3 ms·

Twitter left the phase where niche hobbyist networks matter to the growth of the platform. The site is basically where the mainstream convos happen in the “norm

by gfodor 3y ago

Twitter left the phase where niche hobbyist networks matter to the growth of the platform. The site is basically where the mainstream convos happen in the “normie” zeitgeist, and the surrounding din of people yelling at each other about those issues.

smoldesu 3y ago
I mostly disagree with Doctorow's opinions on how platforms die, and I don't really hate Elon as much as I could. I do think Twitter is bound to fall off if it hasn't already, though. The value it provides is too easily copied by others in my opinion, and the actual incentive to participate in it is dwindling. I've never made a Twitter account, and today it has never looked less appealing from the outside-in. Even if the premium features were free! I can believe that certain people are bought-in on Twitter for the long-haul. But social networks are dynamic, and after a while we're going to see the effects of a worse client, less dependable web app and weaker hosting architecture. Even if Elon isn't a destructive force internally (ha ha), the changes have already soured it for a lot of people. Twitter's existence is based on a delicate precipice of advertising and free content. You can't change the deal and expect everyone to be on board going forward. Imagine if Hacker News made the same changes, do you think it's audience would stick around? I certainly wouldn't. Maybe I'm wrong though, I don't really see the inside story.
- gfodor 3y ago
  Musk recently made a change where the best posters on twitter are earning money now in a ad rev share. They're almost definitely not going anywhere until another social network makes the same offer.
  - KerrAvon 3y ago
    Other social networks are pretty happy to not to have the people he's actually paying, seems to be a bizarre collection of accused rapists and right-wing trolls.
    - gfodor 3y ago
      It’s anyone who gets meaningful verified account impressions. There are probably tens of thousands of such accounts.
  - tacomonstrous 3y ago
    All these 'best' accounts are essentially the Twitter equivalent of SEO farms, as far as I can tell.
    - tremon 3y ago
      ...and if they weren't before, that change guarantees it will happen.
  - mikeryan 3y ago
    Twitter/X is just catching up - not leading the way. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok all have ad sharing for a long time.
    - gfodor 3y ago
      Well yeah, the point is there is no other textual online discussion board I’m aware of (fan out or otherwise) that pays people for the engagement from posting words to social media.
      - smoldesu 3y ago
        Reddit does it as well, now: https://www.reddit.com/contributor-program https://www.reddit.com/contributor-program Both instances feel less like an olive branch and more like a last-ditch effort to retain the important users. Instead of listening to user concerns or fixing the apps, they've decided to incentivize popular users to stay active. It's not a draw for newcomers, who'd pay $8 a month for every $0.20 they earn. It's not a draw to developers, who now pay out the ass to access their platform. It's a "you're locked in here with me!" play that doesn't bode well for the treatment of users.
AlexandrB 3y ago
You lose enough niche hobbyist networks and suddenly the place starts to seem awful empty... Or at least I'd like to think so. Realistically, I don't care either way. Even if Mastodon empties out completely I'm not going back.
firecall 3y ago
I’d be more inclined to suggest that Facebook has that role. I’m not exactly sure what Twitter / X is these days, but my Twitter isn’t Normies and Mainstream Convos :-) Everyone I knew IRL has left Twitter.

by gfodor 3y ago

smoldesu 3y ago

I mostly disagree with Doctorow's opinions on how platforms die, and I don't really hate Elon as much as I could. I do think Twitter is bound to fall off if it hasn't already, though. The value it provides is too easily copied by others in my opinion, and the actual incentive to participate in it is dwindling. I've never made a Twitter account, and today it has never looked less appealing from the outside-in. Even if the premium features were free! I can believe that certain people are bought-in on Twitter for the long-haul. But social networks are dynamic, and after a while we're going to see the effects of a worse client, less dependable web app and weaker hosting architecture. Even if Elon isn't a destructive force internally (ha ha), the changes have already soured it for a lot of people. Twitter's existence is based on a delicate precipice of advertising and free content. You can't change the deal and expect everyone to be on board going forward. Imagine if Hacker News made the same changes, do you think it's audience would stick around? I certainly wouldn't. Maybe I'm wrong though, I don't really see the inside story.

gfodor 3y ago
Musk recently made a change where the best posters on twitter are earning money now in a ad rev share. They're almost definitely not going anywhere until another social network makes the same offer.
- KerrAvon 3y ago
  Other social networks are pretty happy to not to have the people he's actually paying, seems to be a bizarre collection of accused rapists and right-wing trolls.
  - gfodor 3y ago
    It’s anyone who gets meaningful verified account impressions. There are probably tens of thousands of such accounts.
- tacomonstrous 3y ago
  All these 'best' accounts are essentially the Twitter equivalent of SEO farms, as far as I can tell.
  - tremon 3y ago
    ...and if they weren't before, that change guarantees it will happen.
- mikeryan 3y ago
  Twitter/X is just catching up - not leading the way. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok all have ad sharing for a long time.
  - gfodor 3y ago
    Well yeah, the point is there is no other textual online discussion board I’m aware of (fan out or otherwise) that pays people for the engagement from posting words to social media.
    - smoldesu 3y ago
      Reddit does it as well, now: https://www.reddit.com/contributor-program https://www.reddit.com/contributor-program Both instances feel less like an olive branch and more like a last-ditch effort to retain the important users. Instead of listening to user concerns or fixing the apps, they've decided to incentivize popular users to stay active. It's not a draw for newcomers, who'd pay $8 a month for every $0.20 they earn. It's not a draw to developers, who now pay out the ass to access their platform. It's a "you're locked in here with me!" play that doesn't bode well for the treatment of users.

AlexandrB 3y ago

You lose enough niche hobbyist networks and suddenly the place starts to seem awful empty... Or at least I'd like to think so. Realistically, I don't care either way. Even if Mastodon empties out completely I'm not going back.

firecall 3y ago

I’d be more inclined to suggest that Facebook has that role. I’m not exactly sure what Twitter / X is these days, but my Twitter isn’t Normies and Mainstream Convos :-) Everyone I knew IRL has left Twitter.