NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden arrived on Twitter last week. Within half an hour of his @Snowden account launching, he’d beaten the 72,000 followers amassed by the only feed Snowden himself is following - that of the National Security Agency itself. He’s currently on 1.2m and rising, while his first Tweet was, “Can you hear me now?” – a jingle used by US telecoms giant Verizon in television ads. He’s right up there with our top 10 Twitter debuts…
Celebrity trailblazer: @aplusk
Actor Ashton Kutcher was one of the early Twitter celebs. In 2009, he opened with “dropping my first Tweet” and three months later, became the first to hit 1 million followers. He went on Oprah the same week to help Winfrey post her own debut: “HI TWITTERS. THANK YOU FOR A WARM WELCOME. FEELING REALLY 21st CENTURY.” Mum, turn your caps lock off.
Shortest, sweetest greeting: @BigBird
The 8ft 2in Sesame Street resident was a bird of few words, opening in February with: “Tweet?”
Most confused debut: @snooki
Jersey Shore reality numpty Nicole “Snooki” LaValle’s first tweet back in 2009 was typically hapless: “idk wtf im doing”.
Most excited world leader: @POTUS
He and the White House already had accounts but Obama wasn’t given a presidential account until May and seemed chuffed: “Hello, Twitter. It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.”
Earliest overshare: @robdelaney
He found fame as “the funniest comedian on Twitter” but the Catastrophe star’s first missive in 2009 was: “I’m about to go onstage in Minneapolis. After I finish my tuna melt and go pee.” See also @DannyDeVito “I don’t really get this site or how it works. My nuts are on fire.”
Most nail-biting start: @lordemusic
The Kiwi singer-songwriter joined up in 2012 and opened with: “i think my fingernails are too short to be a member of the twittersphere.” Her nails now have their own spoof account, obviously.
Most reluctant tweeter: @Drake
The Canadian hip-hop star started in 2009 with a weary sigh of: “Fine… you got me.” Rivalled by comic book royalty @TheRealStanLee a few months later: “I just signed on to Twitter today. Don’t want it or need it, but don’t wanna be out of the action!”
Sweariest opening salvo: @SamuelLJackson
He dropped plentiful F-bombs in Pulp Fiction and life imitated art when the actor opened his account in 2011: “Can-a muh fukkasay fuck on here?”
Fastest follower-gathering: @Caitlyn_Jenner
In June, the reality star broke all records by gathering 1 million followers in a mere four hours. Her first tweet? A pic of that “Call me Caitlyn” Vanity Fair cover, followed by: “I’m so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self.”
Most incomprehensible opening lines: @LilTunechi
As Louisiana rapper Lil Wayne so sagely opined in 2010: “im super new to this twitter shit but wudup tho !..follow me biot¢h…wudup mak…happy bday LO...8 days of freedom..ym”. Riiiiight.
