The founder and former administrator of 4chan is now a Googler. Chris Poole, more famously known as “moot,” has announced today he is joining the Mountain View company.
Poole was 15 years old when he started 4chan. The site was originally intended to discuss Japanese comics and anime, but quickly grew to a vast collection of message boards and has a very active community to this day. Many memes have originated from 4chan, but it also has garnered some controversy due to users abusing its low barrier to anonymity. Poole resigned from 4chan in early 2015 and sold it later that year to a Japanese company.
In a blog post, Poole cited that the “intelligence, passion, and enthusiasm” of Googlers as one of the reasons he joined. It is unknown what he’ll be working on at Google, but does make reference to his “dozen years of building online communities.” As spotted by Business Insider, an anonymous Googler on 4chan claims Poole is now a product manager on Google Photos. But as is the case with 4chan in general, there’s no real reason to believe that this is true despite the fact that it was posted before Poole’s announcement.
Working on images would line up with one of Poole’s other online ventures, Canvas. Founded in 2010, the social site was focused on image sharing and attracted many investors before shutting down in 2014. Coincidentally, the news of Poole’s hire was tweeted by Bradley Horowitz, VP of of streams, photos, and sharing.
You may have seen the news (https://t.co/jwjOBocqJk) from @moot. Thrilled he's joining the team! Welcome Chris!
— Bradley Horowitz (@elatable) March 7, 2016
Poole’s full statement is below:
Today I’m excited to announce that I’ve joined Google.
When meeting with current and former Googlers, I continually find myself drawn to their intelligence, passion, and enthusiasm — as well as a universal desire to share it with others. I’m also impressed by Google’s commitment to enabling these same talented people to tackle some of the world’s most interesting and important problems.
I can’t wait to contribute my own experience from a dozen years of building online communities, and to begin the next chapter of my career at such an incredible company.
Image via Time
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments