Elon Musk and Twitter

[Dave Gray]

I think this is a really interesting situation.  I haven't posted on it yet because I'm kind of waiting for the dust to settle and it's strangely political (kinda like everything) when it shouldn't be.

I have used Twitter for a long time, but I'm not a power user.  I'm not on it every day.  I don't really post much at all.  I like to use it during live events -- sometimes during sports, but definitely during political unrest, on election nights, during awards shows, when breaking news is happening, etc.

Musk is a weird dude.  I see people discrediting him as an idiot owner who just bought already successful things.  I don't think that's fair or that it's true.  You still have to guide a company and set a culture.  Sure, he didn't INVENT Tesla, but he's had some level of vision to bring it where it is.  I kinda think of him a little bit like Dana White -- I'm critical of both of these men and think that they are wrong a lot, but they are also doing a lot of things to bring their stuff to the mainstream.

That said, the way he's running Twitter is weird as shit.

I don't particularly have a problem with the "break it so we can fix it" mentality, though that's kinda strange in already functioning technology.  It's how he's shooting from the hip and making erratic decisions.  The blue check mark thing was so obviously a disaster from the start that I can't believe it made it past the idea stage.  So, doing that stuff and having to back-track it immediately is a bad way to do things.  I am all for making changes, but you gotta work that stuff out privately and then launch with the full support of your staff and team.

As for being the platform of free speech, I speak a little bit from experience.  TDMMC is not Twitter, obviously, but the idea of creating a platform where people can exchange ideas and having a terms of service to support that -- it's not all that different in the goal.  I have had very active users on here that bring a lot of loud noise, a lot of traffic, a lot of discussion...but they break the rules.  It's not even a matter of free-speech.  It's that, at some point, completely free speech is stifling to actual constructive conversation.  As much as you want to (and try) to keep these types of people on the site, you just can't.  They tear it down, the argument becomes about them, and the discussion devolves.  Obviously, Twitter doesn't want completely free speech.  That's a lie he's telling himself.  He doesn't want ISIS on Twitter sharing dangerous information, for example.  So, moving the line if he thought it was politically imbalanced, sure -- but misinformation is something he's going to have to deal with.  Burying your head in the sand and letting anyone say anything will eventually destroy you.

I have been on Twitter more lately, because there's a lot of news, and in fact, Twitter is the news.  But it's boring when Twitter is the subject of Twitter and much of the talk is about Elon poking his finger in the eye of Twitter users.  It's like he's harassing his own users into engagement, but that strategy isn't good for the long-term.

I'm rooting for Musk to figure it out and make it a better product, but I don't think he's the right guy for this particular project.  He's too out-front.  I don't think the face of Twitter being all over Twitter is the way to promote it as a legitimate source of information.  For Tesla and SpaceX, his carnival barker ways help bring eyes to his projects.  Twitter is a different animal that can probably benefit from a steadier-hand attitude than he's currently giving it.

[CF DolFan]

Personally I think Musk will figure it out. It's a bit odd on how he is running it but we are only seeing what the news wants us to see. He's more intelligent than most of us so I can't see him coming in and running it into the ground.

My only complaint with Twitter, much like Facebook, is the control of information. You can't allow news about Trump peeing on a prostitute and making corrupt deals with Russia while then silencing news about Hunter Biden's and then his  found PC. Kind of funny how one turned out to be true and the other falsified and they got both wrong.  If you want to report on Matt Gaetz and whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl then you need to be willing to back it up or face litigation. It isn't the job of Twitter or Facebook to decide if it is true or not in my opinion.  In fact, just how many of the charges made by both Democrats or Republicans against each other actually turn out to be true? Well .. provable anyway and that's really all that matters.

[Dave Gray]

Personally I think Musk will figure it out. It's a bit odd on how he is running it but we are only seeing what the news wants us to see. He's more intelligent than most of us so I can't see him coming in and running it into the ground.

I don't know about news reporting.  I saw it with my own eyes because Musk was tweeting about it every day.  He made these erratic changes and then the site got spammed with a bunch of fake accounts doing fake shit.  It was a disaster and was retweeted everywhere.

My only complaint with Twitter, much like Facebook, is the control of information. You can't allow news about Trump peeing on a prostitute and making corrupt deals with Russia while then silencing news about Hunter Biden's and then his  found PC.

Do you use Twitter?  To my understanding, this isn't happening.  They aren't filtering out lies.  People say lies all the time.  They banned accounts of people who break their ToS, just like with any site.  Trump for using the platform to incite the insurrection.  Taylor-Greene for something else.  Those have been reinstated for some reason, but it's not like they're just stopping bullshit.  There's plenty of bullshit.  You can go tweet about Hunter's laptop all you want.

[EDGECRUSHER]

Elon's method of working is to basically go ahead and do something, see what failed and then fix it. He does that with Rockets, with Teslas, it's just how he does things and it works for him. Twitter was no different.

Even if he does nothing else, he removed the child porn and one sided censorship. So, huge success no matter what else happens.

[DenverFinFan]

He ruined one of the most powerful communication tools of the 21st century and that was his intent all along.

What remains will just be a disinformation outlet pushing propaganda for the billionaire class.

Musk isn’t a good businessman, he like all “tech geniuses” just marketed software that was available for free in the commons and then received a ton of government subsidies.

Billionaires are good at conning people into thinking they are actually smart and asipirational products of the free market when in reality they are just opportunistic and privileged dolts who use government protection and plan the economy as inefficient as any Soviet central planner.

Like Trump, Musk is just another grifter.

Twitter is dead and it’s sad, I am cautiously optimistic about what Dorsey will do with Bluesky.

[Dave Gray]

^ Twitter isn't dead.

I think Twitter has some pains right now, but it will work itself out.  ...maybe he will sell, when it doesn't turn into what he wants.  But I do think that the platform is too helpful to just die.

And Musk is good with business.  Plenty of rich people invest in things and lose money.  Musk is leading in two different industries.  That doesn't happen by pure accident.  It doesn't mean that he's right for Twitter, but you must respect what he's already accomplished.

[DenverFinFan]

^ Twitter isn't dead.

I think Twitter has some pains right now, but it will work itself out.  ...maybe he will sell, when it doesn't turn into what he wants.  But I do think that the platform is too helpful to just die.

And Musk is good with business.  Plenty of rich people invest in things and lose money.  Musk is leading in two different industries.  That doesn't happen by pure accident.  It doesn't mean that he's right for Twitter, but you must respect what he's already accomplished.

Again, massive government subsidies. He’s a product of socialism pure and simple.

[CF DolFan]

Do you use Twitter?  To my understanding, this isn't happening.  They aren't filtering out lies.  People say lies all the time.  They banned accounts of people who break their ToS, just like with any site.  Trump for using the platform to incite the insurrection.  Taylor-Greene for something else.  Those have been reinstated for some reason, but it's not like they're just stopping bullshit.  There's plenty of bullshit.  You can go tweet about Hunter's laptop all you want.

There are numerous other articles about how they were blocking things and shadow banning people but I wanted to use a liberal reference to it so here it is. I know the argument isn't if it is illegal or not but if it was happening and it obviously was.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/15/twitter-acted-lawfully-in-restricting-nypost-hunter-biden-article-fec.html

The Federal Election Commission has ruled Twitter
 did not violate federal elections law when it restricted the distribution of a New York Post article with unverified claims about President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, according to documents made public Wednesday.

It also found Twitter did not violate the law by adding warning labels to former President Donald Trump’s tweets or allegedly “shadow banning” conservative viewpoints.

[CF DolFan]

Even if he does nothing else, he removed the child porn and one sided censorship. So, huge success no matter what else happens.

^^^ This

[Sunstroke]

The day that Musk purchased Twitter was the day I deleted my account. I want nothing to do with it any more...

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Elon Musk didn't buy Twitter to promote free speech.  If he did he wouldn't ban everyone who criticizes him. 

He bought twitter to allow the right wing MAGA conspiracy folks to LIE and then ban anyone who challenges their lies. 

As for the comparison between HUNTER Biden and DONALD Trump.  One was a candidate and then the POTUS, the other is a private citizen. 

The slandering of Hunter Biden is no more appropriate than attacks on Tiffany Trump, Claire McConnell, or Connor McCarthy.  The Senate democrats should announce that if the House Republicans go thru with their house investigation into Hunter Biden than the Senate will hold hearing and an investigation into the activities of Connor and Meghan McCarthy. 

[Fau Teixeira]

i wasn't aware that twitter was awash with child porn until musk bought it .. seems like firing 90% of the staff and doing away with moderation teams really wouldn't have just magically banned "child porn" from twitter.. but i guess since two people are saying it on tdmmc with no substantiation, it must be true

[Spider-Dan]

"Elon Musk got rid of all the child porn on Twitter" is of the same cloth as "Donald Trump is just about to have the FBI arrest all the pedophiles trafficking kids."  It's purely QAnon fantasy.

Like most conservatives, Musk does not really care about "free speech."  (see: Ron DeSantis banning books in Florida and prohibiting teachers from discussing LGBT issues)  When conservatives like Musk talk about "freedom of speech," they mean freedom for THEIR speech to be broadcast.  That's literally it.

Conservatives complained about supposed "shadowbanning" for years, Musk takes over Twitter and immediately institutes a shadowbanning plan.  But now it's OK, because it's fair and balanced shadowbanning.

One more thing:

My only complaint with Twitter, much like Facebook, is the control of information. You can't allow news about Trump peeing on a prostitute and making corrupt deals with Russia while then silencing news about Hunter Biden's and then his  found PC.

The casual reader might take this to mean that users were not allowed to make claims about Hunter Biden's laptop on Twitter or Facebook, which is obviously not true (and never has been).  According to the NY Post, their story was blocked due to a violation of Twitter's terms of service regarding "hacked materials," including the display of addresses and phone numbers (i.e. doxxing).

That all said, this seems like a really strange position to take from a person who says the following one sentence later:

If you want to report on Matt Gaetz and whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl then you need to be willing to back it up or face litigation.

Free speech!
But also, if you say something I don't like, I hope you can afford to pay lawyers to appear in court for as long as I can.  The Trump Doctrine!

Say, CF, what is your opinion on Section 230 of the Communications Act?  You know, the rule that says that companies like Twitter or Facebook won't be held liable if one of their users lies on their platform?
You're in favor of it, right?

[Dave Gray]

This obsession with Hunter Biden's laptop -- Jesus, man.  ...move on.  It's going to hurt conservatives to juggle this narrative that nobody gives a shit about.

He's a private citizen with no political power.  None of this will matter in the end and they're squandering their goodwill on nonsense.  You got the house....propose some meaningful legislation to make things better.

[Spider-Dan]

Dave, the lesson Republicans learned from 2016 is that if they can pretend to care about some meaningless "scandal" for long enough, the media will treat it like its serious, and it might swing an election.  Just keep throwing stuff at the wall until something sticks, so the media ignores reporting on actual GOP policy.  Then, the day after the election, you can go back to ignoring whatever it was you were screaming about.

Did the Republicans ever get to the bottom of BENGHAZI!, or track down when that invading caravan of people from Mexican countries arrived?  Of course not... why would they?