Where does なう on Twitter come from?


If you follow any Japanese speakers on Twitter, you'll almost certainly see
them use [なう](https://twitter.com/#search?q=%E3%81%AA%E3%81%86) at the end of
a sentence, to say "I am in this place/doing this thing **now** ". Where does
this use come from? Who started it? Is it anything to do with the (e.g. bus)
announcements that say "なう"?




It's not clear exactly who or what started it on twitter, but なう does indeed
come from the English "now". It became popular in 2009, shortly after the
release of twitter (according to [this
site](http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok_now.htm)). Here are some
Japanese articles exploring the usage:

  * <http://nanapi.jp/258/>
  * <http://zokugo-dict.com/21na/nau.htm>
  * <http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok_now.htm>




It's not clear exactly who or what started it on twitter, but なう does indeed
come from the English "now". It became popular in 2009, shortly after the
release of twitter (according to [this
site](http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok_now.htm)). Here are some
Japanese articles exploring the usage:

  * <http://nanapi.jp/258/>
  * <http://zokugo-dict.com/21na/nau.htm>
  * <http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok_now.htm>

