Twitter engages in the global conversation every day as one of the most prominent and long running social media platforms around. With over 330 million people tweeting each month, a multitude of topics, opinions, memes, and trivia are shared. Twitter's logo, a robin's egg blue bird has remained synonymous with the platform name and recognizable to most anyone whom has ever seen a Tweet. However, many might not be aware that this bird actually has a name, and a story behind the name.
Twitter was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams (not the whiskey guy). Dorsey, Twitter's current CEO, holds the patent for inventing Twitter with Stone. Stone left Twitter to pursue other entrepreneurial ventures, but announced in 2017 he intended to return to Twitter in an unconfirmed role. In 2006, the original slender bird Twitter logo was purchased from a stock image website for only $15. Since then, the logo has seen three more iterations with the most recent facelift debuting in 2012. The 'Larry' name was revealed in Tweets from the platform in the early 2010s, and since then Twitter founders have confirmed the story behind it.
Many media outlets have covered the story behind the name including Today. After rumors and speculation on its own platform, Larry the bird was confirmed to be named after... Larry Bird, the hall of fame NBA forward who played thirteen seasons with the Boston Celtics. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone confirmed the name in August of 2011, when the director of interactive media for the Celtics asked him about it. Stone, a Boston native during Bird's three NBA championships and three MVP titles, grew up hearing the word 'bird' a lot, and likely associates it with greatness. It's no wonder that Larry became the name for Twitter's little blue bird.
What's In A (Twitter) Name?
While the Larry name at Twitter offers a nod to a co-founder's hometown hero, it also could represent the social platform's goal of maintaining a championship pedigree in the tech world each year. Larry Bird was the NBA's rookie of the year in 1980. Twenty-six years later, Twitter jumped from 20,000 Tweets per month in 2006 to over 400,000 Tweets per month in 2007. An impressive showing by a rookie in the new expansion league of social media.
In 1992, Larry Bird won a gold medal with USA's 'dream team' at the summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Just eighteen years later at the Vancouver winter Olympics, Twitter would begin its contributions of offering live updates to all competitions, working with the international Olympic committee (IOC) to set guidelines for athletics fans around the world to interact with one another during the games. Last but not least, Larry Bird ended his playing career in 1992, but came back to coach in the NBA for four years in the late nineties. While Twitter has been a major team player in social media since 2007, it has now grown to such a global level that its platform helps guide and influence a generation. Its employees have recognized this and have tried their best to use the platform for good, to battle hate speech, and to lead by example through remaining transparent, much like a successful coach.
Source: Today