MIDTOWN EAST — For Twitter, Madison Avenue's where it's @.
The California-based startup, which has revolutionized social media in 140 characters or less, officially opened its new East Coast headquarters steps away from Grand Central Terminal Thursday morning.
“On behalf of all New Yorkers, it’s a pleasure to welcome Twitter to New York City,” said the mayor, who introduced himself by his Twitter handle, @mikebloomberg.
The new headquarters, which informally opened in August, houses 40 full-time staff, including engineers, designers, and marketing staff, and comes as the company is expanding its collaboration with local start-ups creating new applications for the Twitter platform.
Bloomberg said that despite the fact that Twitter has only been around for five years, it is already hard to remember a world in which the technology didn’t exist.
“There are but a few companies that have been able to harness the power of technology and change the world,” he said. “Twitter has helped spark revolutions across the globe, both on the ground and online.”
The Bloomberg administration has also embraced Twitter with open arms, with more than 65 different Twitter accounts that now boast more than 300,000 followers, officials said.
In addition to @nycmayorsoffice, which was used to disseminate information during Hurricane Irene, the mayor also fields questions through the hashtag #askmike.
Twitter Chairman Jack Dorsey complimented the city for its embrace of Twitter, especially during the hurricane, describing it as an example of “innovative civic management.”
“New York has clearly found Twitter useful in finding the latest neighborhood updates,” he said.
The Bloomberg administration been pushing to expand the city’s technology industry, with initiatives including start-up incubators — which provide space for new business and entrepreneurs — and a call to universities to open a new campus in the city.
“Instead of a suburban California garage, we want the next great technology company to be developed right here,” Bloomberg said, in an apparent reference to the late Steve Jobs, who started up Apple in his Bay Area garage.
