Twitter

[jinga nation]

I've wondered for a while now if Musk is secretly trying to long con everyone by killing Twitter. I have no idea why he would want to do such a thing but so many of his actions seem overly destructive that it's the only conclusion I could come up with.

In the last week it looks like he is now rebranding Twitter to X and will be getting rid of all the birds. I feel like this is the equivalent of taking a dying animal outback and shooting it in the head. Changing a widely known brand and logo to something nondescript and indistinctive seems so damaging that I don't know how the product would survive it.

Maybe he secretly wants a $54 billion tax write off? I'm at a loss.

I'm so tired of the oxygen being sucked by Elon, so my response is:

[MrGreen]

I've wondered for a while now if Musk is secretly trying to long con everyone by killing Twitter. I have no idea why he would want to do such a thing but so many of his actions seem overly destructive that it's the only conclusion I could come up with.

In the last week it looks like he is now rebranding Twitter to X and will be getting rid of all the birds. I feel like this is the equivalent of taking a dying animal outback and shooting it in the head. Changing a widely known brand and logo to something nondescript and indistinctive seems so damaging that I don't know how the product would survive it.

Maybe he secretly wants a $54 billion tax write off? I'm at a loss.

I'm so tired of the oxygen being sucked by Elon, so my response is:

I'm not really a Musk watcher myself. The Twitter rebrand showed up in my news feed and it seemed so insane I felt compelled to post here. I don't even use Twitter so it's not going to impact my life if it goes away. Just one of those things I see an say, "How about that?"

[Travis]

It has been 9/24 months since Musk started 'improving' Twitter.  In that time there have been significant functional losses to the service, large losses of advertising revenue, a huge slew of very expensive lawsuits (which seem to be slam dunks against the company) from improperly compensated employee layoffs, a huge slew of lawsuits from unpaid debtors, a large number of serious competitors entering the market, and a bizarre rebranding exercise that appears poised to further damage.

Don't forget the addition of a CEO who appears to be indistinguishable from an AI press secretary. Seriously, Elon still controls the company's finances, branding, technology, and HR decisions. What is there for her to do exactly?

[dividendman]

It has been 9/24 months since Musk started 'improving' Twitter.  In that time there have been significant functional losses to the service, large losses of advertising revenue, a huge slew of very expensive lawsuits (which seem to be slam dunks against the company) from improperly compensated employee layoffs, a huge slew of lawsuits from unpaid debtors, a large number of serious competitors entering the market, and a bizarre rebranding exercise that appears poised to further damage.

Don't forget the addition of a CEO who appears to be indistinguishable from an AI press secretary. Seriously, Elon still controls the company's finances, branding, technology, and HR decisions. What is there for her to do exactly?

Take the blame.

[seattlecyclone]

I'm sure she negotiated a pretty sizable golden parachute that would come along with any "blame taking." Hard to lose, really, when you're that high up.

[MrGreen]

I doubt it's real but I just saw an "announcement" from Zuckerberg that they are rebranding Threads to Twitter, now that it's available.

Now that's funny!

[jinga nation]

Saw this on Mastodon:

Twitter --> X
Tweets --> Xcrements ?

Also, X trying hard on extortion from corporate customers:

According to the Wall Street Journal, #TwitterX sent emails to advertisers this week, warning them that »beginning Aug. 7, brands’ accounts will lose their #verification—a gold check mark that indicates their account truly represents their #brand—if they haven’t spent at least $1,000 on #ads in the previous 30 days or $6,000 on ads in the previous 180 days, according to the email.«
https://archive.li/sGYgS

[LennStar]

Oh, wow!

We Germans have a saying: That will hit like bomb.

Does that saying exist in the US too?

[Michael in ABQ]

Saw this on Mastodon:

Twitter --> X
Tweets --> Xcrements ?

Also, X trying hard on extortion from corporate customers:

According to the Wall Street Journal, #TwitterX sent emails to advertisers this week, warning them that »beginning Aug. 7, brands’ accounts will lose their #verification—a gold check mark that indicates their account truly represents their #brand—if they haven’t spent at least $1,000 on #ads in the previous 30 days or $6,000 on ads in the previous 180 days, according to the email.«
https://archive.li/sGYgS

That's a pretty low threshold. My small business spends $5-10k/month on Google Ads. There are many companies spending thousands or tens of thousands per day on Meta (FB/Instagram) ads. Having only ever interacted with the Twitter platform through a browser looking at open source intelligence from the war in Ukraine I can hardly recall seeing any advertising at all. I know it wouldn't be a good fit for my brand.

[RetiredAt63]

I just saw this and thought it summed up the twitter mess nicely.

[Tigerpine]

I just saw this and thought it summed up the twitter mess nicely.

It's pining for the woods!

[aetheldrea]

I just saw this and thought it summed up the twitter mess nicely.

It's pining for the woods!

That there is a Norwegian Blue. It’s pining for the fjords.

[Glenstache]

"No matter how many cuts I make, the board just still doesn't seem to be long enough..."

[bacchi]

Oh, wow!

We Germans have a saying: That will hit like bomb.

Does that saying exist in the US too?

Yes. I've seen the phrase before and understand it though it's not very popular.

[Villanelle]

Oh, wow!

We Germans have a saying: That will hit like bomb.

Does that saying exist in the US too?

A comparable American idiom might be "that will go over like a lead balloon" or "like a fart in church".

[GuitarStv]

Oh, wow!

We Germans have a saying: That will hit like bomb.

Does that saying exist in the US too?

A comparable American idiom might be "that will go over like a lead balloon" or "like a fart in church".

Which lead to the name of the greatest band in '70s rock.  Good ole Churchfart.  :P

[Travis]

https://fxtwitter.com/realchrisjbeale/status/1685353135236403200

This is Twitter's new sign on the HQ. No permit to take the old one down, put this thing up (and it may have been erected by employees rather than qualified workers), signs on top of buildings in SF are illegal, and there may be some historic building rules in play as well. And this is on top of other municipal ordinances that Musk is accused of violating regarding the engineering of the building. I really have to wonder where the building's landlord is in all of this.

https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1685381217967915008?s=20

[LennStar]

I am honestly amazed how easy it is for this guy to piss off people. It's a sort of dark skill. Something that would let you choose a very beneficial trait in exchange in a character creation of a game, like being super rich.

[MrGreen]

One does have to wonder how the decision making tree works when you see something like that. It looks painful to observe at night...and furthers the whole strip club/adult content vibe.

[Glenstache]

https://fxtwitter.com/realchrisjbeale/status/1685353135236403200

This is Twitter's new sign on the HQ. No permit to take the old one down, put this thing up (and it may have been erected by employees rather than qualified workers), signs on top of buildings in SF are illegal, and there may be some historic building rules in play as well. And this is on top of other municipal ordinances that Musk is accused of violating regarding the engineering of the building. I really have to wonder where the building's landlord is in all of this.

https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1685381217967915008?s=20

... but the url is stil... twitter.com

[Travis]

Somehow Musk (as a tenant) is denying access to the building for inspectors. Seems easy enough to get a warrant and a couple of cops to force the issue.

https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/1685705113812242433

[LennStar]

nomnomnom more butter on your popcorn?

[Michael in ABQ]

Somehow Musk (as a tenant) is denying access to the building for inspectors. Seems easy enough to get a warrant and a couple of cops to force the issue.

https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/1685705113812242433

Yep, nothing like the threat of deadly force to enforce municipal sign regulations.

[Travis]

Somehow Musk (as a tenant) is denying access to the building for inspectors. Seems easy enough to get a warrant and a couple of cops to force the issue.

https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/1685705113812242433

Yep, nothing like the threat of deadly force to enforce municipal sign regulations.

It's San Francisco. That sign regulation has to do with earthquake mitigation. Things tipping over and crushing people on the street is a real concern.

[scottish]

The sign appears to be held up by sandbags.    Good to see Elon applying his engineering skills.

[Taran Wanderer]

This is other narcissistic maniac who doesn’t think normal rules apply to him.  The inspector needs to call the police, enter the building, disable the sign, and arrest and charge and prosecute anyone who gets in their way.  We live in a society of rules.  In a democracy, we have a voice in those rules.  When people don’t follow the rules, there need to be consequences.

Elon is free to destroy Twitter/X if that’s what he wants - good luck with those creditors, by the way - but for me, this sign BS is a step too far.

BTW, if I was a neighbor, I’d be buying a parabolic mirror or several, and then reflecting that light back on the source or on someone who could be annoyed enough to do something about it.

[Psychstache]

This is other narcissistic maniac who doesn’t think normal rules apply to him.  The inspector needs to call the police, enter the building, disable the sign, and arrest and charge and prosecute anyone who gets in their way.  We live in a society of rules.  In a democracy, we have a voice in those rules.  When people don’t follow the rules, there need to be consequences.

Elon is free to destroy Twitter/X if that’s what he wants - good luck with those creditors, by the way - but for me, this sign BS is a step too far.

BTW, if I was a neighbor, I’d be buying a parabolic mirror or several, and then reflecting that light back on the source or on someone who could be annoyed enough to do something about it.

I mean, with his lifetime of experience, why would he think otherwise?

[Travis]

It's gone.

https://abc7ny.com/twitter-x-sign-taken-down-bright-light-sf/13578182/

[LennStar]

BTW, if I was a neighbor, I’d be buying a parabolic mirror or several, and then reflecting that light back on the source or on someone who could be annoyed enough to do something about it.

The problem with those billionaire babies that they never are near you, so you are never able to ahem... reflect their actions back to them.

Also I would never part with any of my little green workers because of Musk!

[Glenstache]

No permits for a sign is the least of Musk's evils. See also:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-batteries-range/

Exaggerate vehicle range, then cancel anyone who complains about it.

[LennStar]

Popcorn makers must have such a stressy time!

You know that verified check mark? That became "twitter blue" aka the "you are a right extremist paying idiot" shame mark, now renamed "X blue"?

You can now hide it.

nomnomnomnomnom

[Metalcat]

Popcorn makers must have such a stressy time!

You know that verified check mark? That became "twitter blue" aka the "you are a right extremist paying idiot" shame mark, now renamed "X blue"?

You can now hide it.

nomnomnomnomnom

Wait...what?

You can pay for a verified check mark and then hide the check mark you paid for???

[ChpBstrd]

A modern-day PT Barnum.

[LennStar]

Popcorn makers must have such a stressy time!

You know that verified check mark? That became "twitter blue" aka the "you are a right extremist paying idiot" shame mark, now renamed "X blue"?

You can now hide it.

nomnomnomnomnom

Wait...what?

You can pay for a verified check mark and then hide the check mark you paid for???

Yep! It's fantastic, right?

I think it's because all those Free Speech enthusiasts thought that the "left-green extremists" would flee now that they are coming and that the blue mark would be a mark of White Pride.

Instead those leftists had the audacity to not only stay but continuously pointed out things like "if there is no climate change, how do you explain the hottest year in history again?" and those snow flakes melted like glaciers.

I took that example because I just saw a stat that Dems and Reps are now divided by their "believe" in science. If that graph is not faked, it's probably the biggest and fastest change in party views ever (except maybe wars).

[maizefolk]

I took that example because I just saw a stat that Dems and Reps are now divided by their "believe" in science. If that graph is not faked, it's probably the biggest and fastest change in party views ever (except maybe wars).

People and party's views on topics can change really rapidly.

Check out how fast republicans went from viewing the economy as bad to viewing it as good at the start of 2017, a year in which nothing much changed with the US economy.

And while smaller in size, you can see a really noticeable change in opposite direction from democrats, again in a year in which nothing much changed in the US economy.

[LennStar]

I took that example because I just saw a stat that Dems and Reps are now divided by their "believe" in science. If that graph is not faked, it's probably the biggest and fastest change in party views ever (except maybe wars).

People and party's views on topics can change really rapidly.

Check out how fast republicans went from viewing the economy as bad to viewing it as good at the start of 2017, a year in which nothing much changed with the US economy.

I would not count "the economy" as a party view. Or did they change the view on the existence of it? I mean political views not whatever is in the news (or twitterfeed) today.
You know, abortion, should we have a fence to Mexico, is it ok to tax rich people more, that is a political view. The state of the economy is not. Though I admit it looks like it is so in the US.

btw. that graph without the question means nearly nothing. As it is the case in most cases were people are asked (also where/how they were asked is important).

[Michael in ABQ]

I took that example because I just saw a stat that Dems and Reps are now divided by their "believe" in science. If that graph is not faked, it's probably the biggest and fastest change in party views ever (except maybe wars).

People and party's views on topics can change really rapidly.

Check out how fast republicans went from viewing the economy as bad to viewing it as good at the start of 2017, a year in which nothing much changed with the US economy.

I would not count "the economy" as a party view. Or did they change the view on the existence of it? I mean political views not whatever is in the news (or twitterfeed) today.
You know, abortion, should we have a fence to Mexico, is it ok to tax rich people more, that is a political view. The state of the economy is not. Though I admit it looks like it is so in the US.

btw. that graph without the question means nearly nothing. As it is the case in most cases were people are asked (also where/how they were asked is important).

"How would you rate national economic conditions?"

Excellent
Good
OK
Bad
Terrible

That is a subjective question and people are going to reveal their bias. There are objective measures such as GDP, inflation, unemployment, etc. but if your team/person is in charge then you might be willing to overlook that high inflation rate. If the other team/person is in charge you're going to focus on that even if other measures might be good.

People hear a headline number like the economy grew 3% this quarter (typically GDP growth) or unemployment rose to 6% or inflation is at 5%. Most people don't analyze things any deeper than that. How are they doing personally? Do they have a job? Did they get a raise? Is the cost of gas or electricity up? Do groceries cost more?

[maizefolk]

You know, abortion, should we have a fence to Mexico, is it ok to tax rich people more, that is a political view. The state of the economy is not. Though I admit it looks like it is so in the US.

I would argue "do you think science works" is even less a political view than "do you think the economy doing well". Yet folks certainly seem to treat it as such.

[waltworks]

People and party's views on topics can change really rapidly.

Check out how fast republicans went from viewing the economy as bad to viewing it as good at the start of 2017, a year in which nothing much changed with the US economy.

And while smaller in size, you can see a really noticeable change in opposite direction from democrats, again in a year in which nothing much changed in the US economy.

Wow, so the takeaway is something like, "Democrats always think the economy sucks no matter what since Clinton. Republicans think the economy is awesome any time there's a Republican president, and awful every time there's a Democrat."

Crazy stuff. Are all the Democrats hoarding gold and ammo? One would assume so given their constant pessimism. Are Republicans that easily convinced that someone who has very limited influence over the economy matters so much?

-W

[bacchi]

People hear a headline number like the economy grew 3% this quarter (typically GDP growth) or unemployment rose to 6% or inflation is at 5%. Most people don't analyze things any deeper than that. How are they doing personally? Do they have a job? Did they get a raise? Is the cost of gas or electricity up? Do groceries cost more?

Yep. Polling indicates that most of us think, personally, we're doing fine but the overall US economy sucks. The perception gap is large even for local economies.

The Fed also asked Americans how they felt about the local and national economy. And though the number of Americans who said that they personally were “doing at least okay” actually rose slightly from 2019 to 2021, their evaluation of the national economy plummeted in that time frame. If this graph were a bumper sticker, it would read: EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE, BUT I'M FINE.

[GuitarStv]

Wow, so the takeaway is something like, "Democrats always think the economy sucks no matter what since Clinton. Republicans think the economy is awesome any time there's a Republican president, and awful every time there's a Democrat."

Ha!

That was also my read.

[FireLane]

What does Linda Yaccarino, the alleged CEO of Twitter, actually do?

Ever since Elon Musk announced Linda Yaccarino was stepping into the role of Twitter CEO in May, a lot of people have been wondering why she took the job and what she actually does when Musk still holds so much sway over the company. That was only renewed earlier this month when Musk insulted her authority once again by tweeting that CEO is a “fake title.”

She’s been dogged by claims she’s little more than a figurehead while Musk holds the real power as executive chairman and chief technology officer. He consistently tweets out major decisions, like the recent hasty (and sloppy) rebranding of Twitter as X, only for her to send delayed tweets praising his shambolic leadership.

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/why-did-linda-yaccarino-join-twitter

[Metalcat]

What does Linda Yaccarino, the alleged CEO of Twitter, actually do?

Ever since Elon Musk announced Linda Yaccarino was stepping into the role of Twitter CEO in May, a lot of people have been wondering why she took the job and what she actually does when Musk still holds so much sway over the company. That was only renewed earlier this month when Musk insulted her authority once again by tweeting that CEO is a “fake title.”

She’s been dogged by claims she’s little more than a figurehead while Musk holds the real power as executive chairman and chief technology officer. He consistently tweets out major decisions, like the recent hasty (and sloppy) rebranding of Twitter as X, only for her to send delayed tweets praising his shambolic leadership.

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/why-did-linda-yaccarino-join-twitter

Lol, he doesn't even know how to use a fall guy properly.

[LennStar]

Just so you know Musk decided on a whim to remove the "block" function. I wonder if the CEO knew it before the tweet eXcrement?

[MrGreen]

Just so you know Musk decided on a whim to remove the "block" function. I wonder if the CEO knew it before the tweet eXcrement?

The irony of removing this feature being that the app will no longer qualify for the Google or Apple app store. The ability to block users is a required feature of social media apps in both stores. Go on with your bad self, Elon!

[Sibley]

Just so you know Musk decided on a whim to remove the "block" function. I wonder if the CEO knew it before the tweet eXcrement?

The irony of removing this feature being that the app will no longer qualify for the Google or Apple app store. The ability to block users is a required feature of social media apps in both stores. Go on with your bad self, Elon!

Elon doesn't know that. As a result, Apple/Google/someone else will tell him and Twitter will quietly reinstate the block function. Either that or the EU is going to come down on him like a ton of bricks.

[Villanelle]

Just so you know Musk decided on a whim to remove the "block" function. I wonder if the CEO knew it before the tweet eXcrement?

The irony of removing this feature being that the app will no longer qualify for the Google or Apple app store. The ability to block users is a required feature of social media apps in both stores. Go on with your bad self, Elon!

Wow!  Thanks for posting this.  I had no idea.  (I also don't have a Twitter account, so it's all shadenfraude and rubber necking for me.  But the fact that this guy made a decision that removes his app from basically the only 2 places most people get apps is...[I don't even know what adjective to put here].)

[Metalcat]

Wait...does that mean that Elon himself can no longer block people? Isn't he, like, the king of blocking folks who say things he doesn't like?

[mspym]

Wait...does that mean that Elon himself can no longer block people? Isn't he, like, the king of blocking folks who say things he doesn't like?

But more importantly, no one can block *him* anymore.

[Kris]

Wait...does that mean that Elon himself can no longer block people? Isn't he, like, the king of blocking folks who say things he doesn't like?

But more importantly, no one can block *him* anymore.

Yeah, a ton of people have blocked Elon, and he found out, and it hurt his fee-fees.