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Twitter founder credits his Nebraska farm rootsLINCOLN, Apr 11, 2009 (Omaha World-Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Growing up on a Nebraska farm gave Twitter co-founder Evan Williams the foundation to pursue his Internet start-up companies, he told University of Nebraska-Lincoln students during a visit to campus Friday. "I think there's a work ethic that people here have that I admire and I benefited from," Williams said. "I had a certain naivete that was really valuable for me, and has served me after going out to California. It gave me a hallucinogenic optimism." His Nebraska roots gave him a can-do attitude that made him almost unaware that failure was possible, he explained. That gave him an advantage over his rivals. Williams, the 37-year-old chief executive officer and co-founder of the social networking Internet site, spoke to about 90 students at the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science about his business accomplishments. He later spoke with about 150 students from the College of Journalism and Mass Communication. His campus visit rivaled Husker football press conferences with its celebrity aura. TV cameras and photographers lined his path, and 18 journalists turned up for a 15-minute press conference between the two classroom visits. Journalism student Emily Ingram, from Franklin, Neb., said she was impressed that a man who is revolutionizing Internet communications hails from rural Nebraska. "I'm a farm kid myself," she said. "It's interesting to have somebody from a small town who went on to found this huge company." Williams, from Clarks, Neb., attended UNL about 20 years ago. But he left school during his sophomore year, something he somewhat regrets. "In some ways, I wish I would have finished my degree," he said. "I don't know why I was in such a hurry to work." He started what he just called an "Internet company" in Lincoln in the mid-1990s, and later moved to California. After he and some friends created a company called Pyra Labs, they found an Internet hit with one of the first blogging applications, Blogger, in 1999. Google bought Blogger in 2003. Williams then was involved in founding a few more companies that led to Twitter's creation in 2007. In all, he says he has started six Internet companies. On campus, Williams answered questions from students, including what he does at his job, what employers are looking for in potential hires and just exactly what Twitter is. Twitter is a Web site where users can publish and receive updates online or via phone text messages. They are limited to posts of no more than 140 characters. He admitted that it's hard to explain to people who haven't tried it. "Twitter is a service for sharing and finding out what's happening right now," he said. "I keep hoping someone will explain it better than I can, so I can learn how to explain it myself." The events were broadcast live on the Internet, and Williams even answered questions that came in on Twitter. Students asked whether the company is making a profit yet (no), who his favorite celebrity is on Twitter (basketball star Shaquille O'Neal) and what advice he had for students. "If I were talking to myself when I was in school here, I would just say go with your gut," he said. One student asked: "Who is your favorite person to follow on Twitter?" "My wife," Williams replied. "Good answer," quipped the moderator. --Contact the writer: 402-473-9581, [email protected] To see more of the Omaha World-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.omaha.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Omaha World-Herald, Neb. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |