Twitter’s search engine was developed in a way that it provided users with swift access to what millions of people were tweeting at that point in time, which is why it began to be increasingly looked at as a great source of crowdfunding information and following events in real-time. This meant that after a few days every tweet had to be deleted from the search feature’s index to make room for newer tweets. That changes today with a major update to the Twitter Search feature, it is now capable of finding any tweet ever posted since the micro-blogging network launched back in 2006.
Previously in order to search for old tweets that no longer appeared in search, users either had to scroll through the entire timeline of the person who posted the tweet, or use third party services like Topsy or Tweet Machine. They’re still widely used by people to locate tweets that have been deleted on Twitter.
The updated search feature lets you find any tweet from the hundreds of millions that have been posted since 2006. Currently it works with rudimentary keyword searches but Twitter will improve the feature so that it can tackle complex queries as well. It will only display tweets from public accounts, tweets that hide behind protected accounts won’t show up.
This feature has been rolled out today but it will take some time before it goes live for all Twitter users. Twitter explains the mechanics behind the updated search feature on its blog, its a lengthy read but it will certainly satisfy your curiosity about how the company made this possible.
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