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From Dino to Bird: Moving from Raptr to Twitter

Update: Contrary to reporting, I’m not “overseeing Twitter’s products”. I’ll be a product manager. One of many people contributing to Twitter’s future.

A couple of weeks ago, I announced that I had left Raptr to explore other options. Raptr was an incredible experience for me and I learned a lot there. I watched and helped the company grow from 8 people to the near 30 it is now. (They’re hiring for more, by the way.)

At Raptr, I took on more roles and responsibilities than I have ever had before in my professional life. The team that I left behind consists of some of the most talented people I know whom I hope to work with again in the future. I have a little bit of insight into what’s coming for Raptr and, believe me, if you play any videogames, the service is going to be even better than it already is.

But for me, it was time to take my newfound skills and apply them to new challenges.

Today, I signed an offer letter from Twitter. I’ll be a product manager there working primarily on the web client. As you might guess from my Twitter username (@k), I’m a pretty big fan of theirs and see a lot of potential for the medium next year—for that’s what it is; a medium, not a service.

I’m looking forward to what’s ahead …
Twitter Offer Cover Page


17 Comments

DAG YO! That is pretty dang exciting!

So, I have a few suggestions for you. When can we meet?

=P

Posted by thomasknoll on 21 December 2009 @ 5pm

Congrats, buddy! Twitter is lucky to have you!

Posted by kc! on 21 December 2009 @ 6pm

Congratulations, Kevin! We are so proud of you. Momz & Dadz

Posted by Momz & Dadz on 21 December 2009 @ 6pm

Congrats Kevin! Another great hire for Twitter. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of interesting and fun product design challenges.

Posted by Tantek Çelik on 21 December 2009 @ 7pm

I wish you the best at Twitter and look forward to seeing what sort of medium twitter turns into under your product management. Twitter did good to pick you.

Posted by Barce on 21 December 2009 @ 8pm

Congrats! I’ll see you around the office from time-to-time :)

Posted by Daniel Brusilovsky on 21 December 2009 @ 8pm

That’s awesome news! Congratulations!

Posted by Jared M. Spool on 21 December 2009 @ 10pm

That’s great! Where do I send gripes? =)

Posted by Michal Migurski on 22 December 2009 @ 2am

@k-ool! I find I use the Web client a lot even though I have an AIR-client installed too. I am your user! :-)

Enjoy the exciting times ahead (and relax from the excitement from the previous weeks).

Posted by Peter Boersma on 22 December 2009 @ 3am

[...] last night tweeted a link to this blog post, in which he shared the cover of the offer letter he just [...]

Posted by Raptr Loses Director Of Product Strategy To Twitter on 22 December 2009 @ 4am

Way to go Kevin! Better get writing before things get too hairy! ;-)

Posted by Lou on 22 December 2009 @ 6am

Wonderful news Kevin! Congratulations on the move to Twitter; looking forward to great new things in 2010.

Posted by Jeff Parks on 22 December 2009 @ 8am

[...] looks like that day has come. Yesterday former Vancouverite and SFU alumni Kevin Cheng announced on his blog that he is joining [...]

Posted by Technology news - Techvibes Blog on 22 December 2009 @ 11am

Kevin – that’s fantastic news and I’m sure you are going to have a fantastic time and make an amazing difference. I don’t know anything about working at Twitter, but I constantly find Twitter to be my go-to business concept for discussions around innovation, users, culture, design, etc. There’s just so much cultural activity going on around the idea of Twitter itself – beloved, rejected, misunderstood; that reveals that there’s something going on that can continue to be tapped into; what a great time to be involved!

Posted by Steve Portigal on 22 December 2009 @ 12pm

Um, looks like I’m late to the party, but congrats! Awesome news.

Posted by Elea on 23 December 2009 @ 5pm

Congrats, @k!

I am even later to the party! I saw the cover letter on your Flickr stream and clicked over.

;o)

Posted by Ms. Jen on 28 December 2009 @ 12pm

Kevin, I’m so thrilled for you (and just a tad jealous). I am sure that the team will greatly benefit from your depth of experience and insight. I hope it’s a wonderful learning experience, stretches you in new ways, and far exceeds your expectations.

All the best, and mazel tov!

Posted by Whitney Hess on 16 January 2010 @ 5pm