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POWER IN WEB TECHNOLOGY: Biz Stone and Evan Williams
Twitter's Co-Founders & CEO's
By: Nicole Bruno

“Suddenly it seems as if all the world’s a twitter,” is what Newsweek recently wrote about the new microblogging site called Twitter. After many successful (and a few unsuccessful) jobs in the tech world, once rivals and now co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams have set out to create a website that delivers information simply and effectively. With the original idea introduced by partner, Jack Dorsey, Stone and Williams have worked hard to bring the concept to life. In 140 characters or less, people can send out status updates that reach anyone who has chosen to follow them on the site. “I don’t think of Twitter as a social network,” says Stone. “I think of it as a messaging system that has a lot of social components to it.” The new website has created a phenomenon among people of all ages. It now has people buzzing all over the world and sharing information in real-time.

Although Stone and Williams are well known in the tech world, they enjoy keeping a low profile and focusing on their families and work rather than becoming celebrities. Their modest way of living also shows in their product, and they are very different from other newly successful website developers. "In order to create a company that has this enduring value, that is going to be here 5, 10, 15, 20 years from now, you have to focus on delivering value first and profit second, especially considering we are only two years old," says Stone. "We have time to work on what will be our business model." The Twitter office has grown more each month, yet still has a very laid back feel, even after the website’s success. Stone and Williams provide a comfortable environment where employees can be themselves, which inspires them to bring their best work forward.

Aside from individuals, many large corporations, celebrities and organizations use this service as a way to advertise and to keep their customers or supporters in the know. “I believe that Twitter is a stage for humanity and connection, not the triumph of technology. Right now the word “revolution” is spelled with 140 characters,” says Twitter’s most followed member, Ashton Kutcher. In addition to Kutcher, many other celebrities use Twitter and some even “tweet” for charity. Recently, Hugh Jackman pledged to grant money to whichever charity could impress him via Twitter using 140 characters or less. Some celebrities use the device to help promote their own foundations to their fans or lead their “Followers” to amazing causes and charity events all over the world. The celebrity involvement of Twitter is a very large reason as to why that website has become popular today, and the charity done through these celebrities via Twitter has shown the true innovation of the product.

Along with Celebrity Charity, people are using Twitter to help with some of the world’s most current issues. Due to the censorship in Iran, residents have been using Twitter in order to coordinate protests, share pictures and express their opinions- all without having to worry about government interference. “We noticed people creating accounts during the riots presumably because they heard Twitter was the most efficient way to discover and share what was happening in the moment," says Stone. The charity and

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