#46 Twitter gets even bigger

CNET editor Jeff Bakalar posted this photo of flooding outside his home in Hoboken via Twitpic.

(Credit: Jeff Bakalar)

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#1. Samsung v. Apple
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#3. Mobile usage reaches tipping point
#4. Tablets go mainstream
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#8. Foxconn charged with poor working conditions
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#21. Curiosity starts roving around Mars
#22. Bandwidth crunch has consumer implications
#23. Virtual assistants for mobile devices
#24. Mark Zuckerberg
#25. High-pixel density in your hand
#26. Social algorithms and social mapping
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#28. Startups jump the shark (and get their own TV show!)
#29. Apple's 'mapology'
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#38. MakerBot Replicator
#39. Rise of Instagram
#40. Sandy pushes the limits of tech
#41. Mobile payments
#42. Privatization of space travel
#43. Nintendo Wii U
#44. Jack Dorsey
#45. Netflix's undoing and recovery
#46. Twitter gets even bigger
#47. Cloud computing goes mainstream
#48. Sergey Brin
#49. Huawei accused of harboring international spies
#50. Social media makes money
#51. Wearable technology
#52. 4K TVs
#53. Chromebook gets real
#54. Gangnam Style breaks YouTube record
#55. Sheryl Sandberg
#56. Concierge economy takes off
#57. Path privacy scandal leads to App Store changes
#58. Nokia Lumia family
#59. Elon Musk of SpaceX
#60. Home automation
#61. Flashback malware hits Macs
#62. Tesla Model S
#63. Google Glass
#64. Thorsten Heins takes over at RIM
#65. Decline of Japanese CE companies
#66. Companies choose 'glamor' launches over trade shows
#67. Lytro camera
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#69. Nate Silver
#70. Cyberwarfare gets real
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#72. Larry Page
#73. 3D TV
#74. Drones
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#76. Jonathan Ive
#77. Curation becomes a form of expression
#78. Kim Dotcom
#79. Felix Baumgartner goes supersonic
#80. Nokia 808 PureView
#81. Square corners
#82. Mike Daisey
#83. Connected car revolution has arrived
#84. Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13
#85. Everything on demand
#86. Mat Honan
#87. The rise of touch
#88. OLED TVs
#89. Deal sites have a rough year
#90. The Apple TV that wasn't
#91. Google Nexus Q
#92. Self-driving cars win legal approvals
#93. Video games arrive at a crossroads
#94. Women make advances in technology
#95. Gesture controls grow up
#96. Julian Assange
#97. John McAfee blogs on the run
#98. Scott Thompson
#99. IPv6
#100. James Cameron's deep-sea dive
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People using Twitter is not exactly news to stop the presses. And yet, the service has been on a tear since its inception six years ago.

That trend only continued this year, when it surpassed 500 million registered users (140 million are considered active). Usage records throughout the year seemed to fall almost as soon as they were set, but big moments included Spain's fourth goal in the Euro 2012 soccer final, Usain Bolt's gold medal win in the Olympic 200-meter sprint, Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention, and his subsequent re-election. Parody accounts related to high-profile news events sprung up almost instaneously. You can, for example, now follow Clint Eastwood's chair, Big Bird, and the NHL podium.

Hurricane Sandy wasn't the first large-scale emergency to be documented by Twitter, but when it hit the New York metropolitan area, many local residents who were without phone and Internet service turned to Twitter to update friends and family on their safety. More than 20 million tweets were posted related to the storm.

And while Twitter has taken heat in the past for not having a reliable way to make money, it certainly silenced some of that criticism this year. eMarketer estimated that Twitter revenue will reach $259.9 million in 2012, $339.5 million in 2013, and $540 million by the end of 2014. Bloomberg reported that Twitter could reach $1 billion in sales in 2014.

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