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Twitter Could Have Been Called 'Friendstalker': NYTimes

NYTimes: Twitter Could Have Been Called 'Friendstalker'
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By 

Deputy Managing Editor Of Impact & Innovation, The Huffington Post

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The logo of social networking website 'Twitter' is displayed on a computer screen in London on September 11, 2013. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

Twitter's catchy name is arguably a big part of what has made it so successful. But according to a Wednesday story in The New York Times detailing Twitter's rise, one of the names co-founder Evan Williams suggested in the early stages of the company was "Friendstalker."

The name is perhaps a bit too honest. We all stalk people on Twitter, but few of us want to admit to it.

Read the whole story at The New York Times.

Noah Glass, another co-founder, considered "Vibrate" for a time, then "Twitch." according to The Times. He then started to look in the dictionary for words that start with "Tw," and happened upon "Twitter." Glass knew immediately that this would be their new company's name, The Times reports.

We're just glad that "Twerk" wasn't a word back then.

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Before You Go

First 9 Twitter Users
Twitter's First Users(01 of10)
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When Twitter first started in 2006, few people could have predicted how popular it would become. The following people clearly had a hunch. There is some debate over the order in which the first 9 Twitter users joined, but these are the first 9 users in order as decided by Twitaholic. (credit:Getty Images)
9. Dom Sagolla(02 of10)
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Dom Sagolla is a Twitter co-founder who wrote the Twitter style guidebook 140 Characters. (credit:Twitter)
8. Tony Stubblebine(03 of10)
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Tony Stubblebine is the CEO of Lift, an app that helps you accomplish goals. (credit:Twitter)
7. Adam Rugel(04 of10)
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Adam Rugel is the founder and CEO of Open Places (formerly Trazzler), an app that helps you find cool places to visit near you. (credit:Twitter)
6. Jeremy LaTrasse(05 of10)
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Jeremy LaTrasse is a co-founder of Twitter and the co-founder and CTO of app company Message Bus. (credit:Twitter)
5. Noah Glass(06 of10)
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Noah Glass has been referred to as the "forgotten" Twitter co-founder. (credit:Twitter)
4. Evan Williams(07 of10)
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Evan Williams is a Twitter co-founder and co-founder of Medium, an online platform for reading and writing. (credit:Twitter)
3. Crystal(08 of10)
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This one's a mystery. It's unclear who this Crystal character is, but she was the third Twitter user. (credit:Twitter)
2. Biz Stone(09 of10)
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Biz Stone is one of the more famous Twitter co-founders. (credit:Twitter)
1. Jack Dorsey(10 of10)
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Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was the site's first user. His first Tweet said "just setting up my twttr." (credit:Twitter)
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