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Jack Dorsey Explains Why Twitter Isn’t ‘Twttr’

When the @Twitter handle asked followers earlier today to explain meaning behind their Twitter handles, it got a slew of responses

Jack Dorsey Explains Why Twitter Isn’t ‘Twttr’
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., speaks during an interview in New York. (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- When the @Twitter handle asked followers earlier today to explain the meaning behind their Twitter handles, it got a slew of responses -- including from its founder, Jack Dorsey.

Later, though, in response to a question from a follower about the word “TWTR” -- the company’s ticker -- Jack delved a little deeper into the thinking behind the name of the now-$22.8 billion-dollar company.

A short code is a five- or six-digit number that acts as a shortcut to let cell-phone users opt in quickly to access added services -- for example, offers or promotions -- instead of using the usual seven digits (plus area code).

Dorsey’s first ever tweet, sent March 21, 2006 said “Just setting up my twttr.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Clementine Fletcher in New York at cfletcher5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah Kopit at skopit@bloomberg.net, Nathan Crooks

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