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Disney is a machine that monetizes fandom, and Twitter is pretty good about fan communities (modulo the conversation about abuse). The conversation about wheth

Disney is a machine that monetizes fandom, and Twitter is pretty good about fan communities (modulo the conversation about abuse). The conversation about whether twitter will be successful at streaming live content is interesting, but probably just one of those things that demonstrates whether or not they have _further_ growth potential into other spaces. Twitter is already where lots of people go to talk about sporting events, news as it's happening, shared experiences like TV watching, and so on. To the extent to which Disney can get access to users in the throes of emotion or facilitate deeper investment in their properties is probably useful for Disney on its face, even before anything more is built on top of or into twitter.

jerf 10y ago
"Disney is a machine that monetizes fandom, and Twitter is pretty good about fan communities (modulo the conversation about abuse)." I'd submit one of the ways in which Twitter is "pretty good" about fan communities, by being relatively permissive about IP they don't particularly care about, is precisely a way in which Disney is constitutionally incapable of being. Disney has long been notorious for being very, very heavy on the control side of its IP. Buying something because of a fan community that you plan to essentially immediately squash is a rather silly acquisition. "Relatively permissive" here doesn't even have to mean IP abuse (which Disney certainly would squash), but even things like expressing unfiltered negative opinions. I just don't think Disney has the cultural DNA to deal with that in a way that even remotely resembles Twitter.
- knowtheory 10y ago
  What challenges does Twitter face that Disney doesn't already have to contend with via ownership of or stakes in ABC News, ESPN or Vice? Twitter doesn't host video of substantial duration or audio, and comment threads everywhere are already the same mess (just at a different scale w/r/t twitter).
  - jerf 10y ago
    I don't think any of ABC News, ESPN, or Vice provide free forums for people to say whatever they want, do they? Twitter's more like blogspot or tumblr than a news comment site. Taking something like blogspot and turning into something highly regulated is a waste of everybody's time.
touristtam 10y ago
That'd make sense if twitter has an under the radar project to make sense this data "cheaply".

jerf 10y ago

"Disney is a machine that monetizes fandom, and Twitter is pretty good about fan communities (modulo the conversation about abuse)." I'd submit one of the ways in which Twitter is "pretty good" about fan communities, by being relatively permissive about IP they don't particularly care about, is precisely a way in which Disney is constitutionally incapable of being. Disney has long been notorious for being very, very heavy on the control side of its IP. Buying something because of a fan community that you plan to essentially immediately squash is a rather silly acquisition. "Relatively permissive" here doesn't even have to mean IP abuse (which Disney certainly would squash), but even things like expressing unfiltered negative opinions. I just don't think Disney has the cultural DNA to deal with that in a way that even remotely resembles Twitter.

knowtheory 10y ago
What challenges does Twitter face that Disney doesn't already have to contend with via ownership of or stakes in ABC News, ESPN or Vice? Twitter doesn't host video of substantial duration or audio, and comment threads everywhere are already the same mess (just at a different scale w/r/t twitter).
- jerf 10y ago
  I don't think any of ABC News, ESPN, or Vice provide free forums for people to say whatever they want, do they? Twitter's more like blogspot or tumblr than a news comment site. Taking something like blogspot and turning into something highly regulated is a waste of everybody's time.

touristtam 10y ago

That'd make sense if twitter has an under the radar project to make sense this data "cheaply".