Hatching Twitter

A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal

By: Nick Bilton

Narrated by: Daniel May

Twitter seems like a perfect start-up success story. In barely six years, a small group of young, ambitious programmers in Silicon Valley built an $11.5 billion business out of the ashes of a failed podcasting company.

Today Twitter boasts more than 200 million active users and has affected business, politics, media, and other fields in innumerable ways.

Now Nick Bilton of the New York Times takes readers behind the scenes with a narrative that shows what happened inside Twitter as it grew at exponential speeds. This is a tale of betrayed friendships and high-stakes power struggles as the four founders - Biz Stone, Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, and Noah Glass - went from everyday engineers to wealthy celebrities, featured on magazine covers, Oprah, The Daily Show, and Time's list of the world's most influential people.

Bilton's exclusive access and exhaustive investigative reporting - drawing on hundreds of sources, documents, and internal e-mails - have enabled him to write an intimate portrait of fame, influence, and power. He also captures the zeitgeist and global influence of Twitter, which has been used to help overthrow governments in the Middle East and disrupt the very fabric of the way people communicate.

©2013 Nick Bilton (P)2013 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Fast-paced and perceptive.” (The New York Times Book Review)

"Exhaustively researched...extensively detailed...unexpectedly addictive." (The Wall Street Journal)

"With a cinematic approach befitting its eclectic cast of characters, the perceptive read…is rife with Byzantine-like intrigue, character clashes and broken dreams.” (USA Today)

A look behind the scenes of a tech startup

You really don't want to know how the sausage is made. But Bilton gives an intriguing look behind the curtain at the iconic Twitter's gestation, birth and early years. Egos abound in this well told tale. You won't think of Twitter the same way again.

Great but sad story

I had no idea that the history of the Twitter was so twisted. The story is sad but very interesting.

This should be a movie

Thats it. The book is like a movie. I wish there was an update from 2012 to now. That sounds way more interesting

Great insight on Twitter and Sillicon Valley

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, certainly. If you want to have a scoop on the start up scene in Silicon Valley this book gives you a true insight on how a multi-billion dollar company was created from scratch

What did you like best about this story?

All the personal relationships between the co-founders of twitter. The importance of personal Ego above other rational issues when managing a business.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Frantic.

Great read

my eyes have opened to see that the tech industry isn't all that Easy but it's survivable

A Shakespearean Drama

As a member of Twitter since 2008, I was curious about the real story behind its founding. This is a superb and well-researched account of a drama that sometimes takes on the depths of a Shakespearean tragedy. Finally @Jack is revealed to be a conniving, narcissistic and shallow little man who has spun a web of lies. And while @Noah may be denied the millions due to him, in this story he emerges as a sweet and decent man, sadly wronged by the friends he trusted.
If you are expecting abundant technical details behind the development of Twitter, you won't find them here. Just a great yarn that will have you cheering for the few good guys and mad at the rest.

Most accurate depiction of JV board governance

This book VERY accurately depicts how boards of joint ventures and jointly-owned for-profit businesses operate. We don't hold hands and sing kumbaya by a campfire. It gets ugly sometimes. Always read your operating agreement.

Karma?

Enjoyed every moment of it..

An amazing story and a must read for all the fellow entrepreneurs

Interesting listen for tech enthusiasts

A captivating story and easy to listen to audiobook about the early days of Twitter. A must read / listen for tech enthusiasts or people who own Twitter stock. I do feel like it's a bit hard on Jack's part of the story. I wasn't there but the book sometimes feels like one side of a story. Great nonetheless.

Incredible

This was a truly incredible book about one of the great companies of the 21st century. It was as thrilling as a (good) blockbuster movie.

if you're a user of the platform, or just curious how all of this started, I highly recommend reading/listening to this book.