4 ms·

A plan to reduce staff by 75% and double revenue in three years doesn't make a lot of sense to me. There's almost certainly a good deal of wasted money at Twitt

A plan to reduce staff by 75% and double revenue in three years doesn't make a lot of sense to me. There's almost certainly a good deal of wasted money at Twitter, like at every large tech company. Dumb bets like NFT profile pics come to mind. But not to the tune of 75%. I cannot see how they can meaningfully operate, let alone meaningfully evolve to generate _more_ revenue, one of the largest social networks on earth with 1/4 staff.

anigbrowl 4y ago
I think they're assuming MAGA types come back in force and that advertisers will be unable to resist the lure of so many eyeballs, but I have my doubts about the demand for dumpster fire branding opportunities.
- toofy 4y ago
  are there really that many of them? the numbers we’re seeing from truth social and it’s similars seem to indicate otherwise. my guess is, we’ll see far more users abandon twitter than we see of maga users swarming.
  - anigbrowl 4y ago
    I don't believe so, but they are a very vocal demographic and in many respects have superior communication skills. Right leaning ideologues in recent years often come at discourse as a competitive sport or a kind of cognitive warfare, whereas liberals and leftists are more concerned with gaining external approval (of an audience or some third part) and pursue some sort of objective correctness or consistency, often tot he detriment of the argument they're making. So while there are not that many MAGA types, they tend to punch above their weight in terms of what passes for debate on social media. Conversely, I'm nots ure as many liberals would leave as threaten to, because where would they go - Mastodon? Discord? People use twitter because it's a large flat platform rather than one with a lot of silos. That's why things can go so viral so quickly, but also why there are so many dumpster fires; anyone can find and address/respond to/ be seen by anyone else, with no need to know the address of the super sekrit server where the cool kids hang out. I do think the likely outcome of all this is best visualized as a smoking crater surrounded by poop emojis, and have my doubts that large advertisers will want to associate their brands with it. On the other hand all sorts of other trash is commercially successful for reasons that completely elude me.
    - lapcat 4y ago
      > I'm not sure as many liberals would leave as threaten to, because where would they go - Mastodon? Discord? People use twitter because it's a large flat platform rather than one with a lot of silos. The natural alternative is actually disengagement from social media. Twitter and Facebook are only about 15 years old, which is a tiny blip in history. People managed just fine without them. Social media is one way to spend time, but there are plenty of other ways to spend time.
    - jleyank 4y ago
      Skill? No, volume. Yelling and thumping things gets noticed. It doesn’t enhance or explain the message. Many people will choose to avoid the bs with unedited social media sites. Perhaps those who depart aren’t the marketing targets?
Balgair 4y ago
> A plan to reduce staff by 75% and double revenue in three years doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Elon's plans may not be all that well thought out, as history has evidenced.
- knewter 4y ago
  Ah yes, the doddering fool tripped into wealth
  - phillipcarter 4y ago
    Not a doddering fool, but it's arguable his best days are long behind him. I haven't seen anything about this Twitter thing that suggests he's going to want to build something bold and incredible, challenging a lot of smart people and giving them the agency to do it. Instead it feels more like the actions of someone with a drug addiction and way more money than they know what to do with.
    - throwaway81523 4y ago
      Could be this: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-covid-symptom-personality-change-1243718/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-c... “‘The Rage Would Come Out of Nowhere’: Personality Change Has Emerged as a Symptom of Long Covid”
  - rayiner 4y ago
    Multiple times in different industries.

anigbrowl 4y ago

I think they're assuming MAGA types come back in force and that advertisers will be unable to resist the lure of so many eyeballs, but I have my doubts about the demand for dumpster fire branding opportunities.

toofy 4y ago
are there really that many of them? the numbers we’re seeing from truth social and it’s similars seem to indicate otherwise. my guess is, we’ll see far more users abandon twitter than we see of maga users swarming.
- anigbrowl 4y ago
  I don't believe so, but they are a very vocal demographic and in many respects have superior communication skills. Right leaning ideologues in recent years often come at discourse as a competitive sport or a kind of cognitive warfare, whereas liberals and leftists are more concerned with gaining external approval (of an audience or some third part) and pursue some sort of objective correctness or consistency, often tot he detriment of the argument they're making. So while there are not that many MAGA types, they tend to punch above their weight in terms of what passes for debate on social media. Conversely, I'm nots ure as many liberals would leave as threaten to, because where would they go - Mastodon? Discord? People use twitter because it's a large flat platform rather than one with a lot of silos. That's why things can go so viral so quickly, but also why there are so many dumpster fires; anyone can find and address/respond to/ be seen by anyone else, with no need to know the address of the super sekrit server where the cool kids hang out. I do think the likely outcome of all this is best visualized as a smoking crater surrounded by poop emojis, and have my doubts that large advertisers will want to associate their brands with it. On the other hand all sorts of other trash is commercially successful for reasons that completely elude me.
  - lapcat 4y ago
    > I'm not sure as many liberals would leave as threaten to, because where would they go - Mastodon? Discord? People use twitter because it's a large flat platform rather than one with a lot of silos. The natural alternative is actually disengagement from social media. Twitter and Facebook are only about 15 years old, which is a tiny blip in history. People managed just fine without them. Social media is one way to spend time, but there are plenty of other ways to spend time.
  - jleyank 4y ago
    Skill? No, volume. Yelling and thumping things gets noticed. It doesn’t enhance or explain the message. Many people will choose to avoid the bs with unedited social media sites. Perhaps those who depart aren’t the marketing targets?

Balgair 4y ago

> A plan to reduce staff by 75% and double revenue in three years doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Elon's plans may not be all that well thought out, as history has evidenced.

knewter 4y ago
Ah yes, the doddering fool tripped into wealth
- phillipcarter 4y ago
  Not a doddering fool, but it's arguable his best days are long behind him. I haven't seen anything about this Twitter thing that suggests he's going to want to build something bold and incredible, challenging a lot of smart people and giving them the agency to do it. Instead it feels more like the actions of someone with a drug addiction and way more money than they know what to do with.
  - throwaway81523 4y ago
    Could be this: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-covid-symptom-personality-change-1243718/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/long-c... “‘The Rage Would Come Out of Nowhere’: Personality Change Has Emerged as a Symptom of Long Covid”
- rayiner 4y ago
  Multiple times in different industries.