Twit-In-Chief is now in Residence
"Should Mr. Musk choose to remain a participant and provocateur on Twitter, it’s likely the platform is headed deeper into the world of toxicity and partisanship. If that happens, Twitter is doomed, from the perspective of advertising revenue.""There’s little motivation for any advertiser to support a platform or proprietor who is likely to produce more pain than gain. In Mr. Trump’s case, his public statements have cost him business, beyond Truth Social, at his hotels and golf courses, including the indefinite removal of the Turnberry golf resort from the Open Championship schedule in Britain. It’s too early to say if the potential toxification of Twitter might affect Tesla and Mr. Musk’s other business interests, but it is fair to say that few have more to lose than the world’s richest person."Rob Norman, The New York Times
Elon Musk's photo is seen through a Twitter logo in this illustration taken October 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration |
Now
that Elon Musk's $44B Twitter acquisition is reality, history will
record whether the world's wealthiest tycoon with a myriad of
far-reaching business interests that truly can be thought of as
'out-of-this-world', history will also tell whether as an investment Mr.
Musk was bold and wise or over-reached in a sphere he had no
business-related experience with, apart from his dislike of the way the
social media platform operated and his stated penchant for returning
'free speech' to the much-criticized yet popular platform..
Most
experts in the business world are skeptical whether he and his backers
will recoup their faith in their decision to overpay for Twitter. Vanity
project or commitment to the public good in releasing the fetters that
placed limits to 'free speech? Business venture with great potential or a
stumbling effort to prove that whatever this whiz-kid turned his
considerable talents and vision to could not fail to succeed in his
version of a bold new world...?
There
are no end of doubters, from those in the world of finance down to the
ordinary twit who regards Twitter as their home away from home and
virtual social contact of necessity. Including those who vent their
spleen and vomit hate at every opportunity. Will this man make a
corporate decision on his new social media platform to accommodate the
targets of hate by maintaining those efforts to keep racists and
misanthropes and misogynists in check? Would he consider going even
further and disinvite accounts of terrorist entities?
Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
The
chief Twit of Twitter is considering charging a monthly fee for users;
all users or some? Will everyone be glad to pay $8 monthly for the
privilege of maintaining an account where if 'free speech' is unshackled
to the moral public weal they will be subjected to ever more venomous
messages of malice intended to harm? Twitter's current feeble efforts at
removing the vile presence of abusers already has some subscribers in
an uproar.
Will
the platform operate itself, now that the decision has been made to
reduce its workforce by half, dismissing 3,700 employees to start with?
Mr. Musk has declared for the time being he is prepared to remain his
new toy's CEO. The Twitter hierarchy knew full well their time had come
with the completion of the handover, and speedily took to the platform
to bid adieu.
The
appointment of new product leadership in Twitter's operation seems next
on the agenda. The head of engineering, the general manager for
consumer and revenue product are now unemployed. Employees are bemused
and bewildered; who's on the firing list, who isn't -- yet? Managers
have been asked to compile lists of those jobs meant to be cut.
Ostensibly in an operational cost-cutting move.
Mr.
Musk is closing in on charging users for blue verification badges at
$20 monthly, and already celebrities are preparing to refuse and sign
off. Advertisers are wary; they won't want their brand associated with
socially and culturally averse trash littering the Twitter landscape.
They don't view Twitter as one of the world's most influential
platforms, so it will be bye-bye, we're moving on.
The
new owner is also contemplating a greater focus on subscriptions, fewer
content restrictions, the possibility of multiple algorithms for
different timelines. Speculation abounds. Outrage is simmering
preparatory of an explosive denunciation of a well-used platform
springing leaks here, there and everywhere.
An image of Elon Musk is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration |
Labels: Advertising, Apprehension, CEO Musk, Chief Twit, Financial Incompetence, Free Speech, Twitter
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