"This article written by Paul Graham in 2009 explains why Twitter carries great significance. He points out that Twitter is a new messaging protocol that doesn't require specifying recipients. He also emphasizes that Twitter is a protocol owned by a private company, which is quite rare. He mentions that the founders of Twitter focused on maintaining control and ensuring its spread, rather than quickly monetizing the platform. He states that this has facilitated the expansion of Twitter and increased its value.

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# Why Twitter is a Big Deal (Understanding the Significant Influence and Importance of Twitter)

April 2009

Om Malik is the most recent of many people to ask why Twitter is such a big deal.

The reason is that it's a new messaging protocol, where you don't specify the recipients. New protocols are rare. Or more precisely, new protocols that take off are. There are only a handful of commonly used ones: TCP/IP(the Internet),  SMTP(email),  HTTP(the web),  and so on. So any new protocol is a big deal. But Twitter is a protocol owned by a private company. That's even rarer.

Curiously, the fact that the founders of Twitter have been slow to monetize it may in the long run prove to be an advantage. Because they haven't tried to control it too much, Twitter feels to everyone like previous protocols. One forgets it's owned by a private company. That must have made it easier for Twitter to spread.

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