A Review of the New Book on Twitter’s Founding…In 13 Tweets

Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal: Good title. I would have added words to get it to 140 characters.

Author, @nytimes writer @nickbilton gets the inside skinny. His book is equal parts company bio & story of betrayal & corporate espionage.

Excellent cover design, title from @penguinusa. Remember when “twitter” seemed like a really dumb word instead of just an omnipresent one?

Sourced from 100s of insider interviews, the book provides a compelling narrative of the early days of a co. that has changed communication.

What was the first Tweet ever, on March 21, 2006? Almost as exciting as what you had for lunch. RT @jack Just setting up my TWTTR.

The sad story of @noah, a cofounder who named Twitter. Booted from the company in 2006 & vanished from the web. Tweeted four times in 2013.

Famous people who tried to buy Twitter: @algore, Mark Zuckerburg (@finkd, though not an active Tweeter, obv.), Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk).

Compelling anecdotes about the way Twitter powered campaigns (@BarackObama) & revolutions (#arabspring) & documented real world tragedies.

Funniest PR mishap: @Oprah trying to tweet for the first time on live TV. Not the most tech-savvy media mogul, that Oprah.

Chairman, cofounder @jack is the villain. Forced out as CEO in ’08, weasels his way back via boardroom coup. Not a flattering portrayal.

Fascinating fight between @jack and cofounder @ev to define Twitter’s role: What are you doing? (Jack) vs. What’s happening (Evan)?

An essential, you-are-there account of Twitter’s explosive growth, from 5K users in 2006 to 218M today. A must for business book buffs.

By the way, great timing, @nickbilton and @penguinusa! Twitter went public today, and everyone is talking about this book. #luckyducks