5 ms·

I agree with PG. Twitter could've taken a stand. But as it seems now they are too mired in partisan politics and grandstanding to pay any attention to other new

by fjabre 6y ago

I agree with PG. Twitter could've taken a stand. But as it seems now they are too mired in partisan politics and grandstanding to pay any attention to other news. I think Jack Dorsey should step down. Twitter has become a magnet for trolls with an axe to grind. He inserted himself far too much in the politics of the day and got just what he wanted it seems. What a negative and dark place Twitter has become.

paxys 6y ago
I agree that Dorsey should step down, but not for that reason. Twitter has been in the very center of the political and media zeitgeist worldwide for the last decade – and there's nothing wrong with that – but they still haven't managed to convert that into a sustainable business.
- suyash 6y ago
  Jack and Zuckerberg both need to be fired, worse kind of leaders. These places that were supposed to be platforms for open discussions are now mired in politics.
- criddell 6y ago
  Why isn't it a sustainable business?
- mikeyouse 6y ago
  It's a free product with a $40 billion market cap (up 150% in the past 5 years), earning over $1 billion/year in net income -- in what universe isn't that sustainable?
  - totalZero 6y ago
    On what planet does stock appreciation demonstrate a sustainable business model? Trump leaving Twitter (or rather, having the microphone yanked out of his tiny hands) is going to impact the engagement that the platform facilitates. It remains to be seen what that impact will be, but I don't see how it can be positive. Section 230 has been criticized from both sides of the aisle -- including by the President-Elect [0]. Without that protection, Twitter would almost certainly have to spend more on moderation, or worse yet, cull the flock of troll and bot accounts and take a MAU hit. Oh, and BTW -- it's a $36B market cap this week. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/17/21070403/joe-biden-president-election-section-230-communications-decency-act-revoke https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/17/21070403/joe-biden-presid...
    - mikeyouse 6y ago
      The sustainable part comes from the fact that their revenue is $1B more than their expense every year. Some hypothetical about sad conservatives hurting their engagement doesn't negate the fact that it's a massive profitable business.
      - polka_haunts_us 6y ago
        I realize that the pre-Trump era was a long time ago, but if you look back to what people thought about Twitter the company circa early 2016, it was not positive. Their stock was on a one-way ticket to the dumpster, they were laying off staff with frequency, they were losing popularity to Snapchat of all things, people were pumping out articles about who was going to buy them out. If you want to know why it took them so long to ban Trump, it's because Trump winning the presidency and making it his primary speech platform propped up the whole company. You can try to minimize this all you want, but it's not clear to me that Twitter is some runaway train that will survive without him, ignore the fact the government is starting to sniff around.
      - totalZero 6y ago
        Revenue numbers are backwards-looking and don't tell us much about sustainability of growth, especially for an information technology company whose income can turn on a dime. Regarding "sad conservatives" (lol), my view is that companies like Twitter know where the troll/bot/disinformation accounts lie, but don't like to remove them unless necessary because deletion is an acknowledgement of the problem and also a hit to MAUs. Forced moderation by regulators would provide impetus to clear out those accounts and also curtail the frothy indignation upon which Twitter feeds. The chief churner of that indignation in recent memory, for audiences on both sides of the aisle lest we forget, has been Trump. He has also been the glue of Twitter's relevance, and the beginning of his presidency marked the turnaround of a decline in Twitter's stock.
    - mschuster91 6y ago
      > Trump leaving Twitter (or rather, having the microphone yanked out of his tiny hands) is going to impact the engagement that the platform facilitates. It remains to be seen what that impact will be, but I don't see how it can be positive. A bunch of right-wing trolls leaving for greener grass increases the civility on the platform and thus the attractiveness for everyday people, plus it leads to political good-will in a large part of the population, and especially a more friendly environment for brands to advertise in... few brands want to appear next to Qanon posts, a problem that Youtube and Facebook both have publicly faced in the last years.
- stingraycharles 6y ago
  I believe they’re fairly successful at their data offerings though, and actually making a profit. Isn’t that sustainable?
dcolkitt 6y ago
Silver Lake and Elliot have both wanted Dorsey gone from the moment they took big positions in TWTR. They now have the board seats to pull it off. After the disastrous past week for the stock, I can't see any other shareholders wanting to keep him on. When you're dividing your time as CEO between two companies, the presumption is always going to be against you. Unless he manages to deliver some truly astounding quarterly numbers in the immediate near-term, I'd be pretty shocked if Dorsey isn't canned by the end of the year.
ashleshbiradar 6y ago
What a negative and dark place ( insert any social media here) has become.

by fjabre 6y ago

paxys 6y ago

I agree that Dorsey should step down, but not for that reason. Twitter has been in the very center of the political and media zeitgeist worldwide for the last decade – and there's nothing wrong with that – but they still haven't managed to convert that into a sustainable business.

suyash 6y ago
Jack and Zuckerberg both need to be fired, worse kind of leaders. These places that were supposed to be platforms for open discussions are now mired in politics.
criddell 6y ago
Why isn't it a sustainable business?
mikeyouse 6y ago
It's a free product with a $40 billion market cap (up 150% in the past 5 years), earning over $1 billion/year in net income -- in what universe isn't that sustainable?
- totalZero 6y ago
  On what planet does stock appreciation demonstrate a sustainable business model? Trump leaving Twitter (or rather, having the microphone yanked out of his tiny hands) is going to impact the engagement that the platform facilitates. It remains to be seen what that impact will be, but I don't see how it can be positive. Section 230 has been criticized from both sides of the aisle -- including by the President-Elect [0]. Without that protection, Twitter would almost certainly have to spend more on moderation, or worse yet, cull the flock of troll and bot accounts and take a MAU hit. Oh, and BTW -- it's a $36B market cap this week. [0] https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/17/21070403/joe-biden-president-election-section-230-communications-decency-act-revoke https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/17/21070403/joe-biden-presid...
  - mikeyouse 6y ago
    The sustainable part comes from the fact that their revenue is $1B more than their expense every year. Some hypothetical about sad conservatives hurting their engagement doesn't negate the fact that it's a massive profitable business.
    - polka_haunts_us 6y ago
      I realize that the pre-Trump era was a long time ago, but if you look back to what people thought about Twitter the company circa early 2016, it was not positive. Their stock was on a one-way ticket to the dumpster, they were laying off staff with frequency, they were losing popularity to Snapchat of all things, people were pumping out articles about who was going to buy them out. If you want to know why it took them so long to ban Trump, it's because Trump winning the presidency and making it his primary speech platform propped up the whole company. You can try to minimize this all you want, but it's not clear to me that Twitter is some runaway train that will survive without him, ignore the fact the government is starting to sniff around.
    - totalZero 6y ago
      Revenue numbers are backwards-looking and don't tell us much about sustainability of growth, especially for an information technology company whose income can turn on a dime. Regarding "sad conservatives" (lol), my view is that companies like Twitter know where the troll/bot/disinformation accounts lie, but don't like to remove them unless necessary because deletion is an acknowledgement of the problem and also a hit to MAUs. Forced moderation by regulators would provide impetus to clear out those accounts and also curtail the frothy indignation upon which Twitter feeds. The chief churner of that indignation in recent memory, for audiences on both sides of the aisle lest we forget, has been Trump. He has also been the glue of Twitter's relevance, and the beginning of his presidency marked the turnaround of a decline in Twitter's stock.
  - mschuster91 6y ago
    > Trump leaving Twitter (or rather, having the microphone yanked out of his tiny hands) is going to impact the engagement that the platform facilitates. It remains to be seen what that impact will be, but I don't see how it can be positive. A bunch of right-wing trolls leaving for greener grass increases the civility on the platform and thus the attractiveness for everyday people, plus it leads to political good-will in a large part of the population, and especially a more friendly environment for brands to advertise in... few brands want to appear next to Qanon posts, a problem that Youtube and Facebook both have publicly faced in the last years.
stingraycharles 6y ago
I believe they’re fairly successful at their data offerings though, and actually making a profit. Isn’t that sustainable?

dcolkitt 6y ago

Silver Lake and Elliot have both wanted Dorsey gone from the moment they took big positions in TWTR. They now have the board seats to pull it off. After the disastrous past week for the stock, I can't see any other shareholders wanting to keep him on. When you're dividing your time as CEO between two companies, the presumption is always going to be against you. Unless he manages to deliver some truly astounding quarterly numbers in the immediate near-term, I'd be pretty shocked if Dorsey isn't canned by the end of the year.

ashleshbiradar 6y ago

What a negative and dark place ( insert any social media here) has become.