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Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

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Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#751

Post by conradev »

cutenewt wrote: post #289
thinkingemote wrote: post #248

They need to re-free up the API. Early adopters and hackers really did some great work using the API until they walled-gardened it and rate limited it to make it unusable. They need to do this for goodwill at the very least, but I think it will spark the fire to make it popular with techies again. Based on the recently published discovery chats we will probably see: * High def video * Focus on music publication * The…

I think it's going to be more in the other direction. He really hates the bots, so he'll probably close up the API. Until bots gets solved, no developer should expect the API to open up.

I get that bots are a thing, but also Twitter's API doesn't serve ads, which is its primary source of revenue?

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#752

Post by cogogo »

cutenewt wrote: post #289
thinkingemote wrote: post #248

They need to re-free up the API. Early adopters and hackers really did some great work using the API until they walled-gardened it and rate limited it to make it unusable. They need to do this for goodwill at the very least, but I think it will spark the fire to make it popular with techies again. Based on the recently published discovery chats we will probably see: * High def video * Focus on music publication * The…

I think it's going to be more in the other direction. He really hates the bots, so he'll probably close up the API. Until bots gets solved, no developer should expect the API to open up.

My little side project is a terribly written bot that brings some joy to a niche group. I hope I don’t get excluded. It’s also brought me a lot of joy along with everything I’ve learned building it. There are a lot of automated accounts that are really interesting. Twitter is worse off right now - and people/communities hate uncertainty. Signed -@BostonTimelaps1

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#753

Post by thrown_22 »

anonymousab wrote: post #747
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #663

They need to stop ruining the experience for those of us without an account. Everyone was using Twitter as basically an open bulletin board and then they go and make it visitor-hostile. I look at ads either way.

There are a few ublock filters that solve those issues. Alternatively, disabling cookies for twitter used to get rid of a lot of the nagware features since they would only pop up on the 'second' interaction that would cause a page load.

That implies I care enough to read it. I don't. And neither do the majority of people who don't have to use it for work.

Twitter seems to have become a cool kids club and now everyone is panicked that someone bought there it was in.

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#755

Post by augustuspolius »

chasd00 wrote: post #421
davidw wrote: post #11

I think the thing to watch will be ads and other revenue streams. Most companies aren't going to want their ads next to 'free for all' content, so we'll see what happens.

he should make the platform $5/month to post and free to read. That would likely increase the quality of content and provide another source of revenue.

I don’t think $5/month would stop the biggest offenders: content farms. I have reported dozens of accounts that have posted tens of thousands of tweets in the last few years. Accounts that spam US politicians with things like “I am a democrat and I will not vote for Biden because he is neo-Nazi…” and so on and so forth. Accounts that ruin the discussion, waste attention. Accounts that are obviously not authentic users but are a part of a foreign propaganda campaign. These accounts can afford to pay $5/month.

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#756

Post by bjconlan »

cutenewt wrote: post #289
thinkingemote wrote: post #248

They need to re-free up the API. Early adopters and hackers really did some great work using the API until they walled-gardened it and rate limited it to make it unusable. They need to do this for goodwill at the very least, but I think it will spark the fire to make it popular with techies again. Based on the recently published discovery chats we will probably see: * High def video * Focus on music publication * The…

I think it's going to be more in the other direction. He really hates the bots, so he'll probably close up the API. Until bots gets solved, no developer should expect the API to open up.

If he does find the bot accounts significant enough to identify that he has been "duped" is there any recourse? I suspect this might be the canary in the mine (of social-media businesses) and Elon is passionate enough to release said numbers which could be used as a litmus for all business that marketed 'number of "users"' as something of a validator.

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#757

Post by enneff »

fleddr wrote: post #585
dub wrote: post #571

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Class A players don't work for controlling managers who overload them with near impossible targets. Class A players have plenty of options in tech, and have no need to tolerate having their skills called into question or disrespected by pointy-haired middle managers. When Bill Coughran was asked how he was able to successfully manage so many famously high performers (engineers like Jeff Dean), Bill explained how that…

You're wrong. This is exactly how he runs things at Tesla and SpaceX. Class A players are well compensated and love working on challenges that are extreme and/or world relevant. They live and breath what they do. If you're that type of player, Musk will respect you and your opinion.

Except Tesla and SpaceX operate in industries where there aren’t a lot of options for people who are passionate about those kinds of technologies. There are tons of tech companies they support strong engineers. Why would you want to work for an abusive boss if you don’t have to?

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#758

Post by perrygeo »

three_seagrass wrote: post #577
fleddr wrote: post #547

Random thoughts. 1. I think any effort to figure out rational motives for this buy are in vain. It seems things just pop into his head and if considered a fun challenge, then why not? A child-like YOLO attitude. 2. Town square. The one thing that keeps Twitter standing is its cultural relevance. It is the town square for the elite (politicians, celebrities, experts). There isn't really anywhere else to go. An exodus…

>Town square. The one thing that keeps Twitter standing is its cultural relevance. Social networks rise and fall. Twitter is no more the town square than MySpace, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Mastadon, Snap, LinkedIn, etc. are, and the attempts to redefine them as such are only a means to political end. Musk cares more about making money than anything else - he didn't become a billionaire by being al…

Agree that Twitter is no town square.

Disagree that Musk cares more about making money. Given his financial position in this whole ordeal, it's hard to see how he comes out without a loss.

Power and influence over political speech though... priceless.

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#759

Post by insane_dreamer »

yurikoif wrote: post #550
julianeon wrote: post #57

In the spirit of trying to be high-information and add value: Where Musk is going, there are no maps. So it's very very hard to project. But we can predict likely developments. At a very high level, it's going to involve: bringing back controversial personalities like Donald Trump; increasing Twitter's commitment to 'free speech'; assuaging skittish advertisers; retaining users who might be concerned, while bringing…

Saying it is some country’s WeChat is like a curse… as WeChat is notorious for its closed mindedness and probably hated by most of its users… and they won’t even have any other option because Tencent is actively striking down all potential competitors…

I think that means WeChat in the sense that in China WeChat isn't just an communications app, it's an app through which many/most people do a great deal of transactions -- shopping, p2p payments, paying utility bills, customer support, ride hailing, banking, etc., It encompasses what about 10 apps in the US do. You cannot understate how pervasive its use is in ways that have little to do with social media. That's what Elon wants to turn Twitter into.

Re: Elon Musk owns Twitter: The story so far

#760

Post by bagels »

andirk wrote: post #704
yurikoif wrote: post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying it is some country’s WeChat is like a curse… as WeChat is notorious for its closed mindedness and probably hated by most of its users… and they won’t even have any other option because Tencent is actively striking down all potential competitors…

Yeah wtf would anyone touting freedom of speech bring up China in any way? Tencent, owner of WeChat, said they'd block NBA Houston Rockets games because one of the Rockets' managers tweeted "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong." [0]. Granted, I got kicked off of twitter for "misinformation" for saying "some day we'll all die". [0] https://www.npr.org/2019/10/07/767805936/houston-rockets-gm-...

It's two different things: WeChat has a bunch of integrated apps, that's part of what Musk's vision is. The free speech issue is separate from the similarities to WeChat.
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