Hatching Twitter : A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal

**Ev told Jack he had to “chill out” with the deluge of media he was doing. “It’s bad for the company,” Ev said. “It’s sending the wrong message.” Biz sat between them, watching like a spectator at a tennis match.****“But I invented Twitter,” Jack said.****“No, you didn’t invent Twitter,” Ev replied. “I didn’t invent Twitter either. Neither did Biz. People don’t invent things on the Internet. They simply expand on an idea that already exists.”** In 2005, Odeo was a struggling podcasting start-up founded by free-range hacker Noah Glass and staffed by a motley crew of anarchists. Less than two years later, its days were numbered and half the staff had been let go. But out of Odeo’s ashes, the remaining employees worked on a little side venture . . . that by 2013 had become an $11.5 billion business. That much is widely known. But the full story of Twitter’s hatching has never been told before. It’s a drama of betrayed friendships and high-stakes power struggles, as the founders went from everyday engineers to wealthy celebrities featured on magazine covers, __The Oprah Winfrey Show__, __The Daily Show__, and __Time__’s list of the world’s most influential people. __New York Times__ columnist and reporter Nick Bilton takes readers behind the scenes as Twitter grew at exponential speeds. He gets inside the heads of the four hackers out of whom the company tumbled: • **Evan “Ev” Williams**, the ambitious farm boy from Clarks, Nebraska, who had already created Blogger and sold it to Google for millions. Quiet and protective, Ev is a shrewd businessman who made tough choices in the interest of his companies, firing cofounders and employees who were once friends. • **Jack Dorsey**, the tattooed “nobody” who helped mastermind the original concept of Twitter, became a billionaire tech titan, and convinced the media that he was the next Steve Jobs. • **Christopher “Biz” Stone**, the joker and diplomat who played nice with everyone. As drama ensued, he was the only founder who remained on good terms with his friends and to this day has no enduring resentments. • **Noah Glass**, the shy but energetic geek who invested his whole life in Twitter, only to be kicked out and expunged from the company’s official history. As Twitter grew, the four founders fought bitterly for money, influence, publicity, and control over a company that grows larger and more powerful by the day. Ultimately they all lost their grip on it. Today, none of them is the CEO. Dick Costolo, a fifty-year-old former comedian, runs the company. By 2013 Twitter boasted close to 300 million active users around the world. In barely six years, the service has become a tool for fighting political oppression in the Middle East, a marketing musthave for business, and the world’s living room during live TV events. Today, notables such as the pope, Oprah Winfrey, and the president of the United States are regular Twitter users. A seventeen-year-old with a mobile phone can now reach a larger audience than an entire crew at CNN. Bilton’s unprecedented access and exhaustive investigating reporting—drawing on hundreds of sources, documents, and internal e-mails—have enabled him to write an intimate portrait of four friends who accidentally changed the world, and what they all learned along the way. Ev told Jack he had to “chill out” with the deluge of media he was doing. “It’s bad for the company,” Ev said. “It’s sending the wrong message.” Biz sat between them, watching like a spectator at a tennis match. “But I invented Twitter,” Jack said. “No, you didn’t invent Twitter,” Ev replied. “I didn’t invent Twitter either. Neither did Biz. People don’t invent things on the Internet. They simply expand on an idea that already exists.” In 2005, Odeo was a struggling podcasting start-up founded by free-range hacker Noah Glass and staffed by a motley crew of anarchists. Less than two years later, its days were numbered and half the staff had been let go. But out of Odeo’s ashes, the remaining employees worked on a little side venture . . . that by 2013 had become an $11.5 billion business. That much is widely known. But the full story of Twitter’s hatching has never been told before. It’s a drama of betrayed friendships and high-stakes power struggles, as the founders went from everyday engineers to wealthy celebrities featured on magazine covers, The Oprah Winfrey Show , The Daily Show , and Time ’s list of the world’s most influential people. New York Times columnist and reporter Nick Bilton takes readers behind the scenes as Twitter grew at exponential speeds. He gets inside the heads of the four hackers out of whom the company tumbled: • Evan “Ev” Williams , the ambitious farm boy from Clarks, Nebraska, who had already created Blogger and sold it to Google for millions. Quiet and protective, Ev is a shrewd businessman who made tough choices in the interest of his companies, firing cofounders and employees who were once friends. • Jack Dorsey , the tattooed “nobody” who helped mastermind the original concept of Twitter, became a billionaire tech titan, and convinced the media that he was the next Steve Jobs. • Christopher “Biz” Stone , the joker and diplomat who played nice with everyone. As drama ensued, he was the only founder who remained on good terms with his friends and to this day has no enduring resentments. • Noah Glass , the shy but energetic geek who invested his whole life in Twitter, only to be kicked out and expunged from the company’s official history. As Twitter grew, the four founders fought bitterly for money, influence, publicity, and control over a company that grows larger and more powerful by the day. Ultimately they all lost their grip on it. Today, none of them is the CEO. Dick Costolo, a fifty-year-old former comedian, runs the company. By 2013 Twitter boasted close to 300 million active users around the world. In barely six years, the service has become a tool for fighting political oppression in the Middle East, a marketing musthave for business, and the world’s living room during live TV events. Today, notables such as the pope, Oprah Winfrey, and the president of the United States are regular Twitter users. A seventeen-year-old with a mobile phone can now reach a larger audience than an entire crew at CNN. Bilton’s unprecedented access and exhaustive investigating reporting—drawing on hundreds of sources, documents, and internal e-mails—have enabled him to write an intimate portrait of four friends who accidentally changed the world, and what they all learned along the way. Twitter Seems Like A Perfect Start-up Success Story. In Barely Six Years, A Small Group Of Young, Ambitious Programmers In Silicon Valley Built An $11.5 Billion Business Out Of The Ashes Of A Failed Podcasting Company. Today Twitter Boasts More Than 200 Million Active Users And Has Affected Business, Politics, Media, And Other Fields In Innumerable Ways. Now Nick Bilton Of The New York Times Takes Readers Behind The Scenes With A Narrative That Shows What Happened Inside Twitter As It Grew At Exponential Speeds. This Is A Tale Of Betrayed Friendships And High-stakes Power Struggles As The Four Founders-biz Stone, Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, And Noah Glass-went From Everyday Engineers To Wealthy Celebrities, Featured On Magazine Covers, Oprah, The Daily Show, And Time's List Of The World's Most Influential People. Bilton's Exclusive Access And Exhaustive Investigative Reporting-drawing On Hundreds Of Sources, Documents, And Internal E-mails-have Enabled Him To Write An Intimate Portrait Of Fame, Influence, And Power. He Also Captures The Zeitgeist And Global Influence Of Twitter, Which Has Been Used To Help Overthrow Governments In The Middle East And Disrupt The Very Fabric Of The Way People Communicate-- #start -- #founders. @ev ; @noah ; @jack ; @biz -- #noah. Troubled Waters ; Status ; Twitter ; Just Setting Up My Twttr ; The Cowboy At The Rodeo ; The Green Benches -- #jack. A Bloody Mess ; Chaos Again ; And The Winner Is-- ; The First Ceo ; The Hundred-million-dollar Offer ; Is Twitter Down? ; The Dressmaker ; Rumor ; Fuck Fuck Fuck ; Building Sand Castles Underwater ; Calling My Parents -- #ev. The Third Twitter Leader ; Fight Or Flight ; The Marathon Man ; Dinner With Al ; Oprah ; Spiraling Into Iraq ; The Time 101 ; Iranian Revolution ; The Accidental Billionaire ; The Coach And The Comedian ; Jack's Gone Rogue ; Steve Jobs 2.0 ; Russian-roulette Relations ; Secret Meetings ; The Clown Car In The Gold Mine ; A Sunday Storm -- #dick. No Adult Supervision ; Jack's Supervision ; Jack's Back! ; Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow ; What's Happening? Nick Bilton. "Twitter seems like a perfect start-up success story. In barely six years, a small group of young, ambitious programmers in Silicon Valley built an $11.5 billion business out of the ashes of a failed podcasting company. Today Twitter boasts more than 200 million active users and has affected business, politics, media, and other fields in innumerable ways. Now Nick Bilton of the New York Times takes readers behind the scenes with a narrative that shows what happened inside Twitter as it grew at exponential speeds. This is a tale of betrayed friendships and high-stakes power struggles as the four founders-Biz Stone, Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, and Noah Glass-went from everyday engineers to wealthy celebrities, featured on magazine covers, Oprah, The Daily Show, and Time's list of the world's most influential people. Bilton's exclusive access and exhaustive investigative reporting-drawing on hundreds of sources, documents, and internal e-mails-have enabled him to write an intimate portrait of fame, influence, and power. He also captures the zeitgeist and global influence of Twitter, which has been used to help overthrow governments in the Middle East and disrupt the very fabric of the way people communicate"-- Provided by publisher The dramatic, unlikely story behind the founding of Twitter, by New York Times bestselling author and Vanity Fair special correspondent The San Francisco-based technology company Twitter has become a powerful force in less than ten years. Today it's everything from a tool for fighting political oppression in the Middle East to a marketing must-have to the world's living room during live TV events to President Trump's preferred method of communication. It has hundreds of millions of active users all over the world. But few people know that it nearly fell to pieces early on. In this rousing history that reads like a novel, Hatching Twitter takes readers behind the scenes of Twitter's early exponential growth, following the four hackers—Ev Williams, Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass, who created the cultural juggernaut practically by accident. It's a drama of betrayed friendships and high-stakes power struggles over money, influence, and control over a company that was growing faster than they could ever imagine. Drawing on hundreds of sources, documents, and internal e-mails, Bilton offers a rarely-seen glimpse of the inner workings of technology startups, venture capital, and Silicon Valley culture. Журналист Ник Билтон, освещающий в New York Times технологии, рассказывает увлекательную историю творческих поисков, споров, интриг, управленческих ошибок и борьбы за власть четырех основателей Twitter - Эвана "Эва" Уильямса, Джека Дорси, Биза Стоуна и Ноя Гласса. Описывая, как "вылупился" Twitter, Билтон сосредоточивает свое основное внимание на личностях и конфликтах, а не на технических подробностях, что может разочаровать компьютерных гиков, но, без сомнения, будет интересно большинству читателей. getAbstract рекомендует эту захватывающую биографию стартапа предпринимателям, инвесторам, фанатам Twitter и всем, кто неравнодушен к корпоративным войнам. Рассказ Билтона не помещается в 140 символов, но слова из него не выкинешь