Twitter Says It Has 140 Million Users

By Todd Wasserman

Twitter celebrated its sixth birthday on Wednesday by dropping an impressive stat: The network now claims 140 million active users.

In a blog post feting the event, the company also boasted that its network sees 340 million tweets a day. "That's more than 1 billion every three days," the post reads. "However concisely, it turns out there's plenty to say."

The post also includes a photo of co-founder Jack Dorsey's sketch of the service he envisioned (see picture)

The 140 million figure is a 40% increase over the 100 million active users Twitter CEO Dick Costolo claimed in September. At the time, Costolo said those 100 million users log in at least once a month and 50 million go on every day. Twitter's post didn't disclose how many of the 140 million are daily active users.

Costolo also said at the time that 55 million users log on to Twitter from their phone or tablet every month. Twitter.com was also seeing 400 million visitors a month, up from 250 million at the beginning of 2011, Costolo said in September.

SEE ALSO: Twitter Rewind — Big Highlights From 2012 to 2006

With 140 million active users, Twitter is just behind LinkedIn, which claimed 150 million members in February, and ahead of Google+'s 90 million (although at least one analyst says Google's social network has 100 million users).

Facebook, meanwhile, revealed in February that it now has 845 million users on its network.

10 Tweets That Rocked the Twitter-verse

  1. When a commercial flight was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River, Twitter -- with the help of image service Twitpic -- told the story.

    The Hudson Plane Landing

    When a commercial flight was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River, Twitter -- with the help of image service Twitpic -- told the story.

  2. During a rash of riots in the Middle East and North Africa, Twitter played a role in protesters' fight for democracy. But a crass tweet from Kenneth Cole stands out as a hallmark of insensitivity.

    Kenneth Cole's #Cairo Blunder

    During a rash of riots in the Middle East and North Africa, Twitter played a role in protesters' fight for democracy. But a crass tweet from Kenneth Cole stands out as a hallmark of insensitivity.

  3. In what was called "kind of a jerk move," teen idol Justin Bieber tweeted the phone number of an invasive fan as if it were his own. Said fan's phone was ringing off the hook for hours and received at least 26,000 text messages.

    Bieber Tweets "His" Digits

    In what was called "kind of a jerk move," teen idol Justin Bieber tweeted the phone number of an invasive fan as if it were his own. Said fan's phone was ringing off the hook for hours and received at least 26,000 text messages.

  4. Social media proposals are a whole thing unto themselves these days, but the trend probably started with this sweet tweet.

    Marriage Proposal

    Social media proposals are a whole thing unto themselves these days, but the trend probably started with this sweet tweet.

  5. Tweets from space are all the rage. The landmark discovery of ice on Mars caused quite the stir on Twitter.

    Ice: The Final Frontier

    Tweets from space are all the rage. The landmark discovery of ice on Mars caused quite the stir on Twitter.

  6. This single-word tweet ended up being a lifesaver for UC Berkeley journalism student James Buck.

    "Arrested"

    This single-word tweet ended up being a lifesaver for UC Berkeley journalism student James Buck.

  7. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet -- the inauspicious blurb that started it all back in 2006.

    Jack's First Tweet ...

    Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet -- the inauspicious blurb that started it all back in 2006.

  8. When the talk show host discussed Twitter with Biz Stone and Ev Williams, she brought mainstream attention to a rather geek-centric web app. Twitter adoption spiked as a consequence.

    ... and Oprah's First Tweet

    When the talk show host discussed Twitter with Biz Stone and Ev Williams, she brought mainstream attention to a rather geek-centric web app. Twitter adoption spiked as a consequence.

  9. The first live and real-time tweet from space came from the International Space Station in early 2010.

    Tweets From Space: Now In Real-Time!

    The first live and real-time tweet from space came from the International Space Station in early 2010.

  10. Without knowing exactly what was going on, Twitter user @ReallyVirtual started tweeting about a helicopter crash in his town. The town happened to be Abbottabad, and the crash happened to be one event in the raid that led to Osama bin Laden's death.

    The Abbottabad Tweeter

    Without knowing exactly what was going on, Twitter user @ReallyVirtual started tweeting about a helicopter crash in his town. The town happened to be Abbottabad, and the crash happened to be one event in the raid that led to Osama bin Laden's death.