Science

Twitter's pivotal moments: According to Twitter (pictures)

As Twitter prepares to go public, here's a look at some of the company's biggest moments in 140 characters or less.

James Martin

James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.

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James Martin

Oct. 3, 2013 2:49 p.m. PT

1 of 9 Twitter

@barackobama

In a long-awaited moved, Twitter filed to become a public company on Thursday.

In its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Twitter said it has been "inspired" by how people are using the social network around the world. Some of the moments is specifically mentioned: President Barack Obama announcing his victory in the 2012 US presidential election (above); a tweet from a local resident in Abbottabad during the raid of Osama Bin Laden's compound; and people using Twitter to find loved ones after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Click through to take a look at some of the other 140 character moments that got a shout out in one of the most anticipated tech filings of the year.

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2 of 9 Twitter

Twitter is born

Twitter was born on March 21, 2006, with just 24 characters.

3 of 9 Twitter/@ClarenceHouse

@ClarenceHouse

The British Monarchy (@ClarenceHouse) used Twitter to announce the birth of Prince George of Cambridge on July 22, 2013.

4 of 9 Twitter/@jkrums

US Airways Flight 1549

Twitter user Janis Krums (@jkrums) was among the first on the scene when US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River near New York.

5 of 9 Twitter

The NBA Lockout

Oklahoma City Thunder player Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) turned to Twitter during the NBA lockout -- and ended up joining a flag football game at Oklahoma State University that night.

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6 of 9 Twitter/@MarsPhoenix

Ice on Mars

NASA shared its excitement on Twitter when the Mars Phoenix Rover (@MarsPhoenix) discovered ice on Mars.

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7 of 9 Twitter/kurikiyama_EN

Journey up Mount Everest

Want to know what it's like to climb Mount Everest? Nobukazu Kuriki (@kurikiyama_EN) tweeted during his journey up the world's highest mountain in 2012.

8 of 9 Twitter/@Oreo

@Oreo

When the power went out during the 2013 Super Bowl, Oreo (@Oreo) made sure everyone remembered that you can still "dunk in the dark."

9 of 9 Twitter/@WheatThins

#MustHaveWheatThins

Never underestimate the power of a good slogan. Twitter said the #MustHaveWheatThins campaign "drove over 242,000 Tweets" mentioning the Wheat Thins (@WheatThins) brand and "resulted in a significant increase in followers on Twitter."