What comes next after unpaid microcontent? Try 4,700 words about foreskins, at about $3 a word. That, according to a source, is what Sloane Crosley supplied to a new project called Medium, from Twitter co-founder Ev Williams. Williams won’t pay you for a Tweet but, for now at least, he might pay you depending on who you are.
Twitter Inc.'s been spinning quite a turnaround story in the press lately. The microblogging service "has finally turned a corner," declares the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek. "It's a juggernaut," a company executive tells the magazine. But the hard numbers we've been provided paint a very different story.
Having failed to make Twitter a beacon of corporate responsibility, co-founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone launched a new venture to "unlock human potential" and "improve the world." Which they are totally going to get to, just as soon as they finish their tequila and champagne bacchanal at the VIP table of a Las Vegas nightclub.
He's been expunged from Twitter's official history, but Noah Glass is widely acknowledged as the microblogging system's most passionate advocate from when he named and helped create Twitter until the day he was fired. Business Insider tells his story.
Technology seemed especially relevant in 2010, what with The Social Network's blockbuster receipts and mass mania for Apple's iPad and iPhone 4. The newfound attention helped turned some techies into genuine stars — while lending others real worldwide infamy.
Running Twitter Inc. sounds like any entrepreneur's dream: Cash flows freely. The press is smitten. Celebrity users abound. But CEO and co-founder Evan Williams is said to be on the verge of being ousted from his microblogging paradise.
Twitter CEO Evan Williams is quietly attending the annual "CEO Summit" at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, TechFlash reports, even though his second in command is busy at conferences too. We'd suggest sale negotiations, except that "Windows Live Twitter" sounds so very implausible and wrong.
Twitter is offering a new way to quote other people's tweets. The new "re-tweet" feature is both less useful and more confusing than the ad-hoc system that preceded it. But that's OK, because it bolsters rich celebrities and dot-com millionaires.
With great power comes great responsibility, and with great responsibility comes great headaches. So after years as the hottest, most talked about startup in Silicon Valley, Twitter is ready to relinquish some control of the national conversation.
