Christopher Poole facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christopher Poole
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Poole in 2012
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| Born | 1987/1988 (age 36–37) New York City, United States
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| Other names | moot |
| Education | Virginia Commonwealth University (no degree) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, former Google employee |
| Known for | Founder and former head administrator of 4chan |
Christopher Poole (born in 1987 or 1988) is an American who creates and manages online businesses. He is also known online by his nickname, moot.
When he was a teenager, in October 2003, he started a website called 4chan. It's a place where people can share pictures and talk without using their real names. He was the main boss of 4chan until January 2015. Christopher Poole also created another online community called Canvas Networks, which was active from 2011 to 2014. Later, in 2016, he started working for Google as a product manager. He left Google in 2021.
Contents
About Christopher Poole
His Early Life
Christopher Poole was born in New York City in 1987 or 1988. When he was a teenager, he enjoyed visiting online forums. He was a member of a forum called Something Awful. He also liked anonymous Japanese websites where people shared text and pictures.
He went to Virginia Commonwealth University for a few semesters. However, he decided to leave college to focus on his website, 4chan. He lived with his mother while working to make 4chan successful.
For a long time, Christopher Poole kept his real name a secret. He used the online name "moot." In 2008, his name was shared in a newspaper called The Wall Street Journal. Some journalists even wondered if "Christopher Poole" was a made-up name too.
Christopher Poole believes it's important for people to be able to stay anonymous online. He gave a speech at the TED2010 conference about why this is valuable. He thinks that sometimes, it's good for people to share things online without everyone knowing who they are.
His Work Online
Starting 4chan
Christopher Poole started 4chan on October 1, 2003. He used ideas from Japanese websites to create it. He wanted to mix the anime culture from those sites with the community he found on Something Awful. At that time, he was still in high school and living with his parents in Westchester County, New York.
Being Voted Influential
In April 2009, Time magazine held an online poll to find the most influential person of 2008. Christopher Poole received the most votes, with over 16 million! He even got more votes than famous people like Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey.
It was later found that users of 4chan had influenced the poll's results. They used special tools to vote for him very quickly. They also made sure that the first letter of each person's name in the poll spelled out a secret message.
Helping in a Trial
In April 2010, Christopher Poole gave information in a court case. It was about someone who had hacked into an email account. He helped the court understand some of the special words and terms used on his website, 4chan.
Creating Canvas
In 2010, Christopher Poole raised money to start a new online project called Canvas. This website officially launched in January 2011. On Canvas, users could create and share digitally changed images. Unlike 4chan, people had to use their Facebook Connect accounts to identify themselves.
He also launched a similar app called DrawQuest in February 2013. However, on January 21, 2014, Christopher Poole announced that both Canvas and DrawQuest were closing down.
After 4chan
On January 21, 2015, Christopher Poole decided to step down as the main boss of 4chan. He then started looking for someone new to take over the website. On September 21, 2015, Hiroyuki Nishimura, who founded a similar Japanese website, became the new owner of 4chan.
On March 8, 2016, Christopher Poole announced that he had been hired by Google. He worked in different roles at Google. In June 2016, he joined a special team at Google that helps new startup companies. In 2018, he became a product manager for Google Maps. After working at Google for five years, he left the company on April 13, 2021.
Legal Matters
In November 2012, it was reported that Christopher Poole had sent a letter to a new company called moot.it. He asked them to stop using that name because it was too similar to his online nickname, moot.
See also
In Spanish: Christopher Poole para niños
