Al Gore tried to buy Twitter in 2005 in hopes of tying it with his just-launched Current TV, a new book about the social media’s inception and growth revealed.
“Hatching Twitter,” by Nick Bilton, states that Twitter co-founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone were “regularly turning down overtures to buy the company” in 2009, the former vice president being among the leading solicitors, the Associated Press reported.
Mr. Gore “pitched Williams and Stone one night over copious amounts of wine and Patron tequila at his St. Regis suite in San Francisco,” the book revealed. Joel Hyatt, Mr. Gore’s Current TV partner, confirmed that the bid “was an idea for Current to merge with Twitter,” according to AP.
“Al helped me to pitch the idea to Ev and Biz. I just thought it was a great idea,” Mr. Hyatt said.
The match wouldn’t have been that strange. Both Twitter and Content TV touted founding missions of relying on user-generated content for news and informational feeds.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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