Today we say a big thank you to all of our Twitter followers.

We have reached a significant milestone on the social networking site and now have more than 10,000 followers.

But what does that mean?

Through twitter you can connect with like-minded people, businesses, groups and even celebrities, you can share information, raise awareness of a campaign and seek contacts, answers and even a helping hand.

Twitter was launched in July 2006 and has more than 500 million registered users, including The East Anglian Daily Times after we signed up in March 2009.

Proving that we are Suffolk and Proud, our first ever tweet was about a new Suffolk Punch foal arriving into the world.

Today we tweet throughout the day to bring you breaking news stories, to ask your opinions on topical debates, to tell you about our latest reader offers and let you know what is coming in tomorrow’s paper.

Natalie Hoodless, digital publisher for Archant Suffolk, said: “We have a very loyal army of followers on Twitter who help us spread the word even further by retweeting us. Our Twitter followers keep us on our toes, they let us know if there is a breaking news scene near them, share photos with us and their views can help shape how we write a news story.

“They are invaluable to us and we want to thank everyone who follows us.”

Archant Anglia’s social media manager, Katie Spooner added: “This milestone makes @EADT24 one of the most followed Twitter accounts in Suffolk and shows what a great tool the account is for keeping up to date with news and events happening in your community, as they happen.”

Among our first followers were Babergh District Council, which uses the name @BaberghDistrict, Ipswich Labour councillor and reservist soldier Alasdair Ross @Alasdair Ross and St Mary’s School in Hadleigh. And our 10,000 follower was new Tweeter Jenny Williams @jsjwilliams, who pushed us over the 10,000 threshold last Wednesday.

To mark the ocassion we used #10kCelebrations and asked you to tell us what you were celebrating.

Aurora Bar and Restaurant on the Ipswich Waterfront replied to say: “@EADT24 we reached a 1000 followers today! Not quite the same but a good start!”

Callum Hewitt, director, said: “In just under a year, we have achieved 2,500 Facebook likes and over 1,000 Twitter followers and we’re really using this to our advantage. We use these channels to promote our live music evenings, to advertise our changing menus and daily specials, and also to encourage an open dialogue with customers; whether it’s answering queries, taking bookings or sharing pictures of their visit to Aurora.”

Now we have reached 10,000 followers we want to cast our net even further, so if you are on twitter, make sure you follow us @EADT24. If you are yet to join the world of Twitter, sign up today at www.twitter.com and search us using our Twitter handle @EADT24 so you are kept up to the date with what is happening in your area.