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Extremely softcore: the old Twitter was an idealist’s workplace and a naive business

theverge.com · 2,617 words · saved by 1 readers

n In the early ’10s, Twitter was at the height of its power. The company had yet to turn a profit, but it had played a crucial role in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, which was nearly as effective for recruiting. While it would never reach the scale of its competitors, the platform dominated in terms of cultural and political relevance. Twitter was fast, its reach was far, and its influence was shaping the world in ways that seemed progressive. Menotti Minutillo, an engineer from Long Island with dark hair and a warm smile, was working as an analyst at Goldman Sachs when he decided to apply for a job at Twitter. At Goldman, there was no illusion about what employees were there to do. The company’s mission was to make money. Minutillo worked punishing hours with a near-constant fear of losing his job. During the financial crisis, as banks raced to cut costs, employees joked that executives were shrinking the size of the coffee cups to save a few cents on amenities. Minutillo wa

Extremely softcore: the old Twitter was an idealist’s workplace and a naive business Link to The Verge's homepage How much chaos? 1 is minimum, 2 is maximum Open Menu Editors Kevin Nguyen and Sarah Jeong Senior creative director William Joel Art direction and design Studio Elana Schlenker Illustrators James Kerr, Erik Carter, Charles Desmarais, and Rui Pu Engineer Graham MacAree Editorial operations Kara Verlaney Engagement editor Esther Cohen Copy editors Liz Hickson and Adia Watts Sound design Andrew Marino Creative director Kristen Radtke Fact-checker Becca Laurie Editor-in-chief Nilay Pate

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