This is how it came to be:

Inside the Google Headquarters:

Marketing/Finance Guy: Hey we need "live" search, its hot right now!

Tech Guy: Go buy twitter!

MG: Are you crazy we're in a recession, we don't have the money.

TG: Ok I have this old new-way-of-doing-email sideproject, that was kind of "live".

MG: Great, can you make it even more "live"?

TG: (sarcastic)Well the users could see each other typing.

MG: (exited) Great! Make it so!

TG: (concerned) That would kill our server if we ever released it.

MG: Don't worry we wont release it, just prepare a demo.

TG: And if we eventually release it?

MG: We make it Open Source, so somebody else will run it and their servers will crash.