A look into how Twitter has changed as an organization since its inception in 2006, concluding with its plans to stay relevant in an ever-changing social environment.

1. TWITTER: PROCESSES OF
ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE
BY JACOB A. MCGINNIS

2. SUMMARY
• For the 10 years it has existed, Twitter has undergone significant
changes, both in its platform and layout, and within the organization
itself, in order to stay relevant in an ever-changing social
environment.
• Twitter’s growth has stalled, leading to the company rehiring one of
its co-founders as permanent CEO in the hopes that he will be able to
revitalize the stagnating company.
• The envisioned future of Twitter includes predicting the outcomes of
current events. A lot of stock has also been placed in Twitter’s new
mobile app, Periscope.

3. ABOUT TWITTER
• Twitter was founded on March 21,
2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass,
Biz Stone, and Evan Williams.
• The first tweet ever sent was by
Dorsey and it read “just setting up
my twttr.”
• Twitter’s bird logo is named after
the famous basketball player Larry
Bird.

4. ABOUT TWITTER
• Twitter is responsible for the video-based
social network, Vine.
• The most followed brand on Twitter is
YouTube, not Twitter.
• As popular as it is, with over 500 million
Tweets sent every day, Twitter still is not a
profitable organization, with nearly $2.1
billion in accumulated revenue losses.

5. ABOUT PROCESSES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE
• There are three stages in the natural life cycle of an organization:
• Startup Phase
• Growth Phase
• Decay Stage
• There are two types of organizational change:
• Planned Change
• Unplanned Change (Crisis)
• Crises evolve in three stages:
• Pre-Crisis
• Crisis
• Post-Crisis

6. ABOUT PROCESSES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE
• Some factors that negatively impact organizational change are:
• Lack of management support
• Top managers forcing change
• Inconsistent actions by key managers
• Unrealistic expectations
• Lack of meaningful participation
• Poor communication
• Unclear purpose of program
• Unclearly identified responsibility for change

7. ABOUT PROCESSES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE
• Some strategies used by managers to communicate about change
are:
• Spray and Pray
• Tell and Sell
• Underscore and Explore
• Identify and Reply
• Withhold and Uphold

8. EVOLUTION OF TWITTER
• The photo on the left is an
early sketch by co-founder
Jack Dorsey of what Twitter
might look like. (2006)
• In 2007, Twitter made itself
known at the South by
Southwest technology
conference, winning the web
award.
• In 2009, the first photo on
the scene of the Hudson River
plane crash was released onto
Twitter before any official
news coverage.

9. EVOLUTION OF TWITTER
• In 2010, Twitter added
“Promoted Tweets” to the
native platform.
• In 2011, Twitter reached a
milestone of 1 Billion Tweets
per week.
• In 2012, Twitter released its
first Transparency Report.
• In 2014, Twitter acquired 5
organizations including Gnip,
Nano Media, Snappy TV, and
TapCommerce.
• In 2015, Twitter partnered
with Google to add related

10. TWITTER AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
• Co-founder and initial CEO Jack Dorsey was fired from Twitter in
2008 for mismanaging the company, focusing too much on his
hobbies, failing to keep the Twitter database safe with backups,
and frequently arguing with co-founder Evan Williams, who
fronted the cost to start Twitter. Williams was given his position
soon after.
• After being fired, Dorsey started rumors about Williams in order
to discredit him and eventually have him removed from his
position as CEO. His campaign was successful.

11. TWITTER AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
• Richard Costolo replaced Williams as CEO, and Dorsey was promoted
from a company nobody to Executive Chairman.
• In 2015, Twitter reappointed Jack Dorsey as CEO. The reason for this
change is the company’s belief that Dorsey would have “the moral
authority as a founder to push teams to make big, bold changes at
Twitter.”- Adam Bain, COO

12. TWITTER AND
ORGANIZATIONA
L CHANGE
• Applying theories of
organization change to
Twitter’s CEO track record,
we can see that Jack Dorsey
failed to communicate
properly about change,
made inconsistent actions,
did not participate enough,
and did not provide
support.
• It is clear that Twitter
believes that rehiring
Dorsey will solve the
company’s growth issues.
However, according to
business metrics, Twitter is
still currently in an
organizational decay stage.

13. TWITTER AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
• To the left is a screenshot
taken of a website for
investors showing the
change in attitude of 42
polled market analysts on
what stockholders should
do with their shares.
• Although the majority of
analysts still suggest a hold
on investments, the number
of analysts predicting
Twitter to underperform has
more than doubled.

14. JACK DORSEY IS TWITTER’S
CURRENT AND
PERMANENT CEO. THIS IS
A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF
PLANNED CHANGE. THE
IDEA FOR THIS CHANGE
CAME FROM THE
COMPANY BEING IN THE
DECAY STAGE OF THE
ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE
CYCLE AND WANTING A
VISIONARY TO LEAD THEM
TOWARDS LONG-LASTING
FUTURE SUCCESS IN AN
EVER-CHANGING
ENVIRONMENT.
TWITTER AND ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE

15. NEXT: THE FUTURE OF TWITTER
• According to a Q & A session with Jack Dorsey by Bloomberg, Twitter will
continue to augment reality, acting as a filter through which current events
are relayed by the masses like a global telephone game.
• Jack Dorsey plans to make Twitter function like a weather forecasting app,
so that users of the platform will be able to get predictions about the future
of current events alongside live feeds.

16. NEXT: THE FUTURE OF TWITTER
• The instant connection to the world, its current events, and trends are what
make Twitter so popular. Jack Dorsey mentions how he uses Twitter daily in
this short interview with CNBC.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bj9Sb8244Q
• There has also been a lot of buzz about Twitter’s new live-stream video
app, Periscope. Although Dorsey believes that text-based social media will
never be replaced by video, he has definitely acted opportunistically in the
visual social media market.

17. PERISCOPE
• According to smallbiz.com “…Periscope enables you to “go live” via your
mobile device anytime and anywhere. The app enables you to become your
own “on the go” broadcasting station, streaming video and audio to any
viewers who join your broadcast.”
• Essentially, Periscope is a video version of Twitter, in which events unfold in
real time, but visually. For example, a Periscope feed of a puddle in England
went viral, with 650,000 viewers present.

18. WRAPPING UP
• Twitter has gone through many growth pains and changes in
management since its inception and release in 2006.
• The company has changed hands many times, with CEOs being fired
and hired in the hopes that someone will be able to ensure Twitter’s
long-term success.
• Jack Dorsey has plans for Twitter’s future that include predicting
future events, as well as investments into the social media network’s
new mobile app, Periscope.

19. WORKS CITED
• Frier, Sarah, Gillette, Felix, Stone, Brad (03/21/2016) retrieved from
http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-jack-dorsey-twitter-interview/
• Mansfield, Matt (08/5/2015) retrieved from
https://smallbiztrends.com/2015/08/what-is-periscope-how-do-i-use-
it.html
• Price, Rob (05/17/2016) retrieved from
http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-changes-too-little-too-late-jack-
dorsey-moral-authority-2016-5?r=UK&IR=T
• MacArthur, Amanda (10/03/2016) retrieved from
https://www.lifewire.com/history-of-twitter-3288854

20. WORKS CITED
• Anon, (n.d.) retrieved from
https://about.twitter.com/company/press/milestones
• Shandra, Kim (03/21/2016) retrieved from
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/272803
• Anon, (11/11/2016) retrieved from
https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/forecasts?s=TWTR:NYQ