Editing Blake Ross

{{short description|American software developer}}
{{Infobox person
| image       = Blake_Ross.jpg
| caption     = Ross, London, UK, 2005
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1985|06|12}}
| birth_place = [[Miami]], [[Florida]], U.S.
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| education   = [[Stanford University]]
| employer    = Entrepreneur 
| occupation  = Software developer 
| title       =
| known_for   = Creator of [[Firefox]]
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'''Blake Aaron Ross''' (born June 12, 1985) is an American [[software engineer]] who is best known for his work as the co-creator of the [[Mozilla Firefox|Mozilla Firefox web browser]] with [[Dave Hyatt]]. In 2005, he was nominated for ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' magazine's top Rave Award, Renegade of the Year, opposite [[Lawrence E. Page|Larry Page]], [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Jon Stewart]]. He was also a part of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's 2005 hot list.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/foolswisdom/49103131/|title=Chris Messina quoted in "Blake Ross", Rollingstone article|date=3 October 2005}}</ref> From 2007, he worked for [[Facebook]] as Director of Product until resigning in early 2013.<ref name=BTRossQuitFB>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Kevin|title=Facebook's Product Director Is Leaving And He Wrote A Really Funny Goodbye Note|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/blake-ross-leaving-facebook-2013-2|access-date=27 July 2013|newspaper=Business Insider|date=February 22, 2013}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Born on June 12th, 1985 in [[Miami, Florida]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Pawar |first=Harshal |date=2018-06-19 |title=Blake Ross – The Founder of Firefox |url=https://www.yourtechstory.com/2018/06/19/blake-ross-founder-firefox/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Your Tech Story |language=en-US}}</ref>  He has an older brother and sister. Ross created his first website via [[America Online]] at the age of 10.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Lorge | first = Greta | title = Mister Firefox | journal = Stanford Magazine | publisher = [[Stanford University|Stanford Alumni Association]] | issue = May / June 2005 | url = http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/mayjun/dept/bright.html | access-date = 2008-02-25 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080804095559/http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/mayjun/dept/bright.html | archive-date = 2008-08-04 | url-status = dead }}</ref> By middle school, an interest in ''[[SimCity]]'' led him to piece together a couple of rudimentary videogames. He attended high school in Miami at [[Gulliver Preparatory School]], graduating in 2003 while simultaneously working for [[Mozilla]], based in California.<ref name=MiamNewTime>{{cite news|last=Lowell|first=Mike|title=Best Local Boy Made Good 2005 - Blake Ross|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/bestof/2005/award/best-local-boy-made-good-42738/|access-date=27 July 2013|newspaper=Miami New Times|date=April 27, 2005}}</ref> Ross graduated from Stanford University in 2007.<ref name=":0" /> He is of [[Jewish]] descent.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Wealth of Blake Ross |url=https://newsnownigeria.ng/the-wealth-of-blake-ross/ |website=NewsNow Nigeria |access-date=2024-08-18}}</ref>

==Mozilla and Firefox ==
{{more|History of Firefox}}
Ross is most well known for co-founding the Mozilla Firefox project with [[Dave Hyatt]]. Ross discovered [[Netscape]] very soon after it open-sourced and began contributing, his mother's frustrated user experience with [[Internet Explorer]] being the main driver.<ref name=WiredFirefox>{{cite magazine|last=McHugh|first=Josh|title=The Firefox Explosion|url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/firefox.html?pg=3&topic=firefox&topic_set=|access-date=27 July 2013|magazine=WIRED|date=February 2005|volume=13 |issue=2}}</ref> He worked as an [[intern]] at [[Netscape Communications Corporation]] at the age of 16.  In 2003, he enrolled at [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=magazine |first=STANFORD |date=2005-05-01 |title=Mister Firefox |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/mister-firefox |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=stanfordmag.org |language=en}}</ref> While interning at Netscape, Ross became disenchanted with the [[Web browser|browser]] he was working on and the direction given to it by [[America Online]], which had recently purchased Netscape. Ross and Hyatt envisioned a smaller, easy-to-use browser that could have mass appeal, and Firefox was born from that idea.<ref>{{Citation |title=Blake Ross |date=2007 |work=Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days |pages=395–404 |editor-last=Livingston |editor-first=Jessica |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4302-0327-8_29 |access-date=2024-04-25 |place=Berkeley, CA |publisher=Apress |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4302-0327-8_29 |isbn=978-1-4302-0327-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[Open-source software|open source]] project gained momentum and popularity, and in 2003 all of Mozilla's resources were devoted to the Firefox and [[Mozilla Thunderbird|Thunderbird]] projects. Released in November 2004, when Ross was 19, Firefox quickly grabbed market share (primarily from [[Microsoft]]'s [[Internet Explorer]]){{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}, with 100 million downloads in less than a year{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}.

Ross is the author of ''Firefox For Dummies'' ({{ISBN|0-471-74899-4}}; published January 11, 2006).

==Career==
Ross founded a new startup with another ex-Netscape employee, [[Joe Hewitt (programmer)|Joe Hewitt]] (the creator of Firebug who was also largely responsible for Firefox's interface and code). Ross and Hewitt worked on creating [[Parakey]], a new user interface designed to bridge the gap between the desktop and the web. Ross revealed several technical details about the program and his new company when featured on the cover of ''[[IEEE Spectrum]]'' in November 2006.

On July 20, 2007, the [[BBC]] reported that [[Facebook]] had purchased Parakey.<ref name=Bbc20070720 >{{cite news
| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6907895.stm
| title=Social site Facebook buys Parakey
| publisher=[[BBC]]
| date= July 20, 2007
| access-date=2007-07-20
}}</ref>

In early 2013, Ross left Facebook to pursue other interests.<ref name=idk>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Facebook-s-Product-Director-Is-Leaving-And-He-4301249.php
| title=Facebook's Product Director Is Leaving And He Wrote A Really Funny Goodbye Note
| publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle|SFGate]]
| date= 22 February 2013
}}</ref>

In 2015, Ross wrote a spec screenplay for HBO's Silicon Valley.<ref name=SVScreenplay/> 

Ross took a job with Uber in August 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Balakrishnan |first=Anita |date=2017-08-31 |title=Uber snags Firefox founder and former Facebook executive Blake Ross |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/31/uber-hires-blake-ross-firefox-founder-and-former-facebook-executive.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Ross has [[aphantasia]], a rare condition preventing him from visualizing things in his mind. In a blog post, Ross wrote:<blockquote>I have never visualized anything in my entire life. I can’t "see" my father's face or a bouncing blue ball, my childhood bedroom or the run I went on ten minutes ago. I thought "counting sheep" was a [[metaphor]]. I’m 30 years old and I never knew a human could do any of this.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/blake-ross/aphantasia-how-it-feels-to-be-blind-in-your-mind/10156834777480504/|title=Aphantasia: How It Feels To Be Blind In Your Mind|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=2016-04-26}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2015, he wrote a [[fan fiction]] original [[screenplay]] for the [[HBO]] television comedy series ''[[Silicon Valley (TV series)|Silicon Valley]]'', which gained attention.<ref name=SVScreenplay>{{cite news|last=Matney|first=Lucas|title=The Founder Of Firefox Wrote His Own Screenplay For HBO's Silicon Valley And It's Hilarious|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/04/the-founder-of-firefox-wrote-his-own-screenplay-for-hbos-silicon-valley-and-its-hilarious|access-date=10 September 2015|newspaper=TechCrunch|date=September 4, 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Wikiquote-inline|Blake Ross}}
* {{Facebook|blake|Blake Ross}}
* {{Twitter}}

===Profiles===
* ''[https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/firefox.html The Firefox Explosion]'' — Wired magazine article by Josh McHugh on Firefox development history (published February 2005)

===Interviews===
* ''[https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-11-09-firefox-cover_x.htm Firefox ignites demand for alternative browser]'' — interview with Byron Acohido for USA Today (published November 9, 2004)
* ''[http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=3993 Interview with Firefox developer Blake Ross]'' — interview with Michael Flaminio for Insanely Great Mac (published November 9, 2004)
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060301045649/http://www.stanforddaily.com/tempo?page=content&id=15322&repository=0001_article Full speed ahead: Mozilla Firefox browser blazes through globe]'' — interview with Michelle Keller for Stanford Daily Article (published November 16, 2004)
* ''[http://www.betanews.com/article/Firefox_Architect_Talks_IE_Future_Plans/1101740041 Firefox Architect Talks IE, Future Plans]'' — interview with Nate Mook for BetaNews (published November 29, 2004)
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20050205184935/http://redmondmag.com/reports/article.asp?EditorialsID=116 The Young Turk of Firefox]'' — interview with Keith Ward for Redmond Magazine (published December 2004)
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060222111433/http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fc0501%2F63c01web%2F63c01web.asp&guid=2EE255BCAA5947678A535FBFE9238537 Q&A With Blake Ross]'' — interview with Computer Power User magazine (published January 2005)
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20051031091814/http://non-tech-city.com/2005/05/27/interview-blake-ross/ Interview — Blake Ross]'' — interview with Non-Tech City (published May 27, 2005)
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060227120214/http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=272989&no=241554&rel_no=1 Firefox Will Be Free Forever]'' — interview with Xu Zhiqiang for OhmyNews (published August 7, 2005)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061130041006/http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/nov06/4696 ''The Firefox Kid''] — David Kushner's article on Ross and Parakey in IEEE Spectrum (published November 2, 2006)
* Livingston, Jessica, [https://books.google.com/books?id=oFTYD9IHX5YC Founders at work: stories of startups' early days], 2007. Cf. Chapter 29, Blake Ross and Firefox.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Blake}}
[[Category:1985 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American bloggers]]
[[Category:Web developers]]
[[Category:American computer programmers]]
[[Category:Facebook employees]]
[[Category:Mozilla developers]]
[[Category:Free software programmers]]
[[Category:Open source people]]
[[Category:Writers from Miami]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:Gulliver Preparatory School alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]