Bill Gates joins Twitter world

With a "hello world" and a shout out to Ryan Seacrest, Microsoft Chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates joined Twitter on Tuesday.

The world's richest man just met the world's largest time waster, a social-media network where millions of users issue reports of 140 characters or less.

Tuesday afternoon, Gates posted his first tweet to the world: " 'Hello World.' Hard at work on my foundation letter — publishing on 1/25.' "

The reference was to the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest nonprofit.

Gates' office confirmed the Twitter account, @billgates, was the real Bill Gates. A Gates representative declined to give any more details about what topics Gates planned to discuss on Twitter.

Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos confirmed the company was aware of the account, but declined to comment further.

By the late afternoon, the Twittersphere had become a surreal world where Gates exchanged public messages with "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest and actor Ashton Kutcher.

He thanked Seacrest for his fundraising work on Haiti.

Kutcher received a thank you for welcoming Gates to Twitter.

In addition to nonprofits, news sites and Microsoft accounts, Gates chose to follow actress Ashley Tisdale and Queen Rania of Jordan.

Twitter users can view Gates' updates by following him on the site; anyone can view his updates by visiting the Web site www.twitter.com/billgates.

Reports on Twitter range from critical breaking news — from the front lines of an Iranian student protest, for instance — to the borderline absurd, with people tweeting their cats' thoughts.

The news that Gates had joined lit up the Twitter community.

In six hours, he amassed more than 70,000 followers.

When Oprah joined Twitter, she gained more than 130,000 followers in less than a day. She now has more than 3 million followers.

Also, Gates appears to have made a return to Facebook with a fan page that has more than 50,000 pages.

Like many Facebook users, Gates has posted photos of recent vacations, including a trip to India.

He also highlighted links to Lakeside School, the private Seattle school he attended, and the Gates Foundation.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com