Jack Dorsey: The Man Behind Twitter and Block
Jack Dorsey is one of the most influential internet entrepreneurs and programmers of our time. He is the co-founder of Twitter, the popular social media platform that has over 300 million active users and has shaped the way we communicate, share information and express ourselves online. He is also the CEO of Block (formerly called Square), a payments company that enables millions of small businesses and individuals to accept credit cards and digital currencies.
In this blog post, we will explore the life and achievements of Jack Dorsey, his vision for the future of the internet and his personal habits and hobbies that make him stand out from the crowd.
The Early Years
Jack Dorsey was born on November 19, 1976 in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up in a Catholic family and attended Bishop DuBourg High School. He was fascinated by computers and programming from a young age and taught himself how to code. He also developed an interest in maps and dispatch systems, which led him to create software for taxi companies and emergency services.
Dorsey dropped out of college twice: first from the University of Missouri-Rolla and later from New York University. He moved to Oakland, California in 2000 and started working as a programmer for various companies. He also pursued his passion for massage therapy and fashion design.
The Birth of Twitter
In 2006, Dorsey met Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, who were working on a podcasting platform called Odeo. Dorsey pitched them his idea of a service that would allow people to send short messages (tweets) to their friends and followers. The idea was inspired by his love for maps and dispatch systems, as well as by the SMS technology that was popular at the time.
The four co-founders launched Twitter in March 2006 and Dorsey became the first CEO. The service quickly gained popularity and attracted celebrities, politicians, journalists and activists. Dorsey was responsible for designing the user interface, the logo and the name of the service. He also sent the first tweet ever: "just setting up my twttr".
Dorsey was ousted as CEO in 2008 after disagreements with Williams over the direction of the company. He remained on the board of directors and became the chairman. He also started working on his next venture: Square.
The Rise of Square
Square is a payments company that allows anyone to accept credit cards using a small device that plugs into a smartphone or tablet. Dorsey co-founded Square with Jim McKelvey in 2009 after McKelvey lost a sale because he couldn't accept a credit card from a customer.
Dorsey became the CEO of Square and led the company to become one of the most successful fintech startups in history. Square went public in 2015 and was valued at over $20 billion. Square also expanded its services to include peer-to-peer payments (Cash App), business management tools (Square Dashboard), e-commerce platforms (Square Online) and digital currencies (Square Crypto).
In December 2021, Square changed its name to Block to reflect its broader vision of building an open network for economic empowerment. Dorsey said: "We built the Square brand for sellers. We built Cash App for individuals. And we're building TBD54566975 for decentralized finance using bitcoin. We want to unify these into one cohesive organization focused on building for bitcoin."
The Return to Twitter
In 2015, Dorsey returned to Twitter as CEO after Williams stepped down amid pressure from investors. Dorsey faced many challenges as he tried to revive the growth and profitability of Twitter, which had been lagging behind its rivals like Facebook and Instagram.
Dorsey introduced several changes and innovations to Twitter, such as increasing the character limit from 140 to 280, adding live video streaming (Periscope), launching curated news stories (Moments), enabling longer-form content (Medium), experimenting with disappearing posts (Fleets) and offering paid subscriptions (Twitter Blue).
Dorsey also had to deal with the issues of content moderation, misinformation, harassment and censorship on Twitter, which often put him at odds with users, governments and regulators. He defended Twitter's role as a platform for free speech and expression, but also acknowledged its responsibility to protect its users from harm.
In November 2021, Dorsey announced his decision to step down as CEO of Twitter, saying that he believed the company was ready to move on from its founders. He said he trusted Parag Agrawal, Twitter's chief technology officer, to lead the company as its new CEO. He also said he would remain on Twitter's board until at least next year.
The Personal Life
Jack Dorsey is known for his unconventional lifestyle and habits that reflect his curiosity and creativity. He follows a strict daily routine that includes meditation, fasting, ice baths, walking five miles to work and sleeping on a wooden floor. He also travels frequently around the world and often visits Africa, where he plans to live for some time.
Dorsey is also an avid reader and learner who likes to study topics such as biology, neuroscience, philosophy and history. He has a tattoo of an integral sign on his left arm that represents his love for mathematics. He is also a fan of punk rock music and art.
Dorsey is single and has never been married. He has dated several celebrities, such as actress Lily Cole, model Raven Lyn Corneil and rapper Azealia Banks. He has also been linked to actress Kate Greer and model Elizabeth Jagger.
Dorsey is one of the richest people in the world with a net worth of over $10 billion as of May 2023. He has pledged to donate $1 billion - then 28% of his net worth - to Covid-19 relief and other causes via gifts of his Square stock. He has also given away nearly one third of his Twitter shares to employees.
The Future
Jack Dorsey is not only a visionary entrepreneur but also a leader who inspires millions of people with his passion, innovation and generosity. He has changed the way we communicate, share information and express ourselves online with Twitter. He has also empowered millions of small businesses and individuals with Block.
Dorsey's vision for the future is to create an open network for economic empowerment using bitcoin as the native currency of the internet. He believes that bitcoin can enable more financial inclusion, freedom and innovation around the world.
Dorsey's motto is: "Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect." He strives to make simple yet elegant products that solve real problems for real people. He is always looking for new challenges and opportunities to learn and grow.
Jack Dorsey is one of the most influential internet entrepreneurs and programmers of our time.
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