10 famous first tweets from the Pope, Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama, and more
Pope Benedict XVI's first message to his followers? Perfectly coherent if a bit old-school: "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter"
A newcomer to social media, Pope Benedict XVI blessed his followers on Twitter for the first time Wednesday, sending out the first tweet from his brand-new account, @Pontifex (Latin for "greatest pontiff").
In a few short hours, the Pope's initial volley was retweeted 41,000 times and designated a "favorite" tweet nearly 14,000 times. How does his embrace of the technology stack up against the virgin efforts of other big names? Well, let's just say he demonstrates better punctuation skills than Lady Gaga, more modesty than Justin Bieber, less VOLUME than Oprah, and considerably more personality than the Dalai Lama. Here, a brief timeline of famous first tweets:
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, March 21, 2006:
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Barack Obama, April 20, 2007:
Lady Gaga, March 26, 2008:
Mark Zuckerberg, Feb. 13, 2009:
Justin Bieber, May 11, 2009:
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Oprah, April 17, 2009:
Bill Gates, Jan. 19, 2010
The Dalai Lama, Feb. 22, 2010:
Beyoncé, April 5, 2012:
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