2 Twitter
For five years of explosive growth that have redefined communication
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Originally created for sending messages via cellphone SMS texts, Twitter grew to encompass web messages, dedicated software, and thousands of spin-Office apps.
User data courtesy of Twitter
TOP PICKS
Zynga
For being the $500 million alpha dog of social gaming
Syncardia
For giving mobility to artificial- heart recipients.
Madécasse
For building a bean-to-bar chocolate company in one of the poorest countries in the world
Groupon
For reinvigorating retail and turning down $6 billion.
Foursquare
For creating a new way to reward consumer loyalty
Top Tens
The innovators in 6 key industries
ADVERTISING
Wieden+Kennedy / Kraft / Ford / Mullen / Vivaki / Google Creative Lab / Horizon Media / Grey NY / 360i / BBDO
BIOTECH
Amyris / Omeros / Synthetic Genomics / Galapagos / Amgen / Fate Therapeutics / NovaBay / Oncogenex / Myelin Repair Foundation / Kane Biotech
DESIGN
stamen design / Local Projects / Hoefler & Frere-Jones / Berg / Fuseproject / ideo / Ammunition / Pentagram / Michael Van ValkenburgH / studio dror
FASHION
Burberry / Opening Ceremony / RentTheRunway / J.Crew / Createthe Group / IMG / 3.1 Phillip Lim / Forever 21 / Monique Péan / QVC
MOBILE
Foursquare / eBay / Voxiva / Skype / Square / Epocrates / Usablenet / JPMorgan Chase / Clearwire / Greystripe
MUSIC
Pandora / Coca-Cola / Big Champagne / Arcade Fire / Terra.com / Hello Music / Converse / Sonos / Songbird / Weezer
From the Editor
I sat down with the head of a major Hollywood studio this week, at a chic and exclusive destination in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, and he plied me with tales of intrigue, drama, sudden collapse, and heartfelt resurgence. No, he wasn't pitching upcoming releases; he was telling me about his studio's business over the past year. It was a compelling saga, full of twists and characters and exotic foreign locales. Perhaps in a subsequent issue of Fast Company, you'll get to read all about it...read more »