Elon Musk is in the spotlight. And it’s not for less: the billionaire spent US$ 44 billion to buy the twitter🇧🇷 However, this is not just any acquisition, as we are talking about a heavy user who took over his favorite social network. And now he can do whatever he wants with the platform, even destroy it.
Twitter is one of the main social networks today. Through it, various spheres of society come together in heated debates on numerous subjects. The platform, in my opinion, still manages to be better than LinkedIn in networking due to completely dynamic interactions.
Or, well… it’s the best place to find memes.
In any case, all this gives a strong influence to what is shared on the platform. And Musk is well aware of this: in January, the exec made the price of a cryptocurrency soar 285,000% with a simple joke🇧🇷 After all, in addition to having around 115 million followers, it is one of the most successful names in the tech world.
Given these facts, there is no doubt: what Musk says moves the internet. Whether positively or negatively, his actions cause a lot of buzz, especially when there are new announcements on his Twitter profile. And that’s where the question comes from: if this has happened before, imagine now, that he owns the social network?
The heavy user bought his favorite social network
Well, confusion abounds. And it all started before the deal was even closed.
After the officialization of the purchase intention of Twitterit didn’t take long for Musk accuses the company of hiding spam and withdraws from the offer🇧🇷 The businessman, however, turned back and finally took over the social network on October 28🇧🇷
Obviously, all this created an almost endless imbroglio, including a process🇧🇷 But what draws attention is the attitude of the entrepreneurwho reacted with irony in a post made by Twitter:
“They said no I could buy Twitter
So they didn’t give information about bots
Now they want to force me to buy Twitter in court
Now they will have to give information about bots in court.”
And that’s exactly how the billionaire is running Twitter. Take Blue, which was $4.99 a month in the pre-Musk era, as an example: at first, the service was expected to cost $20🇧🇷 The next day, the real value came, confusing users and journalists who followed this decision closely: US$ 8 per month.
Twitter Blue, which would cost $20, went for $8
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. First, the announcement of Twitter Blue took place through the executive’s profile. As might be expected, Musk didn’t miss the opportunity: “The current system of Twitter of lords and commoners for who has or doesn’t have the blue seal is bullshit! Power to the people, Twitter Blue for $8 a month,” he said.
The provocation has a clear target: the verification of accounts. After all, the system will change because… yes. That way, users will be able to pay to have the blue seal next to their name. And the entire purpose of the tool, which aims to convey credibility, will be discarded.
Blue will still have other features that go against the dynamics of the social network. This is the case with priorities in responses and searches, which, in the words of the new owner of the social network, is essential to combat scams and spam on the platform. In short: do you want to appear? Pay for it.
The Twitter Verification Controversy
When announcing the purchase of the social network, Musk stressed his desire to rescue freedom of expression on the platform🇧🇷 no wonder, on your first day, the CEO said he would assemble a moderation board with “widely diverse viewpoints.” The idea, however, remains only in the promise.
With the verification controversy, account holders with the blue seal decided to prove how complex this type of confirmation is. For this, some users changed the name of their respective profiles to “Elon Musk”🇧🇷 The joke lasted until the CEO got annoyed: “Going forward, any impersonation on Twitter without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended”, he tweeted.
And what happened? The profiles that made the joke were removed from the air. All this even before the formation of the diverse moderation board that the billionaire promised a few days ago. By the way, where is Musk who, in 2021, said “legalize comedy” and, in May 2022, proclaimed himself “an absolutist of free speech”?
If you question, you’re out!
The big thing is that none of this is new. Before we even imagined that Musk would buy Twitter, the executive got involved with other problems at SpaceX. In June, company officials released an open letter that questioned the executive’s maturity. The result? The employees involved were fired shortly thereafter.🇧🇷
The letter’s remarks were by no means exaggerated. “Elon’s behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us,” the document reads. But the appeal was to no avail: in reaction, President Gwynne Shotwell said there was “no need for this kind of over-the-top activism.”
And where are we seeing a similar story? On twitter. And again, we’re dealing with another case of pure confusion.
First, Musk thought about laying off 75% of the company🇧🇷 Later, the businessman turned back, but said he would make the cuts. Then, denied🇧🇷 And guess what happened? Half the workforce has been laid off🇧🇷
Now the company wants to rehire the terminated employees🇧🇷 According to Bloomberg, some people were fired “by mistake”. A very cruel attitude, especially considering that some employees only discovered that they were fired because they lost access to corporate email.
What will tomorrow be like?
While all this is happening, Elon Musk follows on Twitter… or rather, on his Twitter profile. As you might imagine, the executive is making the usual jokes: “Twitter is the worst!”, he published this Tuesday (8). “But also the best.”
Or making jokes involving Twitter Blue and profile verification:
These attitudes, however, throw the social network into a future of uncertainty. After all, not even two weeks have passed and Twitter has plunged into a sea of chaos. Especially when considering a very good observation by the The Verge: Musk bought a content moderation company, not a technology company🇧🇷 That is, this goes far beyond all the challenges faced at both Tesla and SpaceX.
Users are also not very comfortable with the decisions that the entrepreneur may make going forward. On the 28th, Zack Nelson, from the JerryRigEverything🇧🇷 stated who would leave Twitter if Donald Trump and Kanye West’s accounts are restored. “I will not join a platform where hate speech and violence are a game,” he tweeted.
The big issue is that there is still no real replacement for Twitter. For now, we have Mastodon, which reached 1 million active users in the midst of all this confusion. But will the platform offer all the needs of those who use the social network purchased by Elon Musk?
https://tecnoblog.net/especiais/no-meio-de-tantas-confusoes-elon-musk-e-o-novo-dono-do-twitter-e-agora/