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Ask HN: Why do rich celebrities with many followers not want to pay for Twitter?

2 points by amichail 4y ago

Is it because doing so would upset their followers and perhaps many of them would stop using twitter?

op00to 4y ago
You don't get rich by spending stupid money on stupid things.
- slater 4y ago
  They didn't get rich by spending money, full stop :D
- amichail 4y ago
  People with millions of followers on Twitter probably do get a significant benefit from the service that is worth paying for.
  - smoldesu 4y ago
    Probably. In a world where Mastodon exists though, why would you pay for a Twitter subscription when that same amount could run a hosted/managed ActivityPub instance? Musk isn't priced cost-competitively here.
2pEXgD0fZ5cF 4y ago
The thing with social networks like Twitter or Facebook is that the people working there vastly overestimate their own specific value. The value is: everyone is there. So many users are on it due to "soft peer pressure", not because they value a site like Twitter/Facebook specifically. People who want to "push their brand" are also on there because they have to mostly, not out of some special love for the site. There is no shortage of others who would be able to replace Twitter if it actually went offline in an hour, the hard part for social media ist getting the majority of users. In other words: why would anyone support Twitter now? After so many years of clearly establishing itself as something you simply use for free and registered on because you "have to". Twitter is a big mass that has gained a lot of momentum over the years, and at this point it is very hard to change trajectory or the way anyone uses or perceives that site. Twitter needs those people more than those people need Twitter.
bell-cot 4y ago
They are (or see themselves as) a leading reason why all their followers are on Twitter, and seeing whatever paid-for ads Twitter is currently running. Why isn't Twitter giving them a cut of the ad revenue, like (say) YouTube would?
dave4420 4y ago
What benefit would they get from paying for Twitter? They already get Twitter for free.

2 points by amichail 4y ago

Is it because doing so would upset their followers and perhaps many of them would stop using twitter?

op00to 4y ago

You don't get rich by spending stupid money on stupid things.

slater 4y ago
They didn't get rich by spending money, full stop :D
amichail 4y ago
People with millions of followers on Twitter probably do get a significant benefit from the service that is worth paying for.
- smoldesu 4y ago
  Probably. In a world where Mastodon exists though, why would you pay for a Twitter subscription when that same amount could run a hosted/managed ActivityPub instance? Musk isn't priced cost-competitively here.

2pEXgD0fZ5cF 4y ago

The thing with social networks like Twitter or Facebook is that the people working there vastly overestimate their own specific value. The value is: everyone is there. So many users are on it due to "soft peer pressure", not because they value a site like Twitter/Facebook specifically. People who want to "push their brand" are also on there because they have to mostly, not out of some special love for the site. There is no shortage of others who would be able to replace Twitter if it actually went offline in an hour, the hard part for social media ist getting the majority of users. In other words: why would anyone support Twitter now? After so many years of clearly establishing itself as something you simply use for free and registered on because you "have to". Twitter is a big mass that has gained a lot of momentum over the years, and at this point it is very hard to change trajectory or the way anyone uses or perceives that site. Twitter needs those people more than those people need Twitter.

bell-cot 4y ago

They are (or see themselves as) a leading reason why all their followers are on Twitter, and seeing whatever paid-for ads Twitter is currently running. Why isn't Twitter giving them a cut of the ad revenue, like (say) YouTube would?

dave4420 4y ago

What benefit would they get from paying for Twitter? They already get Twitter for free.