10 famous first tweets from the Pope, Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama, and more

(Image credit: AP Photo/Osservatore Roman)

last updated 8 January 2015

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").

Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012

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:

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.