Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship and Betrayal, the new book from San Francisco-based New York Times technology writer Nick Bilton releases November 5th and I can’t wait to dig in and read it.
Bilton spent months visiting Twitter, speaking to hundreds of sources, including former and current employees and investigating documents and internal emails to give readers an inside look at how they went from start-up to a company with an IPO of nearly $1 billion.
Bilton, in some of his early promotion interviews, has distinguished the importance and impact of social media by saying, “Facebook changed the way we communicate. Twitter changed us.”
There is no doubt about the accuracy of his statement there. Social media, in general, has changed us. It’s changed the way we interact, communicate and the way our society operates. Facebook changed the way we communicate with others and keep up with friends and family. Instagram changed the way we document our lives… we now add filters to our everyday activities. Twitter, though, Twitter did something the others couldn’t do. It fundamentally changed us. It changed our society. It has radically altered how we live our lives, businesses work, revolutions begin, among other things such as politics, sports, journalism and many other industries.
Recent moves support that notion fully. Back in the early fall, Twitter filed for public trading and has amassed an IPO upwards of $1 billion. Recent senior-level hirings show the company is seeking to strike up deals with sports leagues, media corporations and music labels.
With its 200 million-plus users, my gut tells me Twitter’s best days have yet to come. Media is changing more rapidly now than we have ever seen and Twitter is setting itself up to come out as, perhaps, the leading information sharing medium we will have.
If you don’t have a relationship with that little blue bird, why don’t you click on over and start?
The Media Post 