Elon Musk now owns 9.2% of twitter...update.. will soon be the sole owner as Board of Directors accepts his purchase offer

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sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,492
3,161
136
Which is worse? Which is more of a threat to democracy?
Donald Trump as president or.... Elon Musk in charge of social media?
And how many more people will fall victim to the nature of "the cult" by believing and hanging onto every word from a guy, a billionaire who has the biggest mouth in town? A mouth capable of swaying, convincing millions? A mouth capable of placing doubt into the minds of millions where doubt should never exist in the first place?
Is this the future of democracy? Elections decided by mob-rule, and free speech dictated by the whims of a single individual?
Is democracy a dead ideology as dead as the VCR, vinyl records, and Beatle wigs?

"Oh... Democracy. I remember THAT. I read about THAT in some book long ago, I can't remember which book, but the idea of democracy was a stupid idea and a bad idea. As I remember, the notion of a democracy didn't work out quite so well. Wasn't democracy something started by that really old guy, that really old president, oh what was his name.... Abe something?"

43f8a88695a31725b9aa408fbd137fbe.jpg
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
48,246
37,666
136
Musk: ‘blue checks for $20 a month!’

everyone else: ‘but these blue checks are essentially worthless’

Musk: ‘ok how about $8’

Bankers have to be ordering Tums by the pallet thinking about the haircuts they're going to be taking soon.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,710
51,001
136
Should probably put a dime on facebook right a out now.
I'm no genius investor but Facebook's core products are losing popularity rapidly and the 'metaverse' seems pretty half-baked. They have all the money in the world so maybe they can turn it around but ugh... I don't know.

Although maybe my view is biased by the fact that Facebook and Instagram are terrible products that make the world a worse place so I would be happy if they went away.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
48,246
37,666
136
I'm no genius investor but Facebook's core products are losing popularity rapidly and the 'metaverse' seems pretty half-baked. They have all the money in the world so maybe they can turn it around but ugh... I don't know.

Although maybe my view is biased by the fact that Facebook and Instagram are terrible products that make the world a worse place so I would be happy if they went away.

Zuck and Musk racing each other on the down slope of a flaming money incinerating volcano is certainly a sight to see.
 

Heartbreaker

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2006
4,340
5,464
136
I'm no genius investor but Facebook's core products are losing popularity rapidly and the 'metaverse' seems pretty half-baked. They have all the money in the world so maybe they can turn it around but ugh... I don't know.

Although maybe my view is biased by the fact that Facebook and Instagram are terrible products that make the world a worse place so I would be happy if they went away.

FWIW, I have no social media accounts, and use a script blocker that has set facebook and it's properties to "untrusted". As much as I'd like the see the social networks burn, everything I read, says Facebook isn't going anywhere. They had a tiny blip in active users, but it's been going continuously up for a decade, hardly losing popularity rapidly.

This is not the graph of losing popularity rapidly:
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,710
51,001
136
$20 per month adds up pretty fast if you think about all the smucks that are probably willing to pay it.
A quick google tells me there are currently ~400k verified Twitter users. If all of them paid $20 a month that would be $96 million in revenue annually. It’s not nothing but it’s also about 1/10th of the revenue Twitter needs just to cover its increased debt burden from acquisition and if we are serious we know only a fraction would pay. This is a dumb idea IMO. If you have to pay to be verified there are surely some corporate accounts that would do this but for the average person it would be a mark of shame - you’re paying to pretend to be important and that comes off as pathetic.

This is the sort of thing I meant when I said he doesn’t understand social problems. If people could pay money to AT to get some sort of status marker would you think ‘oh man that guy is important/cool’? I would think ‘what a loser’.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
13,674
8,579
136
He does seem to be floundering around trying to 'brainstorm' some means of actually making Twitter worth what he paid for it. It's like we're on the "?????" step of the underpants gnomes' business plan.

I'm no business expert, but seems to me it would have been more sensible to come up with a plan _first_ and only _then_ spend $44 billion. But I guess that's just how billionaire geniuses roll?

But at least he's got himself a vanity social network that he can post potentially-libelous nonsense on without fear of being moderated, so there's that.
 
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NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,048
2,654
136
A quick google tells me there are currently ~400k verified Twitter users. If all of them paid $20 a month that would be $96 million in revenue annually. It’s not nothing but it’s also about 1/10th of the revenue Twitter needs just to cover its increased debt burden from acquisition and if we are serious we know only a fraction would pay. This is a dumb idea IMO. If you have to pay to be verified there are surely some corporate accounts that would do this but for the average person it would be a mark of shame - you’re paying to pretend to be important and that comes off as pathetic.

This is the sort of thing I meant when I said he doesn’t understand social problems. If people could pay money to AT to get some sort of status marker would you think ‘oh man that guy is important/cool’? I would think ‘what a loser’.
Today's verified account numbers are not relievent as musk's verification plan offers more than just a status mark. The one that musk is suggesting gives various perks that will attack people. The biggest one is longer video and audio clips. Along with less ads, and no paywalls to sites that are willing to work with them, and I am sure more perks will be added. I suspect just the longer video and audio clips will attract a substantial amount of people. Specially since they will get away with posting disinformation. They have no shame.

It's only been a week, since Musk took over Twitter, and it's already clear Twitter will not be the same platform going forward.




Edit: I was going to correct the above spelling error (autocorrect for the win) where it says attack people, as it was supposed to say attract people..... But attack people may be more accurate, so I am leaving it untouched. We will see.
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,710
51,001
136
Today's verified account numbers are not relievent as musk's verification plan offers more than just a status mark. The one that musk is suggesting gives various perks that will attack people. The biggest one is longer video and audio clips. Along with less ads, and no paywalls to sites that are willing to work with them, and I am sure more perks will be added. I suspect just the longer video and audio clips will attract a substantial amount of people. Specially since they will get away with posting disinformation. They have no shame.

It's only been a week, since Musk took over Twitter, and it's already clear Twitter will not be the same platform going forward.




Edit: I was going to correct the above spelling error (autocorrect for the win) where it says attack people, as it was supposed to say attract people..... But attack people may be more accurate, so I am leaving it untouched. We will see.
Sure, maybe he wants to provide additional functionality for a charge but that’s different than charging for verification, which is essentially a paid service that provides negative value by making the person look like a tool.
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,048
2,654
136
Sure, maybe he wants to provide additional functionality for a charge but that’s different than charging for verification, which is essentially a paid service that provides negative value by making the person look like a tool.
It one of the two levels of the verification system. His reasoning for charging for verification is to "hopefully" weed out the bots.

I am not a fan of musk, I don't like the fact he bought twitter, and I don't agree with his wanting to charge for verification. I was merely saying that doing so will bring in millions, specially the $20 tier. You are looking at it from the perspective of "it's not enough to cover the added debt", which is fine and true, but that doesn't equate to not bringing in a good chunk of change.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,710
51,001
136
It one of the two levels of the verification system. His reasoning for charging for verification is to "hopefully" weed out the bots.

I am not a fan of musk, I don't like the fact he bought twitter, and I don't agree with his wanting to charge for verification. I was merely saying that doing so will bring in millions, specially the $20 tier. You are looking at it from the perspective of "it's not enough to cover the added debt", which is fine and true, but that doesn't equate to not bringing in a good chunk of change.
That’s what I’m saying, I think the verification stuff will bring in almost nothing. Maybe charging for extra features would but simply charging for verification is probably a net revenue loss for the company as you’re going to lose useful users and with it advertisers. Not to mention, if you’re going to start verifying people at sufficient scale that means a lot more employees to do the verifying. (That is unless you think the guy who can’t get car software to work right is going to algorithmically defeat human ingenuity)

I don’t like Musk and I don’t like him owning Twitter so maybe that’s why but this just seems like an exceptionally stupid idea that will lead to mockery and potentially Twitter’s most valuable users either laughing at it or leaving entirely. In addition, it defeats the purpose of verification!

King was right, if anything Twitter should be paying him and other famous people to be on it. I suspect whatever comes out of this will not end up being paid verification or they will quickly walk it back. Oh and finally he’s already cut the price by 60%, doing nothing to solve the problem but losing revenue.
 

NWRMidnight

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,048
2,654
136
That’s what I’m saying, I think the verification stuff will bring in almost nothing. Maybe charging for extra features would but simply charging for verification is probably a net revenue loss for the company as you’re going to lose useful users and with it advertisers. Not to mention, if you’re going to start verifying people at sufficient scale that means a lot more employees to do the verifying. (That is unless you think the guy who can’t get car software to work right is going to algorithmically defeat human ingenuity)

I don’t like Musk and I don’t like him owning Twitter so maybe that’s why but this just seems like an exceptionally stupid idea that will lead to mockery and potentially Twitter’s most valuable users either laughing at it or leaving entirely. In addition, it defeats the purpose of verification!

King was right, if anything Twitter should be paying him and other famous people to be on it. I suspect whatever comes out of this will not end up being paid verification or they will quickly walk it back. Oh and finally he’s already cut the price by 60%, doing nothing to solve the problem but losing revenue.
I think you underestimate the nuts that want to spread disinformation and conspiracy theories. The extra video and audio lengths that come with higher verification tier on a platform as massive as twitter (until Musk destroys it) is their wet dream because Musk won't stop them.
 

Heartbreaker

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2006
4,340
5,464
136
how hard is it to first verify then hand account off to bot lol

From the looks of things, verification is mostly just paying your money. Anyone who wants a checkmark gets one with payment.

I guess this is viewed as an impediment not for an individual bot, but for a bot farm with 100 bots, you are paying $800/month.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,710
51,001
136
From the looks of things, verification is mostly just paying your money. Anyone who wants a checkmark gets one with payment.

I guess this is viewed as an impediment not for an individual bot, but for a bot farm with 100 bots, you are paying $800/month.
So basically Twitter's verification will not be about knowing the person is who they say they are, it will be about knowing who has $8.
 

Heartbreaker

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2006
4,340
5,464
136
So basically Twitter's verification will not be about knowing the person is who they say they are, it will be about knowing who has $8.

Sounds like it. I remember something Musk said about the verification system of being lords and peasants is over. So now it's just are you going to pay $8/month.

There will probably be a filter on verified accounts kind of thing where you only get feeds from verified accounts, etc...

Essentially, you will be invisible if you don't have a paid account. Once he gets the Twitter users used to paying rent, then he just has to increase the rent a little at a time.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
23,156
21,281
136
Sounds like it. I remember something Musk said about the verification system of being lords and peasants is over. So now it's just are you going to pay $8/month.

There will probably be a filter on verified accounts kind of thing where you only get feeds from verified accounts, etc...

Essentially, you will be invisible if you don't have a paid account. Once he gets the Twitter users used to paying rent, then he just has to increase the rent a little at a time.

Funny that you are talking like it's a done deal, no thought of an IF he gets Twitter users to go along with his schemes.