Last month, Douglas Bowman, the design lead at Google, left to become the creative director at Twitter. Today, a former co-worker joins him. Dustin Diaz, who was an engineer working on Gmail, resigned from Google and announced he was taking a job at Twitter, on Twitter.
“It’s kind of shocking we couldn’t keep him,” another Googler tells us, calling Diaz “one of the best frontend developers around.” But of course, Twitter is the hot new company, just like Facebook was months back when it was stealing employees left and right from larger companies — like Google.
As he famously blogged about, Bowman took exception to some of the mentality surrounding design at Google, and cited it as a reason for leaving. As a frontend engineer, it’s certainly possible Diaz felt similar. He did, after all, author a book called “Pro JavaScript Design Patterns.” Or, as I said, maybe he just wanted to go work for the hot company.
Update: Diaz was nice enough to tweet us a picture to use representing his move.
Classic Dustin. I recall the move you made from Yahoo! to Google. Always with a splash I see.
funny
~ marvin
http://yousuggest.us
That’s the spirit, man! By the way, did Dustin move from Yahoo! to Google? When did this happen?
Expect you to leave Twitter to come work with me again
“Pro JavaScript Design Patters” … uh, perhaps you meant “Patterns?”
I think the word ‘Patters’ has a better ring to ‘Patterns’. Anyway, where will he go once Twitter slows down? He can always join me when I break through ;D.
Twitter is worm riddin and its completely overrated
Do they pay in cash or chickens or just raid a board game?
i heard in twit feces.
i guess they need a guy to stop all those xss attacks this would be the guy.
I think the move was so stupid for him. Isn’t Twitter about to be bought out my Google soon anyway?
Ha, the irony in that statement T.M. Harris. If it’s about to bought, then he timed the move perfectly. I don’t know the details of his financial arrangement, but I assume there’s tremendous upside if Twitter is bought
Well Hello TechCrunch
News travels fast.
And a big yippee to the mute communicators. Do you get foodstamps with that?
Careful Dustin, some of the readers don’t like Twitter as much as some of us do.
Yet the people who bitch about Techcrunch covering Twitter non stop seem to all have Twitter accounts…..hmmm. Like the game in the TNG episode “The Game,” even if you hate it, you can’t stop playing it.
I’m a creative crackpot. How he finances his Charmin at Costco isn’t the issue. Yet I have spent 30 years perfecting bad typing and putz populism and don’t need the no-salt crackers.
Maybe you’ll fix the fool thing of foist it on terrorist cells. It might save us yet ;-p
If I don’t have a sense of humor right now, I’ve been working hard and SMELL FUNNY.
Good luck and don’t leave your towels on the floor.
True. Just like some investors did not buy Merill Lynch when Cramer and his crew on CNN were hyping it to the sky. Fools these investors, I say.
what to be designed for 140 chars?
Designing templates/backgrounds lol…
Most folks I know couldn’t tell you to $@)! off in 140 characters but then they have also left enough room to be soundly rebutted.
This happens all the time.
http://blog.rlo...gue-google.html
I remember when Robert Love left Novell for Google. Lots of people left Microsoft, and novell for Google.
Now everybody is leaving for Twitter chasing the Kool Aid, accepting lower pay and worse benefits to get some equity.
Though Google 2 years ago was far greater than Twitter today. It seems like there is less and less Kool Aid to go around.
Our new company will be the biggest pitcher of kool aid on earth since Google. It’s Koolaid technology at it’s finest. Cherry.
Chris, your technology may be great, but good luck hiring any talent (or raising funding) with your history of anti-social and xenophobic rants around here (and elsewhere on the internets).
Most long time TC readers will know exactly what I mean.
There’s nothing wrong with what Chris said, Markus.
it would be hilarious to learn that there is a cap on twitter employee salary at $140,000
How the hell can twitter afford employees?
It’s this strange thing called Venture Capital funding. Good description of wiki if you don’t know what that is. Like it or loath it Twitter has a fair whack of it, and people keep giving them more, from which they can pay wages.
hahaha that is a cheeky cheeky photo… what a cheeky monkey this dude is.
It’s all about the impending IPO.
I would tend to agree that there will be a dutch auction for twitter soon.
http://www.wire...s/2004/11/65639
There happens to be a US patent on online dutch auction methods, which is why there is no pipeline for online dutch auction IPO valuation PPShare setting.
The people who invented this, and I use the word invented loosely, never implemented this. It looks almost like a land mine patent, except nobody stepped on it.
Maybe Twitter is hiring high level Google people to facilitate this type of dutch auction for setting the IPO price.
One thing is certain, I will be buying a WHOLE LOT of Twitter stock on NASDAQ in pretrading. Because it will only go one direction, UP.
Not that I like Twitter, but I do like money and wish I had more of it.
http://www.goog...e+dutch+auction
Here is a good starting point to the multiple patents covering online dutch auctions.
Again, so many patents, so few market implementations. Maybe that should be reformed some day ???
Here is an even better research link for those patents.
http://www.goog...public+offering
They may not have been approved when Google did theirs. What a shame.
He will be sorry
he could drop a million dollar book someday about this
This is great, maybe increasing the template design in twitter. LOL
Good for him! I love both Google and Twitter. Excited to see the impact that he has at Twitter.
Dumbest move ever
If I were him I would do it on my own
“The only blog dedicating to make the best of Twitter”
Wrong, and fail.
not a smart choice at all
What a headline!
No offense, how is this news.
Dustin Diaz should change his BIO on twitter…
Check out http://twitya.com for an awesome Twitter interface – you’ll need a widescreen and Chrome/Safari for best results.
Stop spamming dude. Your site is fugly.
F@@@ you too.
What have you built lately, tosser?
Building a twitter API based app doesn’t exactly make you a rocket surgeon.
And your site is extremely fugly mate.
Instead of insulting a person that took the time to visit your site, you should actually pay attention to what he has to tell you.
The ‘built in Israel’ is gone. Your mind can rest.
Screw all that. I’m REbuilding a 4-track reel to reeel AND two vintage 26″ cruiser bikes.
When you build you own recording area have you perps calls my peeps for props!
Hehe, love the photo.
I think it’s a good decision to join Twitter. Maybe not a wise one, but a good one. After all life would get boring quite fast without taking a leap of faith here and there and go work on a concept you like.
Even if he makes less $$, the almost imminent sale of twitter (expected this year) could yield some promising payouts for those employees with generous options at twitter.
I’m betting they’ll end up with google shares in the end
(google acq. twitter) 
If Google ends up buying twitter = Twiggle!
Or Gitter!
More like BustAgain or Searchdown
Google has approximately 20,000 employees. Some will change jobs. Here is an engineer who is changing jobs for reasons that you don’t know? Bad Boss, New Location, Better Salary, Better Designation, New Experience, Big Company > Small company transition, whatever…
Is this 1 case really important to Blog about on TechCrunch and make it sound like a trend of major exodus from Google to Twitter ? Would even 10 Google employees and their friends joining Twitter be a trend? I am underwhelmed and disappointed at the choice of the subject.
Ok nice move. can I have your old job then?
I can’t fault someone for moving to a different job. In this economy if it brings him more money or personal satisfaction then more power to him. Great site by the way!
I got a twitter a week ago!!!
google just started from a modest beginning and has become a large company there are success story for those that have perseverance a little work on a project every day is better than braking your back.
Shaweet. Twitter rules. As long as he keeps taking those awesome photos for us flickr-ites to crush on!
I would think a creative director would think to offer a pic where you can make out the image on the twitter logo.
Word on the street is that this kid can’t be managed and can’t finish a project. And, the book he claims to have written was 99% written by the other guy.
Ouch Jack….bitter much?
very professional way to exit a company
He’s got a history of burning bridges. He walked out on a big project at Yahoo where he was the lead web developer. Right before the deadline, he cleared out his cube over the weekend and never came back.
Classy….
That’s nothing compared to how he left his wife. He announced in front of everyone AT HER BIRTHDAY PARTY that he was in love with another woman and wanted a divorce, then packed-up and left that night.
puters puting..LOL
In other news, Juan Vargas left his post as a dishwasher at the IHOP on 2362 S. 4th Street in El Centro, California and has joined the staff at the Jack in the Box on 13751 Mono Way in Sonora, California as a cook.
“It’s kind of shocking we couldn’t keep him,” said Ricky Smith, manager of the El Centro IHOP, calling Vargas “one of the best dishwashers in El Centro.”
Now…to be FAIR?
Juan is an epochal, far reaching GODSEND in the culinary supply and santitation industry.
Jack was prepared to give him a cut of the soda fountain but when Mr. Vargas declined and stated he loved Jack In The Box enough that no bonus was NECESSARY…
It was a truly stunning day for the entire company!
I don’t know why someone would leave google to join the spam-ridden twitter networking site. Seems like a bad move to me, I don’t know how popular twitter will remain in the shape it’s in right now.
-Jason
http://www.gadgethour.com
I used to work with Dustin at Yahoo Small Business, and he was kinda of a slacker back then. There are other “rock star” front end web developer I would rather work with. Just sayin’.
When twitter goes public he’ll be worth millions. twitter IS A $10 billion dollar company. recession is over http://iamned.com/blog/ bill nye the science guy
Who wouldn’t want to defect to the Internet’s flavor du jour. May as well be fun while the ride lasts for another year… before we all look back at Twitter like it was CB radio.
This is really not a news I think. Plus this is a kind of dumb move. Google actually makes money. Twitter doesn’t make one and every investor knows that buying Twitter before it makes a profit of at least a cent, it will never be bought. They learned that lesson when looking at Facebook and Youtube.
Twitter is an empty promise until it can bring in a cent to its investors.
I wonder how many people read these comments…anyway, BOO YAH!
At Google he never checked in any production JavaScript code. This is funny given he lists himself as a “Gmail engineer.” If he had wrote the original Gmail front-end or rewrote it, his title of Gmail engineer would be warranted. I feel sorry for Twitter as I think he’s going to have his ass served to him — expect to see more of the fail whale because of this self-aggrandizing fool. I wonder if they checked references?
He has always been about the new and next thing. Good luck to him and let’s hope his new position provides him with an opportunity to prove himself or at least lasts long enough for him to become a successful wedding photographer or a one-trick bokeh pony.
I was surprised that he was ever hired at Google. They must not have checked his references either because I remember when he was still at Yahoo! Small Business all his managers was pretty unhappy with him.
He wasn’t an engineer, he was a web dev.
“one-trick bokeh pony” is pure awesomeness.
hats of to you, sir.