn't Know (Or Don't Remember) About Life Before Twitter
1. MySpace Was Most Popular
Tech website Mashable.com named MySpace its number one social network that year in 2006. At the time, MySpace had 140 million accounts and had "become a cultural phenomenon." They also said of Facebook, "We're a little less optimistic about Facebook than we were at the start of the year."
2. Flip Phones Were Cool; Blackberry Was It
Smack in the middle of the camera flip phone craze, Blackberry was the #1 smart phone on the market when Twitter launched. The reason - the first iPhone wasn't introduced until 2007. At the time, a 3 megapixel camera phone was a luxury, and phone-stored music was limited to about 100 songs on the top phones (excluding outside storage).
3. Pluto Was Still A Planet
Remember learning about the planet Pluto in grade school? Well, it was classified as a planet until August 24, 2006, when the International Astronomical Union issued a definition of "planet" that excluded the rock. The IAU added a new category called "dwarf planet," which Pluto fell under.
4. Saturn Was Still A Car Brand
When Twitter launched in 2006, Americans could head to their nearest Saturn dealership and pick up a brand new Ion for as little as $12,000. Car buyers also had the choice of buying a brand new Hummer, Pontiac and Saab. The 2009 collapse of General Motors led to the demise of all of those car brands.
5. Twitter? Don't You Mean Tweeter?
Remember the Canton-based electronics company that once owned the naming rights to what is now the Comcast Center in Mansfield? The first Tweeter store opened in 1972 near the Boston University campus. At its peak, Tweeter had more than 100 stores and a few thousand employees spread across 18 different states. They went bankrupt and out of business in 2008.
