11 ms·

Elon just wants to build things, have autonomy and also dictatorial control of the process. He doesn't care about how things are monitized (although in the case

• belter 3y ago
  What is the vision for Twitter?
  • bfors 3y ago
    WeChat
    • nailer 3y ago
      This. The everything app that uses chat to push payments and other commerce.
    • creaghpatr 3y ago
      Haven't seen that theory before, very interesting and makes sense.
      • sixQuarks 3y ago
        I'm not surprised, if you don't follow Elon closely and only read the nonstop clickbait headlines, you will be severely misinformed. Elon has been talking about the "everything app" forever. Elon has had the idea going back to the X.com days, that's what he wanted to do with Paypal. Another thing you may not know: Twitter will soon be competing with Youtube.
        • morelisp 3y ago
          > Twitter will soon be competing with Youtube. In the sense my walk through the park today "competed" with Kipchoge because we both propelled ourselves forward on legs, sure. Twitter video is by far the least functional it's ever been, and this is a relatively recent (past ~month) development.
          • blisterpeanuts 3y ago
            I'm pleased that speed control has appeared on many videos recently. I'm not sure if this is brand new, or restored, but anyway it makes videos a lot more useful to me at least.
          • kevinmchugh 3y ago
            Occasionally when I try to full screen a video, it results in a different video popping up. There seems to be some connection between the videos but I can't totally understand what that is. One time the video I ended up seeing was street violence, I assume it will be porno at some point.
      • afavour 3y ago
        Some more background here: https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/4/18/23687125/elon-musk-twitter-x-super-app-wechat https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/4/18/23687125/elon-musk-... It makes sense in terms of how I can imagine Elon's vision. It doesn't (to me) make sense as any kind of realistic proposition.
      • colordrops 3y ago
        He made some statements about making Twitter into the one place to do everything before he bought it, and it sounded a lot like WeChat. He might of even mentioned WeChat directly but I don't recall
      • tofuahdude 3y ago
        He's been broadcasting exactly this plan for several months ("X", The Everything App), which is what WeChat is.
      • drstewart 3y ago
        It's not really even a theory, he flat out says it: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1657050349608501249 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1657050349608501249 >Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.
  • drcongo 3y ago
    Gab
  • tonetheman 3y ago
    right wing echo chamber
    • _cenw 3y ago
      It feels like Twitter was always designed as an echo chamber with the occasional deliberate clash between different kinds of echo chambers. Flip-flopping well enough between outraged debate and friendly clout-chase space to keep engagement going. Musk is just steering it one particular way.
  • frellus 3y ago
    Free, non-government controlled or censored speech
    • deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    • InitialLastName 3y ago
      Unless your speech happens to make Elon angry or get in his way.
      • jkubicek 3y ago
        or unless your speech happens to make actual governments angry https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/04/27/twitter-has-complied-with-almost-every-government-request-for-censorship-since-musk-took-over-report-finds/?sh=6717f40324ea https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/2023/04/27/tw...
        • InitialLastName 3y ago
          > The majority of recent requests have come from foreign governments, such as India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Germany, all of which have increased internet regulations in the past year, according to the report—none came from the U.S. Be careful, you might be undermining a narrative.
          • nojonestownpls 3y ago
            The US doesn't have to bother with formal requests of course.
            • InitialLastName 3y ago
              Unfalsifiable assertions should probably be accompanied by evidence.
    • 3y ago
  • JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > What is the vision for Twitter? An LBO. It’s become clear Musk’s employment cuts haven’t brought Armageddon. He’s now installing an advertising executive as CEO, which portends a return to the status quo business model. This is a classic cut-the-fat corporate raid.
    • jkubicek 3y ago
      > It’s become clear Musk’s employment cuts haven’t brought Armageddon. Is it clear? I haven't really used Twitter since well before the acquisition, but I've heard nothing but complaints about bugs, ad revenue falling off a cliff and replies being nothing but right-wing reply guys. > This is a classic cut-the-fat corporate raid. If this were true, Elon would have cut the actual fat. Instead he (directly and indirectly) destroyed Twitter's relationship with advertisers, which was the only meat in the company. All that's left is fat.
      • JumpCrisscross 3y ago
        > I've heard nothing but complaints about bugs, ad revenue falling off a cliff and replies being nothing but right-wing reply guys They’re allegedly approaching cash-flow breakeven [1]. Musk is notoriously unreliable with timelines, but he tends to be conservative with purely financial ones. That, assuming this is actual cash flow and not an unlevered metric like Ebitda, signals stability. I’m not calling it a success. But Twitter is operational. People complained but, largely, haven’t left. The new product initiatives were busts, but quickly withdrawn when the data showed they didn’t work. Stability is on the horizon; it’s not Armageddon. > Elon would have cut the actual fat. Instead he (directly and indirectly) destroyed Twitter's relationship with advertisers He did both. He’s now trying to reverse on the latter. Given the financial stability, Yaccarino has a solid foundation from which to do so. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-07/musk-says-twitter-may-be-cash-flow-break-even-in-second-quarter https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-07/musk-says...
      • JeremyNT 3y ago
        > Is it clear? I haven't really used Twitter since well before the acquisition, but I've heard nothing but complaints about bugs, ad revenue falling off a cliff and replies being nothing but right-wing reply guys. I think it's pretty clear that there was a lot of fat to cut. From a technical perspective Twitter hardly seems to be suffering at all. The biz move (to pivot to a right-leaning social network) is what scared off users and advertisers, not the layoffs per se. In a counterfactual world where Elon slashed staff but left the existing policies and target demographics in place, Twitter would've been a lot healthier.
  • braxvc 3y ago
    A platform for everything, competitor to YouTube etc., but more centrist. I'm getting the impression that the whole placate-the-right "free-speech" thing was meant to get the people back from TruthSocial and get street cred. Now he'll move left again and cash in. Also of course there are considerations like Tesla subsidies and DoD contracts. But perhaps those institutions approved the above plan to restore centrist views.
    • _cenw 3y ago
      How is YouTube not centrist? Their entire platform is geared to be maximum advertiser friendly, aka the status quo. It really isn't like YouTube doesn't discriminate equally, I'd even say in some cases they do so more strongly towards certain groups that tend to be left wing (e.g. queer people immediately being demonitized when not shrouding words like "biosexual").
      • brabel 3y ago
        It seems to me the YT algorithm doesn't care about left/right. Sometimes I watch a rightwing video, and then all I get is more and more extreme rightwing videos suggested. Then I have to watch some leftwing video to get back to more balanced content :D... but there seems to be plenty of content on both sides, with suggestions leaning heavily on which side you watched the most.
        • mrguyorama 3y ago
          Youtube algorithm only cares about "engagement". How long do you watch, do you stay on youtube and watch another video, do you click any of the buttons like subscribe, do you comment. Content that gets an extreme emotional reaction is strictly better at causing engagement, that's just like a basic sociological thing. The result is that youtube pretty much constantly tries to radicalize everyone. It doesn't care if you get radicalized left or right, it cares that you go into rabbit holes that make you angry or emotional and have a reaction. I watched youtube attempt to do this to me, as I watched a singular video by a more radical than average leftist youtuber, and youtube immediately started recommending me the classic "angry incel right wing" content that so many young men are deeply entrenched in, but I have never been recommended in my 15 year old youtube account. Depending on your beliefs or research I'm not aware of, right wing radicalization might be more effective, as "it's not your fault, we just have to hurt and remove certain people" is more palatable to certain people than "the system is fucked and we have to gut it and work hard to build it back". In that case, it would naturally push right wing radicalization over left wing radicalization. None of this has to be purposeful. However, willfully ignoring this outcome because it makes you a lot of money is actively evil in my opinion.
• afavour 3y ago
  That doesn't work with Twitter, though. You can't just build stuff with total autonomy without worrying about how it'll make money when your company is in a deep, deep financial hole. Because of the way Elon bought the company it needs to make a shit-ton of money and fast. Elon can't just sidestep that responsibility by vacating the CEO role.
  • awestroke 3y ago
    AFAIK they are not doing too bad financially any more. They've cut a lot of costs and almost all advertisers are back
    • afavour 3y ago
      I haven't seen any official statements to that effect. This is from a month ago: > Last November, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) was among the first companies to announce pausing Twitter ads. Among those that took a similar path were General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) and Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit. > Brands such as Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ), Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HLT) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) have also not returned to Twitter in terms of advertising as of February, Bloomberg noted. > Last month, Musk said that Twitter’s revenue had fallen by 50% since October because of a decline in advertising. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitters-revenue-drops-advertisers-voice-232344915.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitters-revenue-drops-advert... Don't forget that the company also has to pay $1.5bn a year to service the debt Musk used to buy it.
    • dog321 3y ago
      Ad revenue is down 40% from $5B in 2021 to a projected $3B in 2023. For reference, most other social media ad companies have had flat or slightly negative (~2%) revenue growth. https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2023/04/12/twitter-s-ad-revenue-will-fall-drastically-this-year-according-to-estimates https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2023/04/12/twitter-s-a... https://www.statista.com/statistics/271337/twitters-advertising-revenue-worldwide/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20Twitter%20generated%205.01,of%20the%20global%20ad%20revenue https://www.statista.com/statistics/271337/twitters-advertis.... https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/snap-q4-2022-earnings-revenue-snapchat-daily-users-1235508280/ https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/snap-q4-2022-earnings-...
• libraryatnight 3y ago
  [flagged]
  • dang 3y ago
    Hey, obviously you can't post like this on HN regardless of how sad someone is or you feel they are. We have to ban accounts that do, and unfortunately you have a history of doing it. I don't want to ban you! so if you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here, we'd appreciate it.
• guyzero 3y ago
  He just wants to design products without caring how they make money? That's how money-losing products get designed.
  • mrguyorama 3y ago
    In normal circles, this is known as "Being really bad at business"
• donmcronald 3y ago
  > Elon is a visionary and a builder. That's all his ventures. I don't understand how people view him as a product person. How is he making the product (Twitter) better? Taking away an existing feature like verification and selling an objectively worse version back to people doesn't make the product better. Strengthening the silo effect by banning talk about competitors doesn't make the product better. Charging $50k / month for business verification doesn't make the product better, especially for businesses users. I thought Twitter might improve because I believed the rhetoric about Musk being a product person, but I don't believe that any more. All of his moves have been short sighted cash grabs. Is there a single thing about the (technical) product that's improved since Musk took over?
  • suddenclarity 3y ago
    He also added a ton of features. Bookmarks, encrypted DMs, subscriptions, longform text, pushed the chronological feed, view count, improved video, added meetings, improved notes. I'm probably forgetting something but Twitter has definitely added more features under Musk than the previous 10 years.
    • nojonestownpls 3y ago
      I believe Bookmarks existed before Elon, he just made it more visible in the UI (or approved the change, or however it happened). > pushed the chronological feed It's funny how many people who did not even know they weren't using a chronological feed before, are now cussing him out for showing a "For You" page - when he just made it much more visible and easier to switch to the "Following" feed.
    • retornam 3y ago
      Bookmarks launched in 2018 https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/28/twitter-launches-bookmarks-a-private-way-to-save-tweets/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/28/twitter-launches-bookmarks... Super Follows in 2021 https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/introducing-super-follows https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/introduci... Birdwatch (community notes) in 2021 https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/introducing-birdwatch-a-community-based-approach-to-misinformation https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/introduci... all launched before Musk took over.
• DoesntMatter22 3y ago
  [flagged]
  • davedx 3y ago
    Woman
    • DoesntMatter22 3y ago
      [flagged]
      • shagmin 3y ago
        It really doesn't matter, but relative to what? She's older than the average CEO by almost a decade.
• tootie 3y ago
  Personally, I think he just wants attention. Twitter was already built when he showed up. So was Tesla.