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Probably one of the worst investment decisions (outside of cryptocurrency) that I’m aware of. 40 billion dollars for a platform with such negligible reach and

Probably one of the worst investment decisions (outside of cryptocurrency) that I’m aware of. 40 billion dollars for a platform with such negligible reach and even lower potential for monetization? On the other hand… If he can run Twitter into the ground I think he’ll be doing the world a service.

deleted 4y ago
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TylerE 4y ago
Do not misunderstand why he is doing this. He is doing this because (as anyone with even a partial understanding of the law would understand) is that the Delaware court case was going very very badly for him, and he did not want to be subject to discovery.
- delecti 4y ago
  You're talking about the wrong "this". I think you're right, and that's why he went through with the purchase instead of fighting the lawsuit, but he was only facing that lawsuit because he moved to buy it in the first place. He didn't accidentally sign a bunch of paperwork to buy a company for $40bn, he at some point made a bunch of deliberate decisions.
- pixxel 4y ago
  Would you kindly expand briefly on what you are alluding to? I’m unaware of the court case. TIA.
  - parrellel 4y ago
    The court case that was forcing him to buy Twitter as he was contractually obligated to do? It was starting discovery, and he changed his mind about stalling more right fast. In any case, time to spin up on Mastadon.
    - Traubenfuchs 4y ago
      What is "discovery" in this context?
      - parrellel 4y ago
        The part of the lawsuit where each side gets to request specific information in support of their case?
    - etrautmann 4y ago
      do you have recommendations on Mastadon servers to start with?
      - tinker_the_prol 4y ago
        I'm not the one you asked, but it depends on your interests. It could also depend on what you're not willing to tolerate as defederation plays some role in what you will see.
    - GaveDrohl 4y ago
      You want to fire up a Mastodon server because I presume you're concerned with the loss of free speech on that platform? Do you think it was free prior to Elon's acquisition? Or are you only concerned about one particular type of speech when it comes to free speech?
      - parrellel 4y ago
        Twitter failing to live up to tech utopian ideals in the face of their platform being used as the medium for a real life attempted coup is one thing. Leaving free speech in the hands of Musk is another thing entirely. I'm half expecting a freenode style implosion.
tablespoon 4y ago
> 40 billion dollars for a platform with such negligible reach... It might have "negligible reach" amongst the general population, but it does seem to have an extraordinary amount of cultural power. Whatever upside there is, it seems like it's more like the one you get from bankrolling political candidates and paying to disseminate ideological propaganda.
- rektide 4y ago
  100%. It may or may not sell products, be good for ads. Those engagements might not be ideal, for those stakeholders-bearing-checkbooks. But it is by orders of magnitude highest radix connector of humanity we have. I've probably clicked fav on a million different people's tweets, I've probably written messages to tens of thousands of different people I've never met. I've seen multiple sides of millions of topics & synthesized my own opinion. Nothing comes remotely close. Highest human engagement platform of all time.
dave78 4y ago
I think many/most criticisms of Twitter are valid, but "negligible reach"?
- KptMarchewa 4y ago
  Well, according to Musk himself, a giant percent of claimed user base are bots.
outworlder 4y ago
Yeah, all the banks have made a pretty poor decision. Unclear if Musk himself will lose any money once all "investors" pitch in. His change of tone in the past few weeks gives a hint on who would actually be funding this.
deleted 4y ago
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TylerE 4y ago

Do not misunderstand why he is doing this. He is doing this because (as anyone with even a partial understanding of the law would understand) is that the Delaware court case was going very very badly for him, and he did not want to be subject to discovery.

delecti 4y ago
You're talking about the wrong "this". I think you're right, and that's why he went through with the purchase instead of fighting the lawsuit, but he was only facing that lawsuit because he moved to buy it in the first place. He didn't accidentally sign a bunch of paperwork to buy a company for $40bn, he at some point made a bunch of deliberate decisions.
pixxel 4y ago
Would you kindly expand briefly on what you are alluding to? I’m unaware of the court case. TIA.
- parrellel 4y ago
  The court case that was forcing him to buy Twitter as he was contractually obligated to do? It was starting discovery, and he changed his mind about stalling more right fast. In any case, time to spin up on Mastadon.
  - Traubenfuchs 4y ago
    What is "discovery" in this context?
    - parrellel 4y ago
      The part of the lawsuit where each side gets to request specific information in support of their case?
  - etrautmann 4y ago
    do you have recommendations on Mastadon servers to start with?
    - tinker_the_prol 4y ago
      I'm not the one you asked, but it depends on your interests. It could also depend on what you're not willing to tolerate as defederation plays some role in what you will see.
  - GaveDrohl 4y ago
    You want to fire up a Mastodon server because I presume you're concerned with the loss of free speech on that platform? Do you think it was free prior to Elon's acquisition? Or are you only concerned about one particular type of speech when it comes to free speech?
    - parrellel 4y ago
      Twitter failing to live up to tech utopian ideals in the face of their platform being used as the medium for a real life attempted coup is one thing. Leaving free speech in the hands of Musk is another thing entirely. I'm half expecting a freenode style implosion.

tablespoon 4y ago

> 40 billion dollars for a platform with such negligible reach... It might have "negligible reach" amongst the general population, but it does seem to have an extraordinary amount of cultural power. Whatever upside there is, it seems like it's more like the one you get from bankrolling political candidates and paying to disseminate ideological propaganda.

rektide 4y ago
100%. It may or may not sell products, be good for ads. Those engagements might not be ideal, for those stakeholders-bearing-checkbooks. But it is by orders of magnitude highest radix connector of humanity we have. I've probably clicked fav on a million different people's tweets, I've probably written messages to tens of thousands of different people I've never met. I've seen multiple sides of millions of topics & synthesized my own opinion. Nothing comes remotely close. Highest human engagement platform of all time.

dave78 4y ago

I think many/most criticisms of Twitter are valid, but "negligible reach"?

KptMarchewa 4y ago
Well, according to Musk himself, a giant percent of claimed user base are bots.

outworlder 4y ago

Yeah, all the banks have made a pretty poor decision. Unclear if Musk himself will lose any money once all "investors" pitch in. His change of tone in the past few weeks gives a hint on who would actually be funding this.

deleted 4y ago

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