RICHMOND, Va. — “Tweet?”
With just one word, the yellow-feathered star of “Sesame Street” on Friday joined the ranks of famous Twitterers.
His first tweet sounded a little tentative.
But Big Bird seemed to be getting the hang of things by his second message a few minutes later: “Oh! Now I get it. Big Bird here, live on Twitter!”
Within several hours, the beloved avian had collected more than 7,000 followers. The @BigBird account, created in 2012, is not verified, although a “Sesame Street” spokeswoman confirmed it to CNN as authentic.
Big Bird’s third tweet reached out to his buddy Cookie Monster, who was tweeting about the blue creature’s visit to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“Hi @MeCookieMonster! Have fun at @MuseumModernArt! Can you send me some pictures of bird art, please!”
It’s not first time Big Bird has been in the Twitter spotlight. After presidential candidate Mitt Romney threatened to cut funding for public broadcasting during a debate with President Obama in 2012 — even though Romney said he loves Big Bird — jokesters set up parody accounts such as @BigBirdRomney.
Don’t tell the kids but actor Caroll Spinney, age 81, has played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch in more than 4,000 episodes of “Sesame Street” since the show’s inception in 1969. He’s received four Emmys, two Gold Records and two Grammy Awards.
Big Bird’s Twitter debut prompted us to recall some other memorable first tweets. Do you remember yours?
