Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Evan Williams
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Williams in 2014
|
|
| Born |
Evan Clark Williams
March 31, 1972 |
| Occupation | Internet entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | Blogger Medium |
| Spouse(s) | Sara Morishige Williams |
| Children | 2 |
Evan Clark "Ev" Williams (born March 31, 1972) is an American technology entrepreneur. He is famous for helping to create some big internet companies. He co-founded Twitter, which is a very popular social media site. He was also its CEO from 2008 to 2010.
Evan Williams also started Blogger, a website where people can write online journals called "blogs." Later, he created Medium, another platform for writing and sharing stories. In 2014, he helped start a company called Obvious Ventures, which invests in new businesses.
Contents
Early Life and School
Evan Williams was born in Clarks, Nebraska. He was the third child of Laurie Howe and Monte Williams. He grew up on a farm and helped with watering crops in the summer.
He went to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for about a year and a half. He was part of the FarmHouse fraternity. Then, he left college to start his career.
Evan Williams' Career Journey
Starting Out in Tech
After leaving college, Evan Williams worked at different technology jobs. He worked for new companies, called "start-ups," in places like Key West, Florida, and Dallas and Austin, Texas. Later, he went back to his family farm in Nebraska.
In 1996, Williams moved to California. He worked for a company called O'Reilly Media that published technology books. He started in marketing. Then, he became a freelance worker, writing computer code for companies like Intel and Hewlett-Packard. During this time, he also started his own website, EvHead.com. This is where he first began sharing his thoughts by blogging.
Creating Blogger
Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan started a company called Pyra Labs. They wanted to make software to help manage projects. One part of this software was for taking notes. This note-taking feature became Blogger. It was one of the first websites that let people easily create and manage their own online journals, or "weblogs."
Williams even came up with the word "blogger." He helped make the word "blog" very popular. Pyra Labs was later bought by Google in 2003.
In 2003, Williams was recognized as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under 35. In 2004, PC Magazine named him one of their "People of the Year" for his work on Blogger.
Odeo and Obvious Corporation
After leaving Google in 2004, Williams helped start Odeo. This company focused on podcasts. In late 2006, Williams, along with Biz Stone and others, started Obvious Corporation. This new company took over the projects from Odeo. In April 2007, Odeo was bought by another company called Sonic Mountain.
Building Twitter
One of the projects from Obvious Corporation was Twitter. Twitter is a very popular free social network where people can share short messages. In April 2007, Twitter became its own company. Williams was a co-founder, a board member, and an investor.
In October 2008, Williams became the CEO of Twitter. He took over from Jack Dorsey. By February 2009, Twitter was one of the most used social networks. By February 2013, Twitter had 200 million registered users. It gained many new users every day.
In October 2010, Williams decided to step down as CEO. He wanted to focus completely on how Twitter's products worked. Dick Costolo became the new CEO.
In 2013, Twitter became a public company, which means its shares could be bought and sold. The company was valued at a huge amount of money. In 2017, Williams announced he would sell some of his Twitter stock for personal reasons. In February 2019, he left his role as a board member of Twitter.
Starting Medium
.jpg)
On September 25, 2012, Evan Williams created a new writing platform called Medium. At first, only a few people could use it. But in 2013, it was opened to everyone.
In 2013, Williams and Biz Stone announced that they would be focusing on their individual new companies. On July 12, 2022, Williams stepped down as Medium's CEO. He became the chairman of the board instead.
Obvious Ventures
In 2014, Williams helped start a company called Obvious Ventures. He started it with James Joaquin and Vishal Vasishth. This company is a venture capital firm. This means it invests money in other new companies. They focus on companies that they believe can make a positive difference in the world.
The firm has raised a lot of money to invest in these companies. In 2024, Williams announced his new company, Mozi. It is a private social network that he co-founded.
Personal Life
Evan Williams lives in the San Francisco area with his wife, Sara. They have two children. He is a vegetarian, which means he does not eat meat. Through his company, Obvious Corporation, he has invested in Beyond Meat. This company makes plant-based foods that are like meat.
Evan Williams' Thoughts and Views
Williams believes it is important to save time and focus on fewer things. He thinks it's good to avoid distractions.
In 2013, Williams spoke at the XOXO Festival. He talked about how the internet works for business. He compared the internet to other big changes in history, like the start of farming. He also said that the internet is not a perfect place.
After President Donald Trump said that Twitter helped him win the election, Evan Williams said he was sorry if that was true. He also said that the internet "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 better. He often thinks about how the internet affects society when he plans new businesses.
Images for kids
