Will This Work Out Well For Twitter? (1 Viewer)

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

Of course not.  And why would he want to retain the people who crafted the policies he's buying Twitter to get rid of?  Just like a presidential administration, there will be some house cleaning after he takes over.  That's to be expected.   Your post suggested he would have trouble attracting or hiring people.  My point is that's not true. 

I'm not an IT guy so I'll defer to you all, but I would think that if you wanted to tweak a social media algorithm it would be helpful to have the people who designed it on hand.

Anyway, the article seems to suggest that it is true, or that it's at least a concern. You don't tell your managers to flag any instances of potential hires refusing to for Musk if it's not a thing that you reasonably expect to happen.

 

[FairWarning]

https://youtu.be/rFNCsSBnYVg

this fits perfectly into the triggered left at Twitter.

 

[John123]

I'm not an IT guy so I'll defer to you all, but I would think that if you wanted to tweak a social media algorithm it would be helpful to have the people who designed it on hand.

Anyway, the article seems to suggest that it is true, or that it's at least a concern. You don't tell your managers to flag any instances of potential hires refusing to for Musk if it's not a thing that you reasonably expect to happen.

1)  As Ivan mentioned, from your own article that I haven't read the stats of how employees at Twitter view Musk doesn't seem to suggest an imminent staffing problem.

2)  The people who make the moderation decisions are almost definitely NOT the IT people who designed the system. 

3)  You can't make the bolded assertion above with any degree of certainty.  Businesses make odd decisions all the time.  If such a directive was given it may have come from a single person who is panicked, or just wants to have a pulse in case that was an issue.  Wanting to be prepared or get ahead of something in the event it happens does not mean that person EXPECTS it to happen. 

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

Lots of interesting talk on Elon Musk buying Twitter.

This feels like a pretty reasonable take on the things he likely wants to change.

That article alone made me lower my estimate. If you asked the average person on the street how they would fix Twitter, they would probably come up with a list like that: basically approaching the problem as a wannabe product manager. Given Musk's track record, I would expect a CEO who has a vision of what the company should achieve. Think revenue models, not edit buttons.

Look, the guy's way smarter than me, so maybe he does have that vision and just hasn't revealed it yet, but based on what I've heard so far it really does sound like ego-driven folly. He's annoyed by the product's current iteration and wants to fix the things that bug him. Seems like a hell of a bet for him to make (the money he's had to put up for this deal is hardly chump change, and in a worst-case scenario for him it could end up destroying both Twitter and Tesla).

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

1)  As Ivan mentioned, from your own article that I haven't read the stats of how employees at Twitter view Musk doesn't seem to suggest an imminent staffing problem.

2)  The people who make the moderation decisions are almost definitely NOT the IT people who designed the system. 

3)  You can't make the bolded assertion above with any degree of certainty.  Businesses make odd decisions all the time.  If such a directive was given it may have come from a single person who is panicked, or just wants to have a pulse in case that was an issue.  Wanting to be prepared or get ahead of something in the event it happens does not mean that person EXPECTS it to happen. 

1. I don't put a lot of faith in random internet surveys I know nothing about, but even if I did I'm not sure having more than a quarter of your employees hate you before you even arrive is normal or healthy for a business.

2. I assume the IT people who designed the system would also be the best at implementing those changes, though. If that's not the case I defer to your expertise.

3. Fair enough, but that was not the only place I read of retention/hiring/morale concerns, in the article or elsewhere. Some of that is normal for a huge change, some is unique to this situation. I wasn't saying it was huge game-changing issue, just noting that it had been flagged in a bunch of other places but had not yet been flagged here.

 

[Toby2ElectricBugaloo]

Here's a second article about the employee response issue, this time in the Post.

 

[Jackstraw]

Is lying free speech?

Is manipulating stock valuations free speech? 

Are online lynch mobs free speech? 

Is sexual harrassment free speech? 

Point is I'm pretty sure we have varying definitions of free speech. Has Elon posted his understadning of free speech? Really don't know. But what his definition is makes a huge difference all of a sudden.    

 

[Dickies]

IK's post basically sums up my thoughts and he articulates it better than I can.

I don't really see anything wrong with Twitter as it currently is, but if there is one change I'd like to see made it would be to require a verified account using your real name to post.  It would probably decimate the user base, but would also eliminate trolls and bots and make people think twice before posting offensive stuff.

 

[Juxtatarot]

I think I’d like to lower my vote. It seems like Musk will go the “free speech” route and allow misinformation (by people, anyway) and hate speech. In time, many high profile people will leave and, frankly, that’s the value of Twitter.

If you are a sports fan, do you think ESPN and professional sports leagues and teams will post on a site that allows hate speech? No way.

It also seems like Twitter is on a collision course with Apple and Google about moderation policies similar to what Parler experienced.

 

[cockroach]

Imagine charging people a fee to post and labeling it "free speech".  

Very 1984.  

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Imagine charging people a fee to post and labeling it "free speech".  

Very 1984.  

Try walking out of your local bookstore with a copy of 1984 in your backpack without paying for it and tell me how that works out for you.

 

[cockroach]

Try walking out of your local bookstore with a copy of 1984 in your backpack without paying for it and tell me how that works out for you.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/1984.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj-ufCQ3bL3AhUND0QIHdGuCg0QFnoECB4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1CGblG2F9BL-DC615YR-MW

 

[IvanKaramazov]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/1984.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj-ufCQ3bL3AhUND0QIHdGuCg0QFnoECB4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1CGblG2F9BL-DC615YR-MW

Cool. But as you know, bookstores routinely charge their customers for this and other titles in the public domain.  It's still free speech.

Sorry, I know this is a low-effort dunk and I probably shouldn't have taken the bait.

 

[Ruffrodys05]

https://youtu.be/rFNCsSBnYVg

this fits perfectly into the triggered left at Twitter.

I see this or similar comments all the time. I'm unsure if it is true at all but it certainly gets repeated ad nauseum. So, I have a question borne out of curiosity:

Is there such a thing as "the triggered right?"

 

[FairWarning]

I see this or similar comments all the time. I'm unsure if it is true at all but it certainly gets repeated ad nauseum. So, I have a question borne out of curiosity:

Is there such a thing as "the triggered right?"

Sure, Donald Trump certainly qualifies.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Is there such a thing as "the triggered right?"

I told my conservative friends in our group text I was thankful taxes had come down over the years for us. Definitely triggered. 

 

[pollardsvision]

I have no idea how it will work out. Don't really care. Twitter is a cesspool and I can't imagine how inviting more crazy will somehow make it better. But what do I know.

The only thing I find interesting about any of this is that it happened on the same day that Ford started delivering an electric version of America's favorite vehicle.

 

[bigbottom]

One thing I'm a big believer in: Recognizing greats.

I never particularly liked Steve Jobs style. And I don't particularly like Musk's style. At least from where I see it a zillion miles removed from reality.

But among business leaders, we're talking about a guy who is GOAT level. 

And he's done it in REALLY hard businesses. He didn't get lucky and be the first to stumble on something.

He dove headfirst into two old school businesses of auto manufacturing and rockets with tons of barriers and complications and CRUSHED both. 

Elon Musk has literally built a career on doing hard things.

I may not like his style. But I can't think of a more capable person in the world. 

I'm fascinated to see what he does with Twitter. 

What about his style don’t you like?  I don’t follow him on social media and most of the stories I’ve seen have been about his accomplishments so I don’t really have a sense for that. I imagine he has a huge ego. And he does seem very quirky. But I like the fact that this is his place in Texas.

That said, I do agree with you 100% on the recognizing greats thing. I imagine he’ll likely be successful doing with Twitter whatever it is that he wants to do with it. His track record certainly warrants optimism. But as I mentioned previously, I hope he gets back to doing stuff that advances science and humankind. But yeah, I guess I get that fixing Twitter could fall into that category too depending on your perspective. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

What about his style don’t you like?  I don’t follow him on social media and most of the stories I’ve seen have been about his accomplishments so I don’t really have a sense for that. I imagine he has a huge ego. And he does seem very quirky. But I like the fact that this is his place in Texas.

I probably shouldn't have said that I really just get glimpses. Just seems like a super ego type. But as I've said, that's well deserved. I meant it more in the bigger picture of I may not agree with him on everything, but his results are GOAT level. And results are what this will be about. 

 

[glvsav37]

I see this going 2 ways: 

1. free and open discussion restored and it becomes a platform where people can share their ideas w/o being mob attacked—Win

2. Everyone leaves and it gets shut down, forever removing the stain on SM that was this cesspool of garbage self gratifying nonsense—Win

 

[Terminalxylem]

Voted 30-39%. Decent chance of success, but more likely to fail.

As someone who left another fantasy football site because of their laissez-faire moderation, I agree with others that unfettered free speech can/will get ugly. The uptick of badness won’t be offset by eliminating bots, if that’s even possible. 

I also think some are overestimating the limits of genius - anyone see his SNL episode? While Musk excels at innovation and marketing, social media seems a bit out of his wheelhouse, and the product is already great for its purpose. So there is a lot more room for it lessen  in quality over time, like most social media imo.

Regardless, will be interesting to follow. 

 

[John123]

What about his style don’t you like?  I don’t follow him on social media and most of the stories I’ve seen have been about his accomplishments so I don’t really have a sense for that. I imagine he has a huge ego. And he does seem very quirky. But I like the fact that this is his place in Texas.

That said, I do agree with you 100% on the recognizing greats thing. I imagine he’ll likely be successful doing with Twitter whatever it is that he wants to do with it. His track record certainly warrants optimism. But as I mentioned previously, I hope he gets back to doing stuff that advances science and humankind. But yeah, I guess I get that fixing Twitter could fall into that category too depending on your perspective. 

I think that will be his focus.  He doesn't want to waste time on the day to day operations of Twitter.  He'll get the right people in positions of authority there and have them do his bidding, checking in as needed.  But I don't think this will take his mind off of Tesla and SpaceX.

 

[Football Jones]

Twitter isn’t going anywhere. It’ll simply evolve. Some people will like it, some people will hate it…just like anything else.

I’m not a big Twitter user, but this takeover is a huge development. The stifling of conservative opinions was grotesque. This couldn’t have come at a better time.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Bloomberg@business
BREAKING: Elon Musk is proposing to buy Twitter for the original offer price of $54.20 a share, according to people familiar with the matter https://trib.al/bzkyQ66

Good of him to "propose" what he's already legally obligated to do.

Guess he doesn't think the court case is going all that well.