Despite founding one of the most controversial message boards on the internet, 4chan founder Chris Poole has been headhunted by Google to work under its Google Photos and Streams social media division.
At the age of 15, Chris Poole founded 4chan and ran it for 11 years, during which it became one of the largest message boards on the internet, and with that came a number of controversies, largely relating to racism and horrific online abuse.
However, since leaving 4chan in January 2015, Poole has been writing a blog, among other things, in which he confirmed he’s to move to the giant corporation that is Google.
While he doesn’t state in his blog what post he will take up within Google, the company itself confirmed to Business Insider that he was to be working under Bradley Horowitz, VP of its Google Photos and Streams divisions.
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
Horowitz was the founder of Google’s attempt to create a popular social media site in Google+ but, since then, has seen it continued but split into the two divisions he is VP of today.
“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,” Poole said in his blog. “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.”
Going under the name Moot on 4chan during his running of the site, Poole famously never made any money from the website, despite its popularity and size but says he now “can’t wait to contribute my own experience from a dozen years of building online communities”.
Chris Poole image via Scott Beale/Flickr
