Musk offers to buy Twitter

[Cmaier]

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1585790845265002500/

So, are we all leaving? And where are we going?

 

[Eric]

So, are we all leaving? And where are we going?

I'm thinking it's time to move on from the whole aspect of social media, TBH I haven't missed it since bailing. It's been going downhill for years anyway and from what I can see it's going down the path of Truth Social and only caters to radicals.

 

[Cmaier]

I'm thinking it's time to move on from the whole aspect of social media, TBH I haven't missed it since bailing. It's been going downhill for years anyway and from what I can see it's going down the path of Truth Social and only caters to radicals.

I mostly follow app developers and friends, so it would be nice to have some way to do that without benefiting Musk.

 

[DT]

I'm thinking it's time to move on from the whole aspect of social media, TBH I haven't missed it since bailing. It's been going downhill for years anyway and from what I can see it's going down the path of Truth Social and only caters to radicals.

Right? It's all a bit of a dumpster fire anyway, either you:

Attempt to curate what you see (which over the last few years hasn't worked that great with Twitter) and stay in your sandbox as much as possible
Lean into the flames and mix it up
Just say fuck it and move on

(I executed the last option with FB about 5 years ago)

 

[Edd]

So, are we all leaving? And where are we going?

I’d be fine with leaving. Seems like an opportunity for someone to make a true Twitter alternative. All the cool kids would go there and Twitter would fail, or live on as a white supremacy zombie version of itself.

How great would it be if Musk buying Twitter ultimately caused its demise?

 

[Cmaier]

I’d be fine with leaving. Seems like an opportunity for someone to make a true Twitter alternative. All the cool kids would go there and Twitter would fail, or live on as a white supremacy zombie version of itself.

How great would it be if Musk buying Twitter ultimately caused its demise?

I think the only viable alternative is mastodon At the moment?

 

[lizkat]

I dunno. I haven't ditched my setup but I've pared the follows down to a few dozen, so my usage of the account now is more or less just like a set of bookmarks. I'll hang out there for awhile and see what happens. Can still click into the timelines of people that follow me, when I get to missing their birdwatching photos or quilting references etc.

Was kinda hoping Musk would just leave it alone for awhile. He seems eager to reassure advertisers and the banks from which he has borrowed that it won't turn into "a hellscape" -- but his idea of whatever that is might not be what either advertisers or current users could even imagine.

 

[Runs For Fun]

I mostly follow app developers and friends, so it would be nice to have some way to do that without benefiting Musk.

Same here. There's a pretty big Apple community on Twitter. I wonder what will happen

 

[Cmaier]

Same here. There's a pretty big Apple community on Twitter. I wonder what will happen

Once he let’s the orange freak back on, we’ll probably see a big reaction.

 

[lizkat]

The Financial Times is reporting that besides firing both the former CFO and CEO of Twitter, Musk has also already fired Vijaya Gadde, who was Twitter’s head of legal, policy and safety, and general counsel Sean Edgett.

And then tweeted that "the bird is freed." Oy.

 

[Eric]

The Financial Times is reporting that besides firing both the former CFO and CEO of Twitter, Musk has also already fired Vijaya Gadde, who was Twitter’s head of legal, policy and safety, and general counsel Sean Edgett.

And then tweeted that "the bird is freed." Oy.

He is just an awful human being in every way.

 

[lizkat]

He is just an awful human being in every way.

It's pretty common to ditch the c-suite personnel when it's a merger, but this was a acquisition and taking private, and in that case it's not so usual to sweep out like that in the early days after deal closing.

However, in this case there were some "disagreeable disagreements" over company data and so forth during the negotiations and pauses on this deal, so.... but to me the dismissal of Vijaya Gadde is not a good sign even if one might have expected it. I might just ditch my account after all, the more I think about it. But not until after the World Series is over!

 

[dada_dave]

Once he let’s the orange freak back on, we’ll probably see a big reaction.

Don't worry he's running it for the good of humanity! /s

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1585634380935929857/

Basically advertisers told him no he can't turn Twitter into his own private cesspool and according to one report specifically mentioned Trump (as in not letting him back on). So given that he probably wishes to avoid losing any more money on the deal, he's got his "savior of humanity" hat back on ... for now ... .

Having said that, several people have noted that, given the amount of debt accrued by the takeover, a financial death spiral may be hard to avoid anyway. Sucks for the employees, not all of the ones who are going to get sacked even before such a spiral are getting stock windfalls or golden parachutes. In fact, my understanding is that most won't.

Still maybe such ex-employees/C-suites can form an alternative that new users can migrate and otherwise flock too. If not, join an existing competitor. We'll have to see how things shake out. Obviously an opportunity.

 

[Herdfan]

It's pretty common to ditch the c-suite personnel when it's a merger, but this was a acquisition and taking private, and in that case it's not so usual to sweep out like that in the early days after deal closing.

The reason I read for their departure was that they weren't honest with him in the pre-merger talks, so he figured he couldn't trust them.

 

[Eric]

The reason I read for their departure was that they weren't honest with him in the pre-merger talks, so he figured he couldn't trust them.

Nice spin, sounds like Fox News has his back.

This whole thing is like the backstory of a comic book villain.

 

[fischersd]

Ok, that's it. "doesn't want it to become a free for all where anything can be said". Umm. Free speech?! Seriously?!

Nuked my Twitter account. A little sad. Had some conversations on there with some friends that had passed, but I won't be supporting this fascist jackass in any way, shape or form.

And, yes, part of that is telling the wife "no, you can't have a Tesla". He's just THAT much of a dick. (and, no, not a band-wagon-jumper...I've been saying his cheese is off his cracker for years).

 

[Edd]

Nice spin, sounds like Fox News has his back.

This whole thing is like the backstory of a comic book villain.

It’s always the same shit. “We want Twitter to be fair”, “We want these elections to be fair”, which boils down to “Fair means we get exactly what we want or it’s unfair”.

 

[Eric]

They are already hemorrhaging users according to Reuters and FB (Meta) losing $700 billion is probably a wakeup call. It will be a haven for rightwing extremists but they've been on the decline for a while with everyone else, we could even see a mass exodus once Musk finalizes it.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

I'm thinking it's time to move on from the whole aspect of social media, TBH I haven't missed it since bailing. It's been going downhill for years anyway and from what I can see it's going down the path of Truth Social and only caters to radicals.

This site is my social media. I haven't felt like I've missed anything in years and am often more informed than people I know who are actively on social media.

 

[Alli]

I really don’t understand why the fuss. It’s not like we the users are paying to use the service. If that happens, I’ll leave. So just by using Twitter, you’re not directly benefiting Musk.

Did you follow Musk before? No? Then don’t start just because he bought it. Will he let TFG back on? Of course. Did you follow TFG before? No? Then don’t start now.

Your timeline will not change (other than all the people complaining about the big changes). You will still follow the same people you like. Your followers will still follow you.

Don’t borrow trouble.