3 ms·
It's true that in late 2016, Twitter was reported to be potentially bid on and purchased by companies like Google and Salesforce [0]. Though looking at its stoc
by danso 8y ago
It's true that in late 2016, Twitter was reported to be potentially bid on and purchased by companies like Google and Salesforce [0]. Though looking at its stock price history, it remained around its end-of-2016 price, until 2018 when it finally showed a profit in late 2017 [1]. In that time, according to that Recode article, its user count only increased by 3% from 2017 to 2018, and revenue only increased by 12%, comparing 2018Q1 to 2016Q1 (Facebook's revenue went up 122% in that period). As a frequent Twitter user for the past decade, my impression is that maybe Trump's election made Twitter more of an "official" place for "important" things. But that added prestige also resulted in far more scrutiny that Twitter had ever had regarding bots and abusive behavior, necessitating them to have actual measures and policies (and, presumably, more staff dedicated towards that).
I don't think it's definitive to say that Trump directly saved Twitter, though. Twitter was already on a trajectory to be the place for breaking news. Whereas Facebook's attempt at such as basically imploded. But maybe Trump's habit of using Twitter so prominently basically cemented Twitter as a habit for many other users, especially those in the media.
0: https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/twitter-may-receive-formal-bid-shortly-suitors-said-to-include-salesforce-and-google.html https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/twitter-may-receive-formal-b...
1: https://www.recode.net/2018/6/13/17455464/twitter-jack-dorsey-stock-growth-explained-profitability https://www.recode.net/2018/6/13/17455464/twitter-jack-dorse...