Japan user marks Twitter's 20 billionth 'tweet'

The Twitter message was sent at 3:44pm GMT by "GGGGGGo_Lets_Go," a graphic designer in Tokyo who works at an advertising agency, according to the user profile. The message was part of a conversation that appeared to be a comment about a third party that had come online and onto Twitter.

The precise meaning was difficult to translate due to lack of context, but the user's reaction to having sent the 20 billionth Twitter message was much easier to understand.

"It looks like I posted the 20 billionth tweet. I'm getting replies from people all over the world. It's scary. What are the chances Maybe I'm going to die. Is it more amazing than winning the lottery I thought it was a joke," he said in another Twitter message moments later.

The Twitter message comes just under five months since the 10 billionth "tweet" was posted in March this year. That's about 10 times faster than the four years it took for Twitter to reach its first 10 billion.

The dramatically faster pace underlines the rapid growth Twitter is enjoying at present.