Sun CEO Tweets Resignation: And 9 More Notable News-Making Tweets

@OpenJonathan

Jonathan Schwartz, Sun Microsystems Chief Executive

“Today’s my last day at Sun. I’ll miss it. Seems only fitting to end on a #haiku. Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more”

Kudos to Schwartz for not only breaking the news on his own terms, but for doing so with a recurring Twitter trend, the haiku. What better medium for short-form poetry?

(image from Wikimedia)

@Astro_TJ

Timothy J. Creamer, Astronaut

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! 🙂 More soon, send your ?s”

Houston, we have a problem. We don’t need you anymore to learn how our astronauts are doing out in space, because they can just tell us directly.

(image from U.S. Army)

@TerryMoran

Terry Moran, Nightline Anchor

“Pres. Obama just called Kanye West a “jackass” for his outburst at VMAs when Taylor Swift won. Now THAT’S presidential.”

This tweet wasn’t supposed to exist, as Obama’s comments on Kanye West’s infamous diss of Taylor Swift were off the record. Moran deleted the tweet, but not before the whole world found out.

(image from ABC News)

@manolantern (now @highfours)

Jim Hanrahan, New York Resident

“I just watched a plane crash into the hudson river in manhattan”

Hanrahan was reportedly the first to report on the US Airways plane that miraculously landed on the Hudson River. Twitter user Janis Krums (@jkrums) followed with a photo.

(image from @JKrums)

@PaulaAbdul

Paula Abdul, Pop Icon

“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all..Cont’d…”

Hey, this is huge news to the millions of people who tune in to the singing competition every week. Ellen DeGeneres has since replaced the oft-complimentary and always aloof singer.

(image from celebritywonder.com)

@abonnen

Amanda Bonnen, Chicago Resident

“Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.”

Though Bonnen’s tweet wasn’t a newsmaker on its own, her gripe became a national story when Horizon sued her for libel. A judge dismissed the lawsuit last month.

(mold image from mold-help.org)

@Dupree

Dupreee et al, Mumbai Attack Witnesses

“Mumbai terrorists are asking hotel reception for room #s of American citizens and holding them hostage on one floor”

This was one of many chilling firsthand reports posted to Twitter during the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. Another Twitter account, @mumbaiattack, was set up specifically to document what happened.

(image from abc.net.au)

@brokep

Peter Sunde, The Pirate Bay Co-Administrator

“Stay calm – Nothing will happen to TPB, us personally or file sharing what so ever. This is just a theater for the media.”

When torrent tracking Web site The Pirate Bay was found guilty for being accessories to copyright infringement in April 2009, site admin Peter Sunde edged out the mainstream media with his own thoughts. The Pirate Bay crew’s fate is still up in the air, with the verdict on appeal.

(image from wikimedia)

@JustinBieber

Justin Bieber, Singer

“the event at roosevelt mall is cancelled. please go home. the police have already arrested one person from my camp. I dont want anyone hurt”

Police in Long Island actually forced Bieber to send out this tweet, as the turnout for an album-signing there seemed ready to become a riot. One of Bieber’s managers was arrested for refusing to tweet before Bieber finally caved.

(image from billboard.com)

The_Real_Shaq

Shaquille O’Neal, NBA Star

“@allonso I didn’t hear dat yet”

Shaq’s tweet about a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t exactly break news to the world — ESPN and other sites had reported rumors that the Phoenix Suns had on the trade — but Twitter apparently broke the news to Shaq. That’s a story in itself, considering he’s one of the most popular Twitter users. The trade was made official the next day.

(image from NBA)