Twitter often shows users their tweets from various anniversaries. There are a number of sites where users can check or be notified about their milestones on the social website. But there is a simple search string that users can input to find their first tweets in a matter of seconds. The search dates can be modified to narrow down the search to any period of time, not just the very first tweet you ever posted.

These days, people spend a lot of time on social media like Twitter and it's interesting to see where we were and what we were up to on certain dates.

In my case, I discovered a long-lost blog I forgot I even started over seven years ago. What was your post? If you find it, will you regret it? Can you see how you have grown from it?

Twitter search string to find old posts

Thanks to an article published on the Wordstream Blog in 2013 and updates in 2017 by Elisa Gabbert, I discovered the simple search string that anyone can carry out to discover the dates they want to view. It's much simpler than trying to find the tweet by scrolling for ages through your feed. Anyway, Twitter won't display ancient tweets. Applying Eliza Gabbert's method, you can use the string; from:username since:2011-01-01 until:2011-02-12, for example. You insert your own username without the @ symbol, then just change the dates as you please.

The first step is to go to your main Twitter account page. Next, at the top right find the search box. Enter the string above and amend the dates to those you want. You can see the date your account was created by looking at your main account profile on the left under your profile photo. That will give you the idea of the dates to input.

Once your name and the date string are entered as above, press the search icon, and your tweets will come up. Scroll to the bottom to find the first one.

Things you may discover about your old self from a first tweet search

I discovered that my very first post was a link to a blog from nearly years ago that I forgot I even had.

I guess I learned that I knew very little about brand-building through blogs and social media back then. I also had no idea how to make an image show up in the post. Browsing through the Twitter hashtag, #MyTwitterAnniversary, shows that lots of users have discovered things about themselves. Not all of them are proud memories, and I guess we'll never know how many anniversary tweets have been deleted. You can look for other old tweets using the string at any time. I found one that I posted that really should be a life-lesson subject in all schools:

Some interesting reactions to first tweets

There were some funny reactions by people who had been notified of anniversary events.

One was from user @CheeseWhiz, who commented they were old.

Some of the tweets were made by people who just started out on games like "Player Unknown's Battlegrounds." It must be an awesome memory for user @Joe_BurlyGamer who started an account a year ago in July 2017. They posted how they went from just starting out on Twitch until their success today.

Yet another user was thrilled with their Twitter experience, noting that it has been a great journey for nine years.

Browsing the Twitter anniversary dates of others provides a lazy hour or so of light entertainment on a quiet Sunday morning. However, looking for, and finding your own first tweet with a simple search string really can spark a special memory, or help you to find that old and inappropriate post that's worried you for some time. Now that you presumably know how to delete it - go for it! Or, if it's a great memory, share it and thank the people who cared enough to comment, retweet, or follow you.
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