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Elon has decided not to join our board

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Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#441

Post by throwaway4good »

core-utility wrote: post #416
throwaway4good wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Trump stuff is hard to understand; seems like he had such a massive oppurtunity.

He had a market, but simultaneously didn't if that makes any sense. The world didn't need another Twitter clone, it already had Parler and Gettr. Social networks are difficult to get users onto because people want to go where their "friends" are, so you're not just convincing one user individually. Getting wide enough adoption to where users actually use the platform regularly is difficult.

I think it would make very much sense.

However it seems like the problem is scaling / delivering in a technical sense.

I find that incredible given the momentum he had just after election and the fact that the project was valued at 3 b usd via a spac.

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#442

Post by overthemoon »

core-utility wrote: post #416
throwaway4good wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Trump stuff is hard to understand; seems like he had such a massive oppurtunity.

He had a market, but simultaneously didn't if that makes any sense. The world didn't need another Twitter clone, it already had Parler and Gettr. Social networks are difficult to get users onto because people want to go where their "friends" are, so you're not just convincing one user individually. Getting wide enough adoption to where users actually use the platform regularly is difficult.

I think this is right. In addition, IMO ultimately it feels hollow if you can't piss anyone off. Twitter makes it possible to search for the living avatar of whatever you hate the most so you can tweet invective at them until your head explodes. It feels good, even for a moment, to tell your enemies what's what. If you're on a platform with only MAGA people, what's the point? I signed up out of curiosity after it launched and there was so little actual engagement. Maybe that's changed, I dunno, but at any rate, a key component of the MAGA movement was how much certain high profile people obviously hated it and felt threatened by it. (Whether one thinks they should have or not is immaterial to the fact that it thrived on the hate and contempt from mainstream liberal mores havers.) If you can't see them being mad at you for having your own social media network, it loses its charm.

Also, the fact that as far as I know Trump still hasn't posted anything there is a major unforced error. If nothing else it was a way to get a direct line to him post Twitter ban.

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#443

Post by Jgrubb »

RickJWagner wrote: post #439
raspberry1337 wrote: post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And Musk's personal brand is much smaller than Trump' The world is larger than just the USA. Elon has an international following that probably outsizes what's left of Trumps crazy republicans.

Quoted post unavailable.

Is it though? In this media environment there’s not a lot of subtlety and honest conversation between differing viewpoints, and the vast majority of people believe what they’re told so, is it really _our_ fault?

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#444

Post by fredoliveira »

smsm42 wrote: post #288
polski-g wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So he wants to return it to 2014 Twitter? Oh the humanity!

TBH I'd be also fine with returning to 2004 Twitter.

You mean no twitter at all? Because if that's the point, you can always do what I do with most other social networks — I just don't use them.

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#445

Post by rsynnott »

rsynnott wrote: post #397
throwaway4good wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like Elon didn't accept Twitter's conditions for joining the board. For Twitter this is serious; Elon could destroy Twitter. Sell it again, and create (or buy) an alternative. Just like Trump he has a personal brand big enough to jumpstart a social network, and unlike Trump (it seems) he could probably build it.

> Just like Trump he has a personal brand big enough to jumpstart a social network That appears to be an embarrassing failure, tho. And Musk's personal brand is much smaller than Trump's.

Also, thinking about it more, there's more of an obvious _cause_ for Trump enthusiasts to go to another network than Musk enthusiasts. For a start, Trump has actually been _banned_ from Twitter; realistically "Twitter kinda snubbed Musk" just doesn't have the same impact.

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#446

Post by incomingpain »

Elon has an ongoing battle with the SEC in relation to Tesla. He knows he can't join the board of twitter.

One of the things I noticed was that there was no signature on the agreement page. They just text typed it in.

You spend lots of money and can freely vote to make yourself whatever you want or even appoint other directors. Why would Elon just agree to limiting himself for no reason? He's the owner not them. Elliot management owned less and got a better deal than they offered elon.

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#447

Post by rsynnott »

throwaway4good wrote: post #400
rsynnott wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just like Trump he has a personal brand big enough to jumpstart a social network That appears to be an embarrassing failure, tho. And Musk's personal brand is much smaller than Trump's.

The Trump stuff is hard to understand; seems like he had such a massive oppurtunity.

"It has this one guy who got banned off twitter, and no other obvious reason to exist" isn't necessarily a great business model, particularly as Trump-friendly Twitter clones _already existed_.

But, again, this makes a Musk-specific social network look even more dubious; Musk hasn't been banned, just... kinda snubbed, if you squint hard enough, but arguably not even that?, and there isn't really a Musk-focused ideology in the same way as there's a Trump one.

(Also, the timing was arguably particularly unfortunate, in that the Soviets also called their major internal propaganda organ 'Truth', and, well, Russia is on peoples' minds now. Though I'm not sure how obvious this parallel was to Trump enthusiasts; it jumped out at me, but I'm not sure how well-known Pravda is in the US).

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#449

Post by [deleted] »

pas wrote: post #318
paxys wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The explanation is as clear as you'll get. They wanted Elon to act like a board member – be a fiduciary of the company, be trusted with confidential data, consult leadership before making announcements, don't disparage it in public. Elon decided that being able to Tweet about the company on a whim was more important to him.

does the SEC care whether you are on the board or not if you have a very sizable stake anyway?

[deleted]

Re: Elon has decided not to join our board

#450

Post by cad1 »

smt88 wrote: post #352
fastball wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Musk's ideas about free speech extend to allowing unfettered botting.

He said he's a "free speech absolutist," which is an obvious lie. But if we take him at face value, then free speech must include people paid by foreign governments to post pre-written messages. That definition of free speech isn't even alien to the US. Corporations' freedom of speech in this country is protected even when it includes paying other people to speak.

An absolutist wouldn't have an issue with a teenager posting public flight data about his jet. Given his maturity level, it wouldn't surprise me if the entire stock purchase started as an attempt to shut down @elonmuskjet.
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