# Ev Williams

> Ev Williams is the Nebraska farm boy who accidentally invented blogging, co-founded Twitter, built Medium, and is now trying to make social media actually social again with Mozi. A serial founder who has shaped how the world communicates - and who openly regrets some of what that meant - he remains one of tech's most quietly consequential figures, running Obvious Ventures, a B Corp impact fund with $585M in assets, while incubating his next idea from San Francisco.

- **Role:** Co-Founder at Mozi / Chairman at Medium / Partner at Obvious Ventures
- **Organizations:** Mozi (Quantum Hug, Inc.), Medium, Obvious Ventures, Twitter (former), Blogger/Pyra Labs (former), Odeo (former)
- **From:** Clarks, Nebraska, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** No degree (dropout after ~18 months), University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- **Known for:** Co-founded Blogger (1999), one of the first and most influential blogging platforms, Coined and popularized the word 'blogger', Co-founded Twitter (2006), one of the most consequential communication platforms in history

## Career timeline

- **1972** — Born March 31 in Clarks, Nebraska
- **1990** — Enrolled at University of Nebraska-Lincoln; dropped out after ~18 months
- **1993-1996** — Worked in tech and marketing roles in Key West, Dallas, Austin; marketing at O'Reilly Media
- **1999** — Co-founded Pyra Labs with Meg Hourihan; accidentally built Blogger as a side tool
- **1999-08-23** — Blogger launched publicly - one of the first blogging platforms; coined the term 'blogger'
- **2001** — Pyra Labs ran out of money; Williams operated Blogger entirely alone for a period
- **2003-02-17** — Google acquired Pyra Labs; Williams joined Google
- **2003** — Named to MIT Technology Review TR100 - top innovator under 35
- **2004** — PC Magazine Person of the Year (with Meg Hourihan and Paul Bausch); left Google
- **2004** — Co-founded Odeo podcast platform with Noah Glass
- **2005** — Apple announced iTunes podcast support, devastating Odeo's business model; Williams bought out investors
- **2006** — Twitter created from a hackathon at Odeo/Obvious Corporation; formed Obvious Corporation with Biz Stone and Jason Goldman
- **2007** — Odeo sold to Sonic Mountain; Twitter spun out separately
- **2008-10** — Williams became CEO of Twitter, succeeding Jack Dorsey
- **2010-10** — Stepped down as Twitter CEO; Dick Costolo succeeded him; remained on board
- **2012** — Founded Medium as a long-form publishing platform
- **2014** — Co-founded Obvious Ventures with James Joaquin and Vishal Vasishth
- **2015** — Medium raised $57M led by Andreessen Horowitz
- **2019-02** — Resigned from Twitter's board of directors entirely
- **2019** — Obvious Ventures portfolio company Beyond Meat went public (major exit)
- **2022** — Stepped down as Medium CEO; became Chairman; Tony Stubblebine succeeded him
- **2022** — Benefited from Elon Musk's $44B Twitter acquisition as early shareholder
- **2024-12** — Co-founded Mozi with Molly DeWolf Swenson; raised $6M seed round

## Achievements

- Co-founded Blogger (1999), one of the first and most influential blogging platforms
- Coined and popularized the word 'blogger'
- Co-founded Twitter (2006), one of the most consequential communication platforms in history
- Founded Medium (2012), a major long-form publishing platform with millions of readers
- Built Obvious Ventures to $585M AUM with a certified B Corp structure and 'world positive' investment thesis
- Named to MIT Technology Review TR100 as top innovator under 35 (2003)
- PC Magazine Person of the Year 2004
- Portfolio exits including Beyond Meat IPO, Blue Bottle Coffee (Nestle acquisition), Nest (Google acquisition)
- Raised $6M seed round for Mozi in 2024 to build privacy-first social networking

## Latest updates

- **2024-12** — Launched Mozi, a private social networking app focused on real-world meetups, co-founded with Molly DeWolf Swenson; raised $6M seed round from Obvious Ventures, WndrCo, and BBG Ventures
- **2024-12** — Published 'Making Social Social Again' on Medium explaining the Mozi vision (3,500+ claps)
- **2024** — Continued as Partner at Obvious Ventures, which manages ~$585M across three funds
- **2022-07** — Stepped down as Medium CEO after 10+ years; became Chairman with Tony Stubblebine taking over as CEO
- **2022** — Twitter acquired by Elon Musk for $44B; Williams benefited as early shareholder
- **2019-02** — Resigned from Twitter board of directors

## Links

- Website: https://ev.medium.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evwilliams
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/ev

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ev-williams
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04