The Founder of 4Chan, a Website Called 'the Wild West Of The Internet,' to Work at Google Chris Poole will be working under Bradley Horowitz, VP of Google Photos and Streams
This story originally appeared on Business Insider
Chris Poole, the founder of the controversial online forum 4chan, is joining Google.
Google confirmed to Business Insider that Poole will be working under Bradley Horowitz, VP of Google Photos and Streams, the two products spawned from the break up of Google+ last year.
4Chan is one of the web's most popular forums for online discussions, but the site has also gained a reputation as a repository of seedy or hateful content, notorious for spawning abuse and high-level pranks.
Poole founded it when he was only 15 and ran the forum for more than 11 years before leaving in January 2015.
He writes that Google's commitment to "some of the world's most interesting and important problems" drew him to the company.
"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 writes on his blog. Continuing: "I can't wait to contribute my own experience from a dozen years of building online communities, and to begin the next chapter of my career at such an incredible company."
Even though 4chan became one of the biggest, most powerful websites in the world, Poole never made any money from it, and had to use money from a second startup, DrawQuest, to pay the bills. DrawQuest shut down in 2014.
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