Top Tweets: Gmail goes down briefly, internet panic ensues

According to multiple reports and a host of panicky tweets, Gmail went down briefly Monday morning before quickly returning to working order.

Twitter users took to their accounts to tell the world that the widely-used e-mail program wasn’t functioning. It appeared that both the free consumer version as well as the corporate e-mail systems run by Gmail were not working properly.

It’s not clear what might have caused the outage, but it appeared to be widespread. About five to 10 minutes after the outage, however, Gmail came back, and appears to be operating as normal.

Below is a list of some of the most-viewed tweets about the Gmail outage:

We can tell Gmail is down because we just got a smoke signal from a Nigerian prince.—
Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) December 10, 2012

[In Focus] Google Shuts Down Gmail To Show Its Immense Power onion.com/UxyLs8—
The Onion (@TheOnion) December 10, 2012

With all this Gmail outage, it's a good thing that I still keep pigeons in my backyard. But how do I Bcc with pigeons?—
Evgeny Morozov (@evgenymorozov) December 10, 2012

Is GMail down? I'M NOT PANICKING BUT IS GMAIL DOWN—
Tom Pappalardo (@tompappalardo) December 10, 2012

Good thing I had this cyanide capsule implanted in my molar for a day just like this when Gmail goes down.—
Evan Palmer (@evantickles) December 10, 2012

Gmail down, axis of earth's rotation reportedly unaffected.—
Kas Thomas (@kasthomas) December 10, 2012

Mayans calling our bluff RT @GerdOzone: So Chrome has crashed twice in the last 10 minutes and GMail is down. Something is happening.—
Eric Van Sickle (@slicksickle) December 10, 2012

Karl Rove is still insisting GMail is not down in Ohio.—
Garrett Quinn (@GarrettQuinn) December 10, 2012

Mark all Gmail Tweets as Read—
Alex Blagg (@alexblagg) December 10, 2012

I'd rather be dead on Gmail than alive on Hotmail.—
Josh Barro (@jbarro) December 10, 2012