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I don’t think he cares about revenue. I think he is trying to build a majority share and then take the company private. It is the very fact that twitter is a

I don’t think he cares about revenue. I think he is trying to build a majority share and then take the company private. It is the very fact that twitter is a public company to begin with, that is pushing it to extremes. Social media companies should be banned from the stock market.

chasd00 5y ago
If he takes it private then maybe he could just turn it off and walk away. That would be a huge contribution to society.
- arlcode 5y ago
  Given the significance to some politicians I can imagine that they would intervene if it came to that. Musk has to take care to not overplay his hand.
  - pyronik19 5y ago
    "It's a private company" has been the excuse for the abusive censorship. Are you saying if someone has right wing leanings on free speech that politicians will now change their tune and threaten it?
    - arlcode 5y ago
      Not at all (under the assumption that a possible Twitter under Elon Musk would continue to adhere to local laws). But trying to shut down a platform which is considered (by some) "critical infrastructure" might find you in a position where regulations restrict what you can do. It's not a certainty but a possibility that this might happen (regardless of who is in power at the time.) Many politicians of different leanings use Twitter for communication.
- sgt 5y ago
  But a new Twitter would pop up within a month. It would be called something else that would be easily to remember like Tikker or Woobly.
  - swalsh 5y ago
    A new Twitter cannot pop up in a month. A site with all of twitters functionality could. But the value is not in the site, it's in the adoption.
- bambax 5y ago
  Yes! ;-))
Majestic121 5y ago
Can you explain how being public pushes Twitter to extremes ?
- fleddr 5y ago
  A public company needs (endless) growth, it's the only reason to own stock. Growth in social media means attracting more users and/or increasing engagement of existing users. Civil and reasonable discourse is bad for engagement numbers, outrage and extremism do much better.
- tharne 5y ago
  > Can you explain how being public pushes Twitter to extremes ? Public companies and their leadership face much more pressure to show profit and growth every 3 months. This pushes them toward short-term thinking and easy ways to juice their numbers. For social media the easiest way to do this is the promote and encourage content that incites outrage, since this drives engagement, which in turn drives ad $$$
n0mn 5y ago
> It is the very fact that twitter is a public company to begin with, that is pushing it to extremes. I would argue that the drift toward extremism has much more to do with the advertising revenue business model. Content that enrages, engages. More user engagement = more revenue.
- SuoDuanDao 5y ago
  yes, but being a public company prevents it from doing anything that deliberately lowers revenues. As a private company they'd be less beholden to advertisers.

chasd00 5y ago

If he takes it private then maybe he could just turn it off and walk away. That would be a huge contribution to society.

arlcode 5y ago
Given the significance to some politicians I can imagine that they would intervene if it came to that. Musk has to take care to not overplay his hand.
- pyronik19 5y ago
  "It's a private company" has been the excuse for the abusive censorship. Are you saying if someone has right wing leanings on free speech that politicians will now change their tune and threaten it?
  - arlcode 5y ago
    Not at all (under the assumption that a possible Twitter under Elon Musk would continue to adhere to local laws). But trying to shut down a platform which is considered (by some) "critical infrastructure" might find you in a position where regulations restrict what you can do. It's not a certainty but a possibility that this might happen (regardless of who is in power at the time.) Many politicians of different leanings use Twitter for communication.
sgt 5y ago
But a new Twitter would pop up within a month. It would be called something else that would be easily to remember like Tikker or Woobly.
- swalsh 5y ago
  A new Twitter cannot pop up in a month. A site with all of twitters functionality could. But the value is not in the site, it's in the adoption.
bambax 5y ago
Yes! ;-))

Majestic121 5y ago

Can you explain how being public pushes Twitter to extremes ?

fleddr 5y ago
A public company needs (endless) growth, it's the only reason to own stock. Growth in social media means attracting more users and/or increasing engagement of existing users. Civil and reasonable discourse is bad for engagement numbers, outrage and extremism do much better.
tharne 5y ago
> Can you explain how being public pushes Twitter to extremes ? Public companies and their leadership face much more pressure to show profit and growth every 3 months. This pushes them toward short-term thinking and easy ways to juice their numbers. For social media the easiest way to do this is the promote and encourage content that incites outrage, since this drives engagement, which in turn drives ad $$$

n0mn 5y ago

> It is the very fact that twitter is a public company to begin with, that is pushing it to extremes. I would argue that the drift toward extremism has much more to do with the advertising revenue business model. Content that enrages, engages. More user engagement = more revenue.

SuoDuanDao 5y ago
yes, but being a public company prevents it from doing anything that deliberately lowers revenues. As a private company they'd be less beholden to advertisers.