Ashton Kutcher wanted to buy Twitter. So did Microsoft head Steve Ballmer. Even P. Diddy made a play for the social network—but he just wanted a small stake.
New York Times writer Nick Bilton's new book, Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal, tells the story of how a status-updating service that began as a podcasting startup's side project became a mainstream media company that's on the verge of being traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Like any good origin story, Twitter's rise from nothing to one of the world's preeminent social networks—an online space where news breaks, revolutions unfold, and people document their private woes and food intake—includes backstabbing friends, financial intrigue, and a healthy dose of booze.
We got our hands on the book, which goes on sale Tuesday, and picked ten of the juiciest tidbits Bilton uncovered:
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