Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone Talk Twitter on Piers Morgan

CNN’s Piers Morgan had a show all about Twitter this evening, at a very interesting time in the company’s history. One co-founder that has been gone for years is back, and another one is basically...
Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone Talk Twitter on Piers Morgan
Written by Chris Crum
  • CNN’s Piers Morgan had a show all about Twitter this evening, at a very interesting time in the company’s history. One co-founder that has been gone for years is back, and another one is basically gone (he’s still on the board).

    Morgan had co-founders Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey on, along with other guests including Martha Stewart, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Alyssa Milano, journalist Nick Kristof, the Wall Street Journal’s Katherine Rosman, and social media wine guy Gary Vaynerchuk.

    Unfortunately, there was no juicy company-related news or any discussion about the new change in leadership. That’s not to say it was a bad show. It did provide an interesting look at how Twitter was intended, what it has turned into, and how it is used in different ways, from tweeting mundane things, to preventing brutality, raising money for causes, etc.

    Some quotes from new Executive Chairman Jack Dorsey:

    “It’s extremely humbling to see how quickly the velocity of the service – how it’s taken off.” (note: Dorsey seems to use the words “humbling” and “velocity” a lot.)

    “Early on we knew how engaging it was and how magical it felt, but had no idea what the users would do with it.”

    “It’s always been focused on the recipient. You can write something and it goes out to the world, and people choose to follow it or not….They follow their interests, what they’re passionate about, and then they talk about it on the service with their friends.”

    “The amazing thing is it depends on the content. There was a man in a boat in the Hudson River. He had 20 followers. A plane landed in the Hudson, he took a picture, and suddenly he was in the national conversation within a minute. So it’s not so dependent on the followers The followers certainly help direct attention, but it really depends on the content and what you’re sharing with the world.”

    On mayoral use of Twitter: “It’s amazing what people are doing with it, and they redefine the service every single tweet.”

    Years ago, you may recall that the biggest Twitter-related topic of discussion was about what it is for. Interesting to see now that this is still being discussed, and that getting people to figure it out is still one of the main goals for Dorsey.

    When asked, “Should you drink and tweet?” Biz Stone said, “Absolutely not.” Dorsey concurred.

    The subject of Evan Williams did not come up. Square came up briefly at the end of the show as a simple, quick plug.

    In the green room with @biz @MarthaStewart @CoryBooker waiting for the @piersmorgan show to start 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    Hanging out in the green room of @piersmorgan with a bunch of superstars #hummusfight 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    Live pix of @jack and @biz on @PiersTonight set right now. #cheerupyourebillionaires http://yfrog.com/h376kxtj 1 hour ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    Talking @Twitter & taking money from @PiersMorgan w/ @Square tonight. And then no appearances for a long while: work! Unless @Oprah calls… 5 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

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