Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ev Williams
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Williams in 2014
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Evan Clark Williams
March 31, 1972 Clarks, Nebraska, U.S.
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| Education | University of Nebraska–Lincoln (dropped out) |
| Occupation | Internet entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1993–present |
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| Spouse(s) | Sara Morishige Williams (divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Evan Clark Williams (born March 31, 1972) is an American Internet entrepreneur. He is famous for helping to create some very popular websites. He co-founded Twitter, a well-known social media platform. He also served as Twitter's CEO from 2008 to 2010. Before Twitter, he started Blogger, one of the first websites where people could share their thoughts online. Later, he created Medium, another platform for writing and reading articles. In 2014, he also helped start a company called Obvious Ventures, which invests in businesses that aim to make a positive difference in the world. As of May 2025, his wealth was estimated to be around US$2 billion.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Evan Williams was born in Clarks, Nebraska. He was the third child of Laurie Howe and Monte Williams. He grew up on a farm in Clarks. During the summers, he helped with watering the crops. He went to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for about a year and a half. While there, he joined a group called FarmHouse fraternity. He then left college to start his career in technology.
Evan Williams' Career Journey
Starting Out in Technology
After leaving college, Williams worked at different technology jobs. He also joined several new companies, called start-ups. These jobs were in places like Key West, Florida, and in Dallas and Austin, Texas. Eventually, he returned to his family farm in Nebraska. In 1996, Williams moved to Sebastopol, California. There, he worked for a technology publishing company called O'Reilly Media. He began in a marketing role. Later, he became an independent contractor, writing computer code. This led to more freelance work with big companies like Intel and Hewlett-Packard. While at O'Reilly, he also started his own website, EvHead.com. This was where he first began to share his thoughts online, which is now known as blogging.
Creating Blogger and Pyra Labs
Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan started a company called Pyra Labs. Their first idea was to create software to help manage projects. From this, a special feature for taking notes grew into Blogger. Blogger became one of the very first websites that allowed people to easily create and manage their own online journals, or weblogs. Evan Williams actually came up with the word "blogger." He also played a big part in making the word "blog" popular. Pyra Labs continued even after some employees, including Meg Hourihan, left. Later, Google bought Pyra Labs on February 13, 2003.
In 2003, the MIT Technology Review named Williams one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. In 2004, PC Magazine recognized him as one of their "People of the Year." This was for his important work on Blogger.
Odeo and Obvious Corporation
Evan Williams officially left Google on October 8, 2004. He then co-founded Odeo, a company focused on podcasts. In late 2006, Williams teamed up with Biz Stone and other former Odeo employees to create Obvious Corporation. This new company took over the projects from Odeo's previous supporters. In April 2007, another company called Sonic Mountain acquired Odeo.
The Rise of Twitter
One of the most successful projects from Obvious Corporation was Twitter. Twitter is a very popular, free social networking service where people can share short messages. In April 2007, Twitter became its own company. Williams was a co-founder, a member of its board, and an investor. In October 2008, Williams became the CEO of Twitter. He took over from Jack Dorsey, who then became the chairman of the board.
By February 2009, Twitter was ranked as the third most-used social network. It had 6 million unique visitors each month. By February 2013, Twitter had 200 million registered users. It gained about 300,000 new users every day. As of August 2015, it was ranked twelfth in the world. Twitter received more than 300 million unique visitors and over five billion visits each month. A large part of its traffic, 75%, came from outside of Twitter.com.
In October 2010, Williams decided to step down as CEO. He explained that he wanted to focus completely on the product's strategy. Dick Costolo was appointed as his replacement.
In 2013, Twitter became a public company through an IPO. At that time, the company was valued at a huge amount, between US$14 billion and US$20 billion.
On April 6, 2017, it was announced that Williams would sell 30 percent of his stock in Twitter. He stated this was for "personal reasons."
In February 2019, Williams also stepped down from his role as a board member of Twitter.
Developing Medium
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On September 25, 2012, Evan Williams created a new writing and publishing platform called Medium. At first, only a few people could use it. But in 2013, it was opened to everyone.
On April 5, 2013, Williams and Biz Stone announced that they would be closing down Obvious Corporation. They wanted to focus on their individual new companies.
On July 12, 2022, it was announced that Williams would step down as Medium's CEO. He became the chairman of the board instead.
Obvious Ventures and Mozi
In 2014, Williams co-founded a venture capital firm called Obvious Ventures. He started it with James Joaquin and Vishal Vasishth. This firm invests in companies that they believe can create positive change in the world. Since it began, the fund has raised about $585 million from investors.
In 2024, Williams announced his newest company, Mozi. This is a private social network that he co-founded with entrepreneur Molly DeWolf Swenson. Mozi has already raised $6 million from investors, including Obvious Ventures.
Personal Life and Views
Evan Williams lives in the San Francisco area with his wife, Sara. They have two children. He is a vegetarian, meaning he does not eat meat. Through his company, Obvious Corporation, he has invested in Beyond Meat. This company makes plant-based meat alternatives.
Williams believes it is important to save time, do fewer things, and avoid distractions.
He spoke at the 2013 XOXO Festival in Portland, Oregon. There, he shared his thoughts on how the Internet works in business. During his talk, Williams compared the Internet to other major technological changes in history, like the start of agriculture. He also said that the Internet is not a perfect place, or a utopia.
After President Donald Trump said that using Twitter helped him win the election, Evan Williams stated that if this was true, he was sorry. He also said that the internet is "obviously broken because it rewards extremes." Williams told the Associated Press that he was wrong to think that an open platform where people could speak freely would make the world a better place. When he thinks about future business goals, he considers how the Internet affects society.
See also
In Spanish: Evan Williams (bloguero) para niños
