There are two basic takes on what Elon Musk is doing at Twitter: either’s he’s trashing the whole thing, or he’s a strategic genius with a plan so far-reaching that we mortals can’t see it yet. I’ll explain why, even if he is a genius, Twitter won’t be the mechanism for realizing his genius. The…
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter closed last night, and he sacked four executives including the CEO. What might Twitter be like if Musk lays off 75% of the staff, as The Washington Post reports he plans to do? Consider Twitter as a neighborhood Here’s an analogy for you. Let’s assume that you live in a…
Ye (the rapper, formerly called Kanye West) is buying Parler, the conservative social network. I know, it sounds like a hoax, but it’s true. With Elon Musk acquiring Twitter, you have to ask, are these moves going to help the social networks? Will Ye help Parler No. Ye has no demonstrated business acumen or strategic…
After years of requests, Twitter is finally testing a button to edit tweets. Assuming they don’t take it back again — which is certainly possible — the edit button will allow millions of us who use Twitter to post and react to fix our typos. And to the folks who’ve got their panties in a…
Elon Musk’s bid to take over Twitter starts with platitudes about free speech. He says he’s a “free speech absolutist.” “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy,” he says in the news release about his takeover of the company, “and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of…
Yesterday, I told the story of how LeafFilter failed to show up for three appointments — and never called me — when scheduled to perform service at my house in Maine. I described the events from November 1 to December 9, when I’d finally had it with the company and was prepared to tell the…
Twitter announced yesterday that it would allow people to remove unwanted photos or video of themselves. But there are lots of ill-defined exceptions, and the policy as a whole will be unwieldy to enforce. Analyzing the new policy changes Twitter already bans posting of people’s private information (“doxing”). Here’s the start of the blog post…
Florida law now says it is illegal to throw a politician off a social network. This violates the First Amendment. First the facts. From Wired: On Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law the Stop Social Media Censorship Act, which greatly limits large social media platforms’ ability to moderate or restrict user content. The bill is a…
For months, we’ve heard the rumor that ex-President Trump was starting a social network. It’s up now. It’s called “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump.” As a social network, it sucks. But as a functional equivalent to Trump’s former Twitter account, it’s likely to succeed. How Trump’s new megaphone works Here are the rules…