The day they bought us our social standing for cash

I joined Twitter in April 2009. Two months earlier than Elon Musk, who purchased the platform final month…

Not much less, 13 years. I’ve a date with Twitter. I’m one of many oldest of the platform, which was based in 2006 and began to turn out to be widespread overseas, particularly within the USA, a 12 months or two earlier than us.

Again then, Twitter was at all times a berry.

We had been a handful of individuals. House so far as attainable. We had been saying “What is that this now, what are we going to inform you right here”, however we had been nonetheless writing a number of sentences. We used to speak to one another extra, hold silent at lengthy intervals and begin once more. The write restrict was 140 characters; We even used it as if they’d been rationed. We had been consuming seventy, eighty characters and ending the tweet.

I feel I deleted my first tweets. I keep in mind roughly what I wrote, however I could not discover it. There is just one difficulty that I keep in mind effectively; It is about Mustafa Sarigul. Sarıgül was additionally involved in utilizing new channels at the moment, as he’s now, and boasted of utilizing Twitter and being accessible through Twitter. He was the mayor of Şişli, he was doing politics within the DSP. I requested an interview on the platform to check what he mentioned. I had it. I am nonetheless on Twitter, getting outdated round right here; Sarıgül, then again, does not cling round a lot, she will get youthful on TikTok. Sort of like Benjamin Button…

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Life modified quickly, but it surely was clear the place we had been going. For instance, I tweeted this tweet in 2010 (I ask you to skip my anxious squeak within the final sentence):

My political predictions – I see with happiness and remorse – have come true. The 12 months is 2010 once more:

Properly, six years later they elected Donald Trump…

Let’s get into present politics; By way of a thread from The Economist:

(Why did I write it in English characters, however anyway, you bought it).

Again within the days when Twitter was just a little extra minimalist. The times when it was much less insignificant and extra intimate.

For instance, Elon Musk himself wrote at the moment, “By no means thoughts my earlier tweets, it was written by somebody pretending to be me 🙂 that is actually me”. We had been giving up. We did not care. We had been laughing.

Then we grew up. We bought critical. We bought boring. The world has modified, in fact Twitter has additionally modified.

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Twitter is crucial information heart on this planet as we speak. I am not simply saying it by way of lots of people following what is going on on from there. The information can be produced there. Notion too. If world leaders have one thing to say, they are saying it there. The primary contact with the general public is there. The primary response to crises, disasters and even riots is there. Disinformation is being produced there. As well as, the general public itself is organized there. Heshtegs can flip to massive strikes.

Now a wealthy man, a little bit of a spoiled man, Elon Musk took Twitter; He is fired the admins, he’ll fireplace lots of the remainder and run the platform on his personal. As soon as it is a super energy; actually, whether it is managed effectively, it’s a energy of possibly greater than 44 billion {dollars}. However is it effectively managed? As a result of 44 billion {dollars} is just not a small amount of cash. We now have somebody who based and manages the house firm SpaceX, the automobile firm Tesla and the fee firm Paypal. Undoubtedly, he can pull a rabbit out of the hat right here, but it surely’s laborious.

As a result of Twitter is a construction that doesn’t convey any cash, regardless of its nice public willpower potential. As a result of Twitter is an unpleasant place now. It is a spot the place folks spend time however do not prefer it very a lot. Twitter just like the third web page information of the newspapers. You may’t take your eyes off him, however you do not really feel effectively both. It is the identical for advertisers: Even when they wish to be there someway, they cannot stand subsequent to third-page information.

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Let’s give a few numbers. As a result of these figures will have an effect on the longer term course of Twitter, and due to this fact our course in it.

Based on its personal reviews, the platform had a turnover of 5 billion {dollars} in 2021. It isn’t little cash. However what has Meta, consisting of Fb, WhatsApp and Instagram, introduced on this time? 118 billion.

Furthermore, Twitter’s bills are greater than its earnings. It has a lack of $221 million in 2021. As of the second quarter of 2022 alone, it has made a lack of 270 million {dollars}. That is why Musk first needs to a minimum of reduce the harm. Therefore the rumor of firing half of its seven thousand staff. However this time, the problem of easy methods to exist within the sector will come to the fore. Will the problem have the ability to stand as much as Meta, which has 87 thousand staff?

The problem of deducting eight {dollars} a month from blue-tick accounts additionally comes from right here. The brand new proprietor of the platform, Elon Musk, has now informed customers that Twitter doesn’t work with water.

He mentioned another factor; He introduced it to say, “What’s it, it is like a feudal construction, there are masters, they’ve followers”. In different phrases, he pretended to add customers through blue ticks, however then he made one other very clear sentence; If there’s such a relationship, then pay for it.

A sort of the Aristocracy tax.

Or some sort of privilege tax.

Musk hopes to return from right here, however on the identical time, he opens one other door. It asks one other query:

Can we actually promote standing on social media?

So Musk is just not towards inequality; towards not earning profits right here. He’ll make a trial so far as he can see. Then he’ll try different trials. Those that pay eight {dollars} will see fewer advertisements, stand out in mentions, however… I ponder if extra characters may be bought to the one who prints the cash? Does the money-printer edit his tweet? Does he even see the closed profiles on Twitter that print cash? Why not?

Additionally, why should not these fashions unfold to different platforms?

What’s it to this point, who offers cash and who does not blow the whistle? Fortunately, a boss got here and he is taking good care of the state of affairs.

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Musk had introduced ahead ‘free pondering’ when buying Twitter. Supposedly, he purchased the platform so that everybody may say no matter they need.

Then he bought into the income fashions enterprise. Now he is bargaining for eight to 10 {dollars}. However, he writes letters to advertisers saying “Don’t be concerned, all the pieces will be unable to inform everybody”.

Should not everybody say all the pieces? Inform me, in fact. However what about the place this freedom of speech intersects with hate speech?

Musk and people who suppose like him, “allow them to say it”… Let’s allow them to say it… However what I perceive from the letter written to the advertisers, there’s a place the place even Musk can’t say “allow them to go”. A capitalist threshold that he doesn’t wish to be crossed…

His present buddies, who applauded “Hit and smash”, may even know him once they see that this threshold has not been crossed.

However till it will get there…

Twitter was a platform the place everybody connected with everybody straight and with out intermediaries. You had been there too, O Musk!

Why did you say you convey free pondering and began horse bargaining lower than two days later?

We truly know why.

Capitalism and free thought don’t go collectively. That is the character of the enterprise. Even should you faux to be, it does not work.

Properly, a minimum of we’ve historical past. Will that date be ours sooner or later? Or will the archive even have a value? Let’s know…