I blanked for a second and went straight to DAU numbers without thinking about what percentage of users actually tweet versus just scroll.
Start by clarifying the scope (global vs. specific region, include retweets/replies, etc.) and then use a top-down approach: estimate Twitter's user base, segment into active vs. inactive, and apply average tweets per active user per day. Alternatively, use a bottom-up approach by estimating tweets per second and scaling to a day, then sanity-check with known public data.
Pro tip: Show product sense by discussing how Twitter's product changes (e.g., character limit increase, Fleets) might affect tweet volume, and mention that the estimate should be directional, not precise—interviewers care more about your logic than the final number.
Ask clarifying questions to define 'tweets' (include retweets, replies, quotes?) and the time frame (current day, average day). Also confirm if global or specific market.
Decide between top-down (user base * engagement) or bottom-up (tweets per second * seconds). State your choice and rationale.
For top-down: estimate Twitter's monthly active users (MAU), daily active users (DAU), and average tweets per active user per day. For bottom-up: estimate tweets per second during peak and off-peak, then average.
Perform the math, round to a reasonable number, and cross-check with any known public figures (e.g., ~500 million tweets per day historically). Adjust if necessary.
State your final estimate, acknowledge assumptions, and discuss what factors could change it (e.g., events, product changes).
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.