• BBC, Monday, May 16, 2011 12:20 PM

Making microblogging history, Lady Gaga has become the first celebrity to rack up more than 10 million followers on Twitter. Ever the lady, "The U.S. singer thanked fans for supporting her," BBC News Reports. "10 Million Monsters!" Gaga gushed in a tweet. "I'm speechless, we did it! It's an illness how I love you. Leaving London smiling."

The pop star became the first person to pass 9 million followers on Twitter in March, overtaking Britney Spears last August. Spears, meanwhile, was only on top for three months after claiming the No. 1 spot from actor and social media advocate Ashton Kutcher. While a great marketing vehicle for Gaga and Kutcher, and good press for Twitter, the company has been under increasing pressure to broaden its appeal and among a mass audience.

Other than a tool for following Lady Gaga's 140-character musings - which relatively few people care about -- many consumers fail to see Twitter's greater utility. Meanwhile, as BBC News notes, Ms. Gaga also has 24 million "likes" on Facebook, but is still behind Eminem and the Facebook and Texas Hold'em Poker pages.

Read the whole story at BBC »