'Friendstalker'?! Here Are All The Rejected Early Names For Twitter

One of the more delightful passages in Nick Bilton's new book about the early days of Twitter is his description of how founder Noah Glass named the company.

He had been discussing a name with co-founder Ev Williams, Bilton writes, when this happened:

Soon, the question of a name came up. Williams jokingly suggested calling the project "Friendstalker," which was ruled out as too creepy. Glass became obsessive, flipping through a physical dictionary, almost word by word, looking for the right name. One late afternoon, alone in his apartment, he reached over to his cellphone and turned it to silent, which caused it to vibrate. He quickly considered the name "Vibrate," which he nixed, but it led him to the word "twitch." He dismissed that too, but he continued through the "Tw" section of the dictionary: twist, twit, twitch, twitcher, twitchy . . . and then, there it was. He read the definition aloud. "The light chirping sound made by certain birds." This is it, he thought. "Agitation or excitement; flutter." Twitter.

So there you have it. Coulda been Friendstalker.

Or Twitcher.