Twitter And Apple: A Love Story

Twitter+Apple
Twitter

There's been a lot of twaddle about Twapple lately.

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The news that Apple had considered an investment in Twitter seemed to come out of nowhere. But the notion of an Apple-Twitter mashup goes back years.

In fact, the romance between Twitter and Apple predates Twitter itself.

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Williams was still a PC user. That changed after Google bought Williams's first company, Blogger, and hired a fellow named Eric Case.

Eric Case
Eric Case
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In 2003, Williams, previously an IBM ThinkPad devotee, expressed interest in Macs over lunch one day, Case tells us. Case loaned Williams an iBook.

iBook
Apple

Like other Apple fanboys, Williams found himself deeply concerned with Apple's ups and downs.

Ev's blog about Mac sales
Evhead
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In 2004, Williams left Google to start a podcasting company named Odeo with Noah Glass. (Note the PowerBook in the photo.)

Ev Williams and Noah Glass
New York Times

One small problem: Apple put podcasting features into iTunes and killed the market for third-party tools.

Ev Williams at Odeo
AP/Eric Risberg
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In 2006, a team of Odeo employees started working on Twitter. One of them was Jack Dorsey.

Jack Twttr lesson
Jack Dorsey

Twitter was a haven for Mac users.

Apple for Business
Apple
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Twitter and its third-party developers embraced all kinds of Apple technologies. Here's a Twitter "widget" from 2006 which allowed for fast posting from a Mac desktop—a precursor to today's Twitter for Mac.

Twidget
Frank Manno
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When the iPhone first came out in 2007, Twitter bought one for every employee—all 10 of them.

Twitter gets iPhones
Twitter

Williams had previously used a Palm Treo.

Ev's Treo
Jack Dorsey
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Before Apple opened up the iPhone to third-party apps, Twitter created an iPhone-friendly version of its website.

Twitter blog post about a mobile website
Twitter

Macworld 2008 was a momentous occasion for Twitter. The site, known for its downtime, needed to prove it could stay up during a big news event.

Jack's tweet about Macworld
@jack
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Twitter cofounder Biz Stone tweaked people with a blog post titled "Twitter+Apple." In fact, Apple was considering a purchase of Twitter for around $700 million at this time.

Twitter+Apple
Twitter

In 2008, Ev Williams ousted Jack Dorsey and took over as Twitter's CEO—sending Dorsey into a corporate exile some would compare to Steve Jobs's time away from Apple.

Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams
Scott Beale
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In 2010, Twitter bought Tweetie and renamed it Twitter for iPhone. Brichter joined Twitter and helped develop Twitter's iPad app, too.

tweetie app
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During his Twitter exile, Dorsey became close to an up-and-coming Apple executive Scott Forstall, who oversaw the iPhone's software.

Apple SVP Scott Forstall

In 2010, Twitter hired former Pixar executive Ali Rowghani as its CFO. At Pixar, Rowghani worked for Steve Jobs.

Ali Rowghani, Twitter
Pixar
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In late 2010, Dorsey returned to Twitter as executive chairman and product czar, completing the Jobsian narrative.

Square CEO, Twitter chairman Jack Dorsey
democonference

In 2011, Apple unveiled Twitter integration in iOS 5, the software that runs iPhone and iPads. Behind the scenes, the company discussed an investment by Apple in Twitter. No financial deal came from those talks.

Twitter in iOS5
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Today, Twitter executive Kevin Thau reportedly works full-time on the company's relationship with Apple.

kevin thau

Dorsey's other company, Square, makes a credit-card swiper for iPhones and iPads.

square card reader card case bill
Ellis Hamburger, Business Insider
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Even without an investment, Apple and Twitter seem increasingly joined at the hip. Twitter's mobile advertising revenues now exceed desktop ad revenues.

Twitter on an iPhone
stevegarfield

The latest news: Apple might integrate Twitter closely with iTunes.

twitter for iphone
Steve Kovach, Business Insider
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We'll leave the last word to Williams. Every romance has its rough patches.

Ev's complaint
@ev

There's more to Twitter's history ...

Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square
Owen Thomas, Business Insider

... read all about Jack Dorsey's rise, ouster, and triumphant return to Twitter.

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