Evan Williams on what's behind Twitter's explosive growth

譯者: WEN SHAN LAI 審譯者: An-Chun Cheng

Four years ago, on the TED stage,

四年前，同樣在TED的講台上

I announced a company I was working with at the time

我說我跟人合創了一間公司

called Odeo.

那間公司叫Odeo

And because of that announcement,

那次的演講

we got a big article in The New York Times,

經《紐約時報》大幅報導後

which led to more press, which led to more attention,

又吸引更多媒體，招來更多矚目

and me deciding to become CEO of that company --

然後我決定出任Odeo的執行長

whereas I was just an adviser --

其實我只是顧問

and raising a round of venture capital

然後我開始募集資金

and ramping up hiring.

四處招募人才

One of the guys I hired was an engineer named Jack Dorsey,

工程師傑克．杜西就是那時雇用的員工

and a year later, when we were trying to decide which way to go with Odeo,

一年後，我們開始思考Odeo未來發展

Jack presented an idea he'd been tinkering around with for a number of years

傑克提出他長年一直想實現的構想

that was based around sending simple status updates to friends.

基本上，就是即時更新現況給朋友們看

We were also playing with SMS at the time at Odeo,

當時在Odeo我們也有做SMS簡訊服務

so we kind of put two and two together,

所以我們把兩者稍作整合

and in early 2006 we launched Twitter as a side project at Odeo.

2006年初在Odeo推出推特當副產品

Now, it's hard to justify doing a side project

我們很難說當初的決定是否明智

at a startup, where focus is so critical,

新創公司推出多項產品是有點冒險

but I had actually launched Blogger as a side project

但我也曾推出Blogger軟體當副產品

to my previous company,

在我之前創立的另家公司

thinking it was just a little thing we'd do on the side,

所以我原本把推特當成小型副產品

and it ended up taking over not only the company,

結果，推特不僅成為Odeo的事業重心

but my life for the next five or six years.

也成為我接下來五六年的生活重心

So I learned to follow hunches

我從這當中學會相信直覺

even though you can't necessarily justify them

雖然我們往往無法判定直覺是否正確

or know where they're going to go.

也無法預測將來發展

And that's kind of what's happened with Twitter, time after time.

不過就像推特，時間會解答一切

So, for those of you unfamiliar,

如果你不太清楚推特是什麼

Twitter is based around a very simple, seemingly trivial concept.

推特的概念非常簡單，毫不足奇

You say what you're doing in 140 characters or less,

140個字元內說你想說的話

and people who are interested in you get those updates.

對你有興趣的人就會收到新訊息

If they're really interested,

如果他們非常感興趣

they get the update as a text message on their cell phone.

他們可以在手機上用簡訊接收新訊

So, for instance, I may Twitter right now

比如說，我現在「推」一下

that I'm giving a talk at TED.

說我正在TED演講

And in my case, when I hit send,

當我按下送出

up to 60,000 people will receive that message in a matter of seconds.

幾秒內有近6萬人會收到這則訊息

Now, the fundamental idea is that Twitter

推特的核心概念

lets people share moments of their lives

就是讓大家分享生活點滴

whenever they want,

無論何時（生了！4500克，是男孩）

be they momentous occasions

無論是意義非凡的事

or mundane ones.

還是平凡瑣事（可惡手機掉馬桶裡了）

It is by sharing these moments as they're happening

透過立即分享

that lets people feel more connected and in touch,

讓大家有彼此關連和保持聯繫的感覺

despite distance, and in real time.

這種沒有距離的實況速報

This is the primary use we saw of Twitter from the beginning,

就是我們一開始對推特的設定

and what got us excited.

也讓我們相當興奮

What we didn't anticipate was the many, many other uses

出乎我們意料，這個簡單的系統

that would evolve from this very simple system.

居然發展出這麼多的用途

One of the things we realized

我們領悟的一件事是

was how important Twitter could be during real-time events.

發生緊急事件時，推特非常重要

When the wildfires broke out in San Diego,

2007年10月聖地牙哥大火

in October of 2007,

災情爆發時

people turned to Twitter to report what was happening

民眾湧入推特報導現場災情

and to find information from neighbors

同時探尋鄰居們的狀況

about what was happening around them.

試圖了解自己周遭發生的事

But it wasn't just individuals.

不單只是個人而已

The L.A. Times actually turned to Twitter to dispense information as well,

當時洛杉磯時報也靠推特散佈消息

and put a Twitter feed on the front page,

把推特網址放在首頁（大火波及克利夫蘭國家公園）

and the L.A. Fire Department and Red Cross

洛杉磯消防局和紅十字會

used it to dispense news and updates as well.

也是靠推特散播消息

At this event, dozens of people here are Twittering

這起事件中，許多人在推特發表訊息

and thousands of people around the world are following along

而成千上萬的人跟進報導回應

because they want to know what it feels like to be here

因為他們想知道在現場的人有何感受

and what's happening.

以及了解災情最新狀況

Among the other interesting things that have cropped up

推特也有一些有趣的現象

are many things from businesses,

例如公司行號開始利用推特

from marketing and communications and predictable things,

從行銷到大眾傳播事業等可想見的

to an insanely popular Korean-barbecue taco truck

一家韓式煎餅餐車就靠推特莫名爆紅

that drives around L.A. and Twitters where it stops,

餐車繞經全洛杉磯並在推特上宣傳停靠點

causing a line to form around the block.

購買者大排長龍（我們在明尼蘇達大學主場）

Politicians have recently begun Twittering.

政治人物最近也開始用推特

In fact, there are 47 members of Congress

事實上，已有47名國會議員

who currently have Twitter accounts.

最近有了推特帳號

And they're tweeting, in some cases,

有時候他們在網路上「推」了個訊息

from behind closed-door sessions with the President.

其實人正和歐巴馬總統閉門開會

In this case, this guy's not liking what he's hearing.

通常這時他們對議題不感興趣

The President himself is our most popular Twitter user,

總統自己就是最受歡迎的推特客

although his tweets have dropped off as of late,

雖然他最近推特的次數有點下滑

while Senator McCain's have picked up.

馬侃議員的倒是增加了

As have this guy's.

也包括這個人（TED現任主席）

Twitter was originally designed as a broadcast medium:

原本推特的設定是廣播訊息平台

you send one message and it goes out to everybody,

你上傳一則訊息後大家都會收到

and you receive the messages you're interested in.

你也會收到你感興趣的人寫的

One of the many ways that users shaped the evolution of Twitter

用戶們推動推特演變的其中一種方式

was by inventing a way to reply to a specific person

就是發明出特定方式回覆某個人

or a specific message.

或回應某個訊息

So, this syntax, the "@username" that Shaquille O'Neal's using here

所以像「俠客」．歐尼爾就用「＠帳號」

to reply to one of his fans,

回覆某位球迷

was completely invented by users,

這全是用戶們自己想出來的

and we didn't build it into the system until it already became popular

這個功能本來沒有內建，受到歡迎後

and then we made it easier.

我們才加上並讓它更容易使用

This is one of the many ways that users have shaped the system.

這是客戶引導系統成形的一例

Another is via the API.

還有一例是透過API應用程式介面

We built an application-programming interface,

我們建置了一個API

which basically means that programmers can write software that interacts with Twitter.

讓軟體工程師能寫出推特相容程式

We currently know about over 2,000 pieces of software

目前我們知道超過2千種軟體程式

that can send Twitter updates --

可以傳送推特訊息更新

interfaces for Mac, Windows, your iPhone, your BlackBerry --

像是Mac電腦、Windows、iPone和黑莓機…

as well as things like

也包括了

a device that lets an unborn baby Twitter when it kicks

讓腹中寶寶踢腿時就「推」個訊息

or a plant Twitter when it needs water.

或是植物該澆水時也來推一下

Probably the most important third-party development

最重要的第三方發展成果

came from a little company in Virginia called Summize.

來自維吉尼亞州一間小公司Summize

Summize built a Twitter search engine.

Summize建構一個推特搜尋引擎

And they tapped into the fact

他們善加利用了一項真理

that, if you have millions of people around the world

就是當全世界有數百萬人

talking about what they're doing and what's around them,

談論他們做的事和面臨的事

you have an incredible resource to find out about any topic or event

就大有機會從話題或事件裡

while it's going on.

即時找到想找的東西

This really changed how we perceived Twitter.

這也讓我們重新看待推特

For instance, here's what people are saying about TED.

例如這是推特上大家對TED的討論

This is another way that our mind was shifted,

以上是我們思考模式的一項轉變

and Twitter wasn't what we thought it was.

推特並非僅是當初設定的樣子

We liked this so much we actually bought the company

我們很喜歡那個搜尋引擎乾脆把公司買下來

and are folding it into the main product.

然後把搜尋引擎併到推特裡

This not only lets you view Twitters in different ways,

搜尋引擎讓人對推特有了不同看法

but it introduces new use cases as well.

也衍生許多新的使用方式

One of my favorites is what happened a few months ago

其中一種是在幾個月前發生的，我很欣賞

when there was a gas shortage in Atlanta.

那時亞特蘭大汽油短缺

Some users figured out

一些推特客想出法子

that they would Twitter when they found gas --

一旦他們發現汽油就推一下

where it was, and how much it cost --

告知地點價錢（每公升18元，洛根威爾市）

and then appended the keyword "#atlgas"

然後還貼上「#atlgas」當關鍵字

which let other people search for that and find gas themselves.

這樣其他人搜尋時就可找到訊息

And this trend of people using this communication network

這種利用社交聯絡網路

to help each other out

互助助人的趨勢

goes far beyond the original idea of just keeping up with family and friends.

遠超越原先僅連繫親友的設定

It's happened more and more lately,

最近這種情況愈趨頻繁

whether it's raising money for homeless people

不論是為遊民募款

or to dig wells in Africa

或是為了在非洲鑿井

or for a family in crisis.

或只是某個家庭有困難

People have raised tens of thousands of dollars over Twitter

大家在幾天內就募集數萬資金

in a matter of days on several occasions.

名目各有不同

It seems like when you give people easier ways to share information,

似乎提供輕鬆容易的分享方式

more good things happen.

就能有更多善事

I have no idea what will happen next with Twitter.

我不知道推特接下來會走向何種發展

I've learned to follow the hunch,

但我學會相信直覺

but never assume where it will go.

而且不要預設未來發展的走向

Thanks.

謝謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Chris Anderson: We're not quite done yet.

主持人：還沒結束（訂閱我的推特：請輸入FOLLOW EV）

So, look, if we could have this screen live.

讓我們看看螢幕同步顯示

This is actually the most terrifying thing that any speaker can do

這是所有講者最怕遇到的

after they've been to an event.

演講完還得面對這些

It's totally intimidating.

真的非常可怕

So, this would be the Twitter search screen.

現在這是推特的搜尋頁面

So we're going to just type a couple of random words into Twitter.

我們隨便打幾個字

For example: "Evan Williams."

比如說伊凡．威廉斯

"Evan Williams, give people more good ways to share information and follow your hunch at TED."

「給大家更多資訊並相信你的直覺@ #TED」

"Currently listening to Evan Williams." "Currently listening to Evan Williams." "Evan Williams --"

「…正在聽伊凡．威廉斯演講」

Oh.

噢

"Evan Williams is just dying on stage here at TED.

「伊凡．威廉斯在台上撐不下去了…」

Worst talk ever!" (Laughter)

「史上最爛演講」

Evan Williams: Nice. Thanks.

哈那還真謝了

CA: Just kidding.

開個玩笑別在意

But, literally in the eight minutes he was talking,

就在伊凡演講的八分鐘內

there are about fifty tweets that already came on the talk.

就有大概五十則推特訊息速報

So he'll see every aspect of the reaction:

所以他能看到各方不同迴響

the fact that Barack Obama is the biggest Twitterer,

包括歐巴馬總統是最有名的推特客

the fact that it came out of TED.

以及推特從TED開始發跡…

I don't think there's any other way of getting instant feedback that way.

我想沒有其他方式能這麼快收到回應

You have build something very fascinating,

你做了一件非常了不起的事

and it looks like its best times are still ahead of it.

看來推特未來會更讓人驚艷

So, thank you very much, Evan. EW: Thank you.

非常謝謝你，伊凡

CA: That was very interesting.

真是場有趣的演講