If you follow stocks – or even just Twitter – you know today is a big day for the company. After starting as a cute social media experiment in 2006, Twitter has blossomed into one of the foremost social sites and marketing tools and made its IPO today, immediately almost doubling in value per share and settling at around 80% gain at the moment.

For brands, however, Twitter matters most not as stock, but a social tool. Virtually every brand you can buy has an active Twitter presence, but those presences weren’t always good. Here are 20 of our favorite first tweets (compliments of adage) in celebration of the Twitter IPO.

Amazon

Follow Amazon Lightning Deals! @amazondeals

(Got right to the point, didn’t they?)

Bravo TV

There You Go: Well, there you go, everyone. Another stylist walked away with the Shear Genius title and e.. http://tinyurl.com/5z8xsj

Calvin Klein

View the new Calvin Klein Jeans video. It’s uncensored at  Calvin Klein inc

Channel

CHANEL donates a unique J12 Marine for the “Only Watch” charity auction on 9/23 in favor of Duchenne muscular dystrophy pic.twitter.com/2JjbI1Ow

Claro Ronaldo

Estréia hoje o Twitter oficial da Claro Brasil

(“Twitter” is still “Twitter” in Portuguese!)

Coca-Cola

RT @Kenth Better than bananas! Zoo uses Coca-Cola to snare escaped gorilla back to habitat

Dior

Dior J’adore writes a new spectacular chapter on ultimate feminity. Follow Charlize Theron to get a sneak peek !

Disney

“The more the world shrinks because of electronic communications, the more limitless becomes the province of the storytelling entertainer.”

(Couldn’t have picked a better quote.)

Google

I’m 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101100 01110101 01100011 01101011 01111001 00001010

HBO

An NHL game in 1972 was the first program ever broadcast on @HBO. This is our first tweet.

Louis Vuitton

Does the journey create the person or does the person create the journey ? http://www.louisvuittonjourneys.com

Marc Jacobs Intl.

welcome tweeties…

Paramount Pictures

Casey Here: Michael and I just created the first ParamountPics twitter entry. Stay tuned for more updates from Paramount Pictures.

Pizza Hut

Devouring a Supreme Personal Pan as motivation for my first tweet.

(Who is “my”?)

Samsung Mobile

Welcome to the Samsung Mobile twitter feed. We’re glad you’ve found us, because something big is coming.

Sephora

We’re busy getting a makeover @Sephora! Find us at www.twitter.com/sephorablog, we’ll be back soon!

Target

Hello, Twitterverse! Target here. We’ve got news and deals to share, and we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Victoria’s Secret

Victoria’s Secret has finally joined the Twitterati. Get ready to receive the sexiest tweets ever! #VictoriasSecret & #VSFashionShow

Warner Bros.

Want to know what’s up at Warner Bros.? Click on our profile URL to view our website and check out our latest press releases!

(Come on Warner Bros., it doesn’t get more boring than “check out our latest press releases!”)

XBOX

Have you checked out our Facebook page lately? http://www.facebook.com/xbox

There you have it – some good, some bad, some with no idea what Twitter actually was supposed to do. So get inspired and get back posting, but remember the key to social media engagement!

What was your first Tweet? Please share it in the comments below so we can all marvel (or maybe laugh) at it together!