4 ms·

Is the constant stream of flamebait (this action and other recent changes) helpful for twitter, or part of some larger strategy? To me the service seems increa

by thih9 2y ago

Is the constant stream of flamebait (this action and other recent changes) helpful for twitter, or part of some larger strategy? To me the service seems increasingly unreliable and unprofessional. Then again, I no longer feel like I'm the target audience. The numbers seem bad too; revenue was 22% down in 2023[1]. Also, "global active daily users of X via mobile apps had steadily declined during the year after Musk acquired the company, down 16% by September 2023"[2]. I'm puzzled. [1]: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/twitter-statistics/ https://www.businessofapps.com/data/twitter-statistics/ [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_under_Elon_Musk#Statistics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_under_Elon_Musk#Statis...

jcfrei 2y ago
To me it's still useful but I exclusively read it through lists. That way it's always chronological and only consists of tweets from selected accounts and retweets from other (usually interesting) people.
MetaWhirledPeas 2y ago
> Is the constant stream of flamebait helpful for twitter, or part of some larger strategy? I don't think much thought was put into it, but I do think there will be a gradual numbing effect among the comments as people get bored of the criticism. Maybe very gradual though. Edit: It just occurred to me that you might be referring to user posts on the platform being flamebait; my answer assumed that the action (moving the HQ) was perhaps flamebait, along with other recent changes.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- thih9 2y ago
  To clarify, yes, by flamebait I meant the latter (this action and other recent changes). Added that to the original comment now.
DoughnutHole 2y ago
Musk’s tweets and the unimpeded use of the platform for misinformation and coordinated violence give me the impression that he cares less about turning it into a profitable enterprise and more about its use as a tool to push his agenda and affect the cultural and political changes he desires.
- thih9 2y ago
  I find it surprising that this is a viable option. I guess it always has been and it affects any media platform. Then again it’s easier to switch to a different radio station, or buy a different newspaper. In the context of a social media platform you are leaving your network.
- ashleyn 2y ago
  There is plenty of evidence for this. E.g. banning the word "cis" as hate speech
macrael 2y ago
No! It’s just bad management. There is not some secret 4D chess to discover here. A paranoid billionaire with a ketamine problem is running Twitter into the ground. I think Howard Hughes is becoming a more and more accurate model with time.
averageRoyalty 2y ago
Are these numbers that important when you're privately owned and slashing costs? I guess the motivators are different to a VC backed or publicly traded company.

by thih9 2y ago

jcfrei 2y ago

To me it's still useful but I exclusively read it through lists. That way it's always chronological and only consists of tweets from selected accounts and retweets from other (usually interesting) people.

MetaWhirledPeas 2y ago

> Is the constant stream of flamebait helpful for twitter, or part of some larger strategy? I don't think much thought was put into it, but I do think there will be a gradual numbing effect among the comments as people get bored of the criticism. Maybe very gradual though. Edit: It just occurred to me that you might be referring to user posts on the platform being flamebait; my answer assumed that the action (moving the HQ) was perhaps flamebait, along with other recent changes.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
thih9 2y ago
To clarify, yes, by flamebait I meant the latter (this action and other recent changes). Added that to the original comment now.

DoughnutHole 2y ago

Musk’s tweets and the unimpeded use of the platform for misinformation and coordinated violence give me the impression that he cares less about turning it into a profitable enterprise and more about its use as a tool to push his agenda and affect the cultural and political changes he desires.

thih9 2y ago
I find it surprising that this is a viable option. I guess it always has been and it affects any media platform. Then again it’s easier to switch to a different radio station, or buy a different newspaper. In the context of a social media platform you are leaving your network.
ashleyn 2y ago
There is plenty of evidence for this. E.g. banning the word "cis" as hate speech

macrael 2y ago

No! It’s just bad management. There is not some secret 4D chess to discover here. A paranoid billionaire with a ketamine problem is running Twitter into the ground. I think Howard Hughes is becoming a more and more accurate model with time.

averageRoyalty 2y ago

Are these numbers that important when you're privately owned and slashing costs? I guess the motivators are different to a VC backed or publicly traded company.