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Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

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Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#61

Post by ethbro »

luckylion wrote: post #56
ethbro wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you take the text at face value, he's making a pretty modest proposal: (1) The current velocity of disinformation is high -> (2) this leads to socially harmful outcomes -> (3) providing P2P encryption in turnkey form via social network apps isn't a good idea. I don't see the suggestions of panopticon you do. I see someone saying 'Most people on social media platforms aren't responsible, thoughtful enough media con…

> I think it's a perspective worth considering. {Low-effort P2P encryption + low-effort forwarding} is a fundamentally different social value proposition than {Medium-effort P2P encryption + medium-effort forwarding}. How can that be achieved short of outlawing all encryption, heavily enforcing it and then allowing encryption "for the good guys"? If you outlaw encryption on FB or WhatsApp, even if you somehow get Tel…

I'd hazard to say most people outside of tech (in free speech countries) don't care about encryption as a key feature.

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#62

Post by cvhashim »

thekyle wrote: post #10

I do expect TikTok to lose users after Microsoft acquires it. But not because of anything Microsoft might do. TikTok just seems like a fad social network that will inevitably lose the cool factor eventually.

Tumblr did just fine for years after the Yahoo acquisition

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#63

Post by axaxs »

bobthepanda wrote: post #40
cheerlessbog wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s an ad when you return to the app. Since you’re expecting a full screen video to auto play, they often aren’t out of place. You can skip them immediately as well. Besides ads, one would think there’s endless ways to monetize a strong fun brand.

> one would think there’s endless ways to monetize a strong fun brand YikYak, Tumblr, and Vine come to mind, and that's just social media space. When you start free, monetizing in a way that doesn't totally destroy goodwill from your existing customers is tough.

I don't really see the comparison to those apps, though. None were nearly as big as musically/tiktok. I think it's unfair to even compare it to Vine, which is featureless in comparison.

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#64

Post by MivLives »

thekyle wrote: post #10

I do expect TikTok to lose users after Microsoft acquires it. But not because of anything Microsoft might do. TikTok just seems like a fad social network that will inevitably lose the cool factor eventually.

Instagram is also in the process of knocking them off. That didn't work out so well for Snap.

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#65

Post by scarface74 »

bobthepanda wrote: post #27
torbital wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the opportunity though, it still seems like a risk well worth it. Businesses rarely (if ever) fail because of an acquisition gone wrong. But a acquisition gone right can have great returns. If Instagram flopped when Facebook bought it, Facebook would still be doing just fine. But since it did go well.. yeah. So I believe that it's still probably in the investor's best interest if MS does the deal even if it's o…

I mean some of the biggest examples have been tech. AOL and Time Warner was a hot mess that destroyed both, for instance.

AOL would have been destroyed anyway. They were a dialup ISP who saw their time coming. They were smart to take their inflated stock price to buy a real asset.

Of course they mismanaged it and it should have been a reverse takeover like Next/Apple.

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#66

Post by scarface74 »

arkitaip wrote: post #6

I totally see Microsoft ruining TikTok simply because of their corporate culture. Microsoft has had an astonishing history of destroying billions of dollars in value simply because they can't manage their products better. Internet Explorer, Bing and their mobile phones represent entire industries where Microsoft has been totally decimated despite enormous advantages in terms of resources and monopolies.

You realize that Microsoft is the third most valuable company in the US? It was the most valuable in 2001.

The browser wars are old. The only thing having dominance in browser market share is good for is advertising.

As far as mobile, it hasn’t been that great for Google either. It came out in the Oracle trial that Android had only made Google $22 Billion in profit from inception through 2016 (https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/21/10810834/android-generate...), much less than it paid Apple during the same time period to be the default search engine for iOS.

There is no reason to believe that the economics are any better now.

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#67

Post by dcow »

xoxoy wrote: post #38
dcow wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Videos of minors dancing is by no means native to tiktok or in any way illegal. If you think those videos are socially problematic (which many do), then you need to attack the incentive structure that breeds that type of content.

agreed the algorithm is especially geared to minors to make mini music videos that are highly sexualized

Yes, but so is Hollywood’s, for example. The algorithm is geared around imitation style creative proliferation. It shows you videos similar to others you've liked. It simply seems like lots of people like to watch other people dance to catchy tunes. And even watch people react to watching other TikTok videos. The top videos on the platform get hundreds of millions of views, far more than what you’d expect if this content was supported by pockets of underground “pedophiles”. On one hand TikTok is an amazing and disruptive tool for creative expression. On the other hand, it simply reiterates our timeless cultural desire for sexualized female-gendered expression. If you find this aspect of human nature problematic we have also developed tools and institutions to combat it: religion. But those seem to have pedophile problems too. Joke aside they have fallen out of popularity of late.

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#68

Post by dcow »

bobbydreamer wrote: post #59
Firebrand wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TikTok has become too top heavy with its current creators. Its most popular stars not only live together but have conglomerated to form their own talent agency as well. You may not see it on your feed, but millions of middle schoolers seem to be highly invested in the drama that goes on between these people. These creators and their followers is what as known as “straight TikTok”. What’s to stop them from demanding t…

Name is Charlie da melio. Thank me later

This is rather common knowledge. I don’t really understand your comment. For what am I supposed to thank you? And why later?

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#69

Post by bobthepanda »

cvhashim wrote: post #62
thekyle wrote: post #10

I do expect TikTok to lose users after Microsoft acquires it. But not because of anything Microsoft might do. TikTok just seems like a fad social network that will inevitably lose the cool factor eventually.

Tumblr did just fine for years after the Yahoo acquisition

Til the part where Yahoo asked Tumblr to clean up its act in a gambit to make it actually profitable with advertising.

Re: Bill Gates calls Microsoft’s TikTok deal a poisoned chalice

#70

Post by bobthepanda »

MivLives wrote: post #64
thekyle wrote: post #10

I do expect TikTok to lose users after Microsoft acquires it. But not because of anything Microsoft might do. TikTok just seems like a fad social network that will inevitably lose the cool factor eventually.

Instagram is also in the process of knocking them off. That didn't work out so well for Snap.

Eh, Snap managed to kneecap themselves with an extremely controversial UX redesign shortly after Instagram stories, and this was an app that had a notoriously bad UX to begin with.

Snap was also not doing well outside the US, but I haven't heard anything like that about TikTok.

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