It’s not yet clear exactly what effect Oprah had on Twitter by featuring the service (and its first million-follower user, Ashton Kutcher) on her show on Friday. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone tells me he’s going to try and get some numbers as to just how many people signed up thanks to Oprah, sometime next week. But, Twitter Search already reveals that it’s a massive amount.
When anything gains mainstream popularity, there are always some early adopters who will start denouncing it. Some do this out of spite, some out of odd principle, some because they think they’re too cool to do something that a lot of other people do. But, I’m here to tell you that there’s another way.
Instead of being a jackass and pouting about the “good old days of Twitter,” just visit herebeforeoprah.com. The simple service asks the question, “was _______ here before oprah?” Simply fill in the blank with your Twitter name and if you adopted early enough, you’ll get confirmation of your Twitter street cred. For example, I’m very pleased to get a response, “@parislemon was here before @oprah.”
I understand why some of you are upset about Oprah “ruining” Twitter, I really do. I put in countless hours/days/months of mindless 140 character messages just like the rest of you. But suck it up, and get your revenge by letting Oprah know that despite her gaining over 300,000 followers in a day, you beat her to the service.
