Asked in May 2009 · answered here from the archive
What if you were subscribed to the 100 most popular people on Twitter?
In 2009 a "river" was a page that showed the newest items from a set of sources, newest first, with nothing ranked or filtered out. You didn't read it to catch up on everything. You dipped in, read what was passing, and left. 100twt.com pointed that idea at Twitter. It took the hundred accounts with the most followers, pulled their latest tweets, and printed the hundred newest in one table that reloaded every three minutes.
Four readings of the table
- May 9, 200937accounts in the 100 newest tweets, which reach back about 5 h 38 min. Highest-ranked present: @aplusk, #1, 1,660,243 followers.
- June 4, 200939accounts in the 100 newest tweets, which reach back about 6 h 55 min. Highest-ranked present: @aplusk, #1, 2,019,769 followers.
- July 12, 200938accounts in the 100 newest tweets, which reach back about 4 h 01 min. Highest-ranked present: @cnnbrk, #3, 2,248,254 followers.
- November 2, 200939accounts in the 100 newest tweets, which reach back about 24 h 35 min. Highest-ranked present: @aplusk, #1, 3,897,128 followers.
Who moved
Rank in May against rank in November
25 accounts tweeted inside the window on both May 9 and November 2, 2009, so both readings exist for them. Most held their place within a few spots. The 10 lines in blue moved five places or more. The rank numbers came from TwitterCounter, a follower-tracking site the table linked to.
The data
All 72 accounts the archive caught
The table showed the hundred newest tweets, not the hundred accounts, so each capture only shows the accounts that had posted recently. Across the four distinct captures, 72 different accounts turn up. Sort by any column. The rank trail plots each account's rank across the four dates, #1 at the top.
| @aplusk | #1 | 1,660,243#1 | 2,019,769#1 | – | 3,897,128#1 | +135%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @cnnbrk | #3 | – | – | 2,248,254#3 | – | – | |
| @britneyspears | #4 | – | – | – | 3,640,459#4 | – | |
| @jimmyfallon | #8 | – | – | – | 2,178,950#8 | – | |
| @THE_REAL_SHAQ | #9 | – | – | 1,631,256#9 | – | – | |
| @RyanSeacrest | #10 | – | – | 1,682,422#10 | – | – | |
| @mrskutcher | #12 | – | 1,092,186#12 | – | – | – | |
| @nytimes | #12 | 818,093#12 | 990,469#14 | 1,367,787#14 | 2,032,262#14 | +148%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @iamdiddy | #13 | 846,755#13 | 1,049,409#13 | 1,475,125#13 | 2,198,868#13 | +160%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @lancearmstrong | #14 | 805,098#14 | 971,492#15 | – | 2,157,520#15 | +168%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @PerezHilton | #15 | 764,929#15 | 891,648#17 | 1,187,490#17 | 1,578,536#17 | +106%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @KimKardashian | #18 | – | 961,565#18 | 1,544,779#18 | – | +61%Jun 4–Jul 12 | |
| @TheOnion | #19 | – | – | 1,224,341#19 | – | – | |
| @ev | #21 | – | 815,035#21 | – | – | – | |
| @nprpolitics | #22 | – | 787,601#22 | – | – | – | |
| @kevinrose | #23 | – | 736,003#23 | 999,561#23 | – | +36%Jun 4–Jul 12 | |
| @MCHammer | #23 | 608,501#23 | – | 1,048,666#25 | 1,605,476#25 | +164%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @rainnwilson | #24 | – | 755,505#24 | 1,040,862#24 | 1,578,836#24 | +109%Jun 4–Nov 2 | |
| @tonyhawk | #25 | 603,460#25 | 770,318#32 | 1,138,223#32 | – | +89%May 9–Jul 12 | |
| @mashable | #26 | – | 751,288#26 | 1,059,743#26 | 1,671,181#26 | +122%Jun 4–Nov 2 | |
| @SaraBareilles | #27 | 590,774#27 | 740,019#29 | – | – | +25%May 9–Jun 4 | |
| @ijustine | #30 | 574,722#30 | 588,410#36 | 589,902#36 | 890,650#36 | +55%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @woot | #32 | 568,358#32 | 692,831#35 | – | 1,452,107#35 | +155%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @drdrew | #33 | – | 732,237#33 | – | – | – | |
| @zappos | #34 | 569,645#35 | – | 955,431#34 | – | +68%May 9–Jul 12 | |
| @wilw | #38 | 555,777#38 | 673,907#38 | 934,582#38 | 1,444,143#38 | +160%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @TechCrunch | #40 | 540,407#40 | 661,560#43 | 924,248#43 | 1,097,107#43 | +103%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @ICHCheezburger | #42 | – | – | 925,501#42 | – | – | |
| @jack | #43 | 532,951#43 | 658,686#52 | 915,580#52 | 1,415,998#52 | +166%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @brookeburke | #44 | 550,491#52 | – | 965,433#44 | 1,545,260#44 | +181%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @mileycyrus | #46 | – | – | 1,248,804#46 | – | – | |
| @biz | #47 | – | 647,531#47 | 915,951#47 | – | +41%Jun 4–Jul 12 | |
| @feliciaday | #47 | 523,958#47 | – | 927,566#49 | – | +77%May 9–Jul 12 | |
| @TIME | #48 | 534,789#48 | 693,201#48 | – | 1,710,541#48 | +220%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @Veronica | #49 | 520,093#49 | – | – | – | – | |
| @GStephanopoulos | #50 | – | 664,293#50 | – | – | – | |
| @AFineFrenzy | #53 | 514,133#53 | 652,199#60 | – | 1,458,077#60 | +184%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @dooce | #54 | – | 632,989#54 | – | – | – | |
| @souljaboytellem | #55 | 529,348#60 | 702,145#55 | 1,069,235#55 | 1,754,905#55 | +232%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @defamer | #56 | – | 532,118#56 | – | – | – | |
| @ThatKevinSmith | #56 | 497,977#56 | 638,696#62 | – | 1,464,090#62 | +194%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @davos | #57 | 489,144#57 | – | – | – | – | |
| @guardiantech | #58 | – | 619,589#58 | 876,915#58 | – | +42%Jun 4–Jul 12 | |
| @eonline | #61 | 499,235#73 | – | 1,007,550#61 | 1,710,350#61 | +243%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @BJMendelson | #64 | 465,421#64 | 576,739#71 | – | 963,200#71 | +107%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @JetBlue | #66 | – | – | 869,525#66 | – | – | |
| @trent_reznor | #67 | 469,497#72 | 603,783#67 | – | – | +29%May 9–Jun 4 | |
| @goldman | #68 | 454,103#68 | – | – | – | – | |
| @Agent_M | #70 | 460,600#70 | 570,971#74 | 816,846#74 | 1,301,793#74 | +183%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @sockington | #72 | – | – | 841,965#72 | 1,335,527#72 | +59%Jul 12–Nov 2 | |
| @GMA | #73 | – | – | 928,717#73 | – | – | |
| @sacca | #74 | 448,882#74 | – | – | 1,151,372#79 | +156%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @FragDolls | #77 | – | 573,192#77 | – | – | – | |
| @anamariecox | #78 | – | – | 819,962#78 | 1,311,089#78 | +60%Jul 12–Nov 2 | |
| @JustJared | #78 | 431,671#78 | 424,451#87 | 420,664#87 | 409,526#87 | -5%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @levarburton | #79 | 467,942#79 | – | – | – | – | |
| @jdickerson | #80 | – | – | – | 1,277,477#80 | – | |
| @Ustream | #81 | 413,529#81 | 530,518#82 | 800,169#82 | 1,333,854#82 | +223%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @womensweardaily | #83 | – | – | – | 1,383,295#83 | – | |
| @freddurst | #84 | – | – | – | 1,351,060#84 | – | |
| @jimmyeatworld | #86 | – | – | – | 1,313,340#86 | – | |
| @twtfm | #86 | 402,654#86 | – | – | – | – | |
| @GiulianaRancic | #89 | – | – | 854,896#89 | – | – | |
| @Nightline | #89 | 424,400#89 | 543,255#91 | – | 1,327,151#91 | +213%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @timoreilly | #90 | – | 508,486#90 | 761,311#90 | 1,241,900#90 | +144%Jun 4–Nov 2 | |
| @petewentz | #91 | 423,499#91 | 603,958#92 | 996,671#92 | 1,672,282#92 | +295%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @TerryMoran | #94 | 391,860#94 | – | – | – | – | |
| @Padmasree | #95 | 375,271#97 | – | – | 1,220,841#95 | +225%May 9–Nov 2 | |
| @adventuregirl | #96 | – | – | 780,543#96 | 1,315,274#96 | +69%Jul 12–Nov 2 | |
| @gtdguy | #97 | – | 480,891#97 | – | 1,206,446#97 | +151%Jun 4–Nov 2 | |
| @neilhimself | #98 | – | – | 748,181#98 | 1,267,783#98 | +69%Jul 12–Nov 2 | |
| @BreakingNews | #100 | 352,358#100 | – | – | – | – |
Heard in the river
Four tweets from 2009
A few lines exactly as the table printed them. The river was mostly this: small updates, plugs, news and the occasional count of followers.
#1 Trending Topic on Twitter.. ^_^ you all love me that much?
What a gorgeous night. Sending an email, then going out into it.
In Cairo for Obama speech Road into town lined with security Every 20 feet another soldier or policeman standing at attention, back to road
if i hit a mil- i promise 2 never rap ever.
The million race
The account at the top
@aplusk was first whenever he appeared: 1,660,243 followers on May 9, 2,019,769 on June 4 and 3,897,128 by November 2. That is more than double in under six months. In the July capture he hadn't tweeted inside the window, and the highest-ranked account on the page was CNN's breaking news feed at #3. Read the history.
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