Thursday, May 1, 2008

Letter from Biz Stone - Twitter

I love twitter.

Here's the email from Biz Stone sent out today May 1, 2008.

Hello Twitter-ers,

It's time for a semi-monthly update from Twitter headquarters in
sunny San Francisco, CA. There's lots of attention and activity
surrounding Twitter these days and we're focused on staying ahead
of pace. Don't miss a beat, come by and visit http://twitter.com
to see what we're up to.

Bucking The System

Last weekend CNN lead with a big story about James Buck, a
graduate student in journalism from the University of
California-Berkeley who was arrested last month in Mahalla, Egypt
while covering an anti-government protest. Thinking quickly, James
was able to send a one-word Twitter update: "Arrested." His
followers in Egypt and back in the US reacted by contacting the
university and the consulate on his behalf. Before long, James was
updating Twitter with another one-word message, "Free."

CNN Story: http://tinyurl.com/4b4hsg

Twitter Japan

While we're on the subject of international adventures, it should
be noted that Twitter has officially launched in Japan. We noticed
a significant percent of Twitter usage consistently originating
from Japan despite the fact that our service is in English. This
highlighted an opportunity for us to make Twitter better so we
worked with our partner in Japan, Digital Garage to launch a
Japanese version of Twitter.

About Twitter Japan: http://tinyurl.com/626noj

Mother's Day: On The Way

We've noticed a trend of parents twittering the moments of their
baby's birth so we know there are some new moms on Twitter. Are
you a mom on Twitter? Is your own mom on Twitter? Maybe you even
made "The Ultimate List of Moms on Twitter"? Mother's Day is just
around the corner so don't forget to @reply the moms you know with
a thoughtful phrase--but keep it under 140 characters, moms are
busy people.

List of Moms on Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/6cxgp5

Ridiculously Awesome Greeting Cards

You'll be surprised at how funny a short, gutsy phrase can be when
it's paired with an odd, old-timey illustration. You've got to
check out this hilarious greeting card site that had us cracking
up at the office recently. Maybe you'll find something for
Mother's Day but while you're there, keep an eye out for the
Twitter-inspired cards these talented writers have created. We
hope they'll do more!

Greeting Card Site: http://someecards.com
Twitter Card #1: http://tinyurl.com/6xeec2
Twitter Card #2: http://tinyurl.com/5pfreq
Someecards on Twitter: http://twitter.com/someecards

Follow The "Juno" Screenwriter and PC Guy

If the greeting cards aren't wacky enough for you, try following
Diablo Cody and John Hodgman on Twitter. Cody is the Oscar-winning
screenwriter of "Juno" and Hodgman is the guy who plays "PC" in
those Apple ads on TV. Hodgman is also the Resident Expert on "The
Daily Show with John Stewart" and author of the book, "The Areas
of My Expertise." Be warned--these are a couple of tweaked-out
Twitterers.

Diablo Cody: http://twitter.com/diablocody
John Hodgman: http://twitter.com/hodgman

Welcome John and Steve

We're thrilled to announce two talented new team members. John
Kalucki is an experienced distributed systems architect well
versed in relational messaging as the former co-founder of San
Francisco based SQLstream. Steve Jenson is a familiar face for a
few of us here at Twitter HQ because he's a former Google software
engineer known for his work scaling Blogger and Blogspot--a
service which tens of millions of people use on a regular basis.

John: http://twitter.com/jkalucki
Steve: http://twitter.com/stevej

Reminder: Update Your Account Settings

Twitter is growing fast and there are likely folks joining who
want to find you and follow your updates. So, if you haven't
already, be sure to add your real name, location, and your web
site address to your Twitter Profile.

Account Settings: http://twitter.com/account/settings

Happy Twittering,
-Biz Stone and the Twitter Team
http://twitter.com/biz

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