Elon Musk and Twitter

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'll throw in my two cents now that the thread has been open for a while.

First thing to say is that Twitter's business performance is not great. Its usage has never been nearly as large as Facebook or Instagram, despite having (imo) a more user friendly platform. As a result, it does not generate revenue on a level anywhere near those platforms. So to turn it around Musk has to bring in more users, find another way to generate revenue aside from advertisers (e.g. a subscription based service), and/or completely reinvent Twitter's purpose. Seems to me that reinventing is the only way to turn twitter into a major success, so I imagine he'll lean into that strategy, but it will be difficult in practice and it does not help that he doesn't have much experience in the social media business landscape. It also seems that the decision to purchase was hasty and not well thought out, but maybe that is not the case. To Musk's credit, he is a guy who thinks outside the box and innovates in interesting ways, so if anyone can revive the platform it might be him, but it is going to be an uphill climb.

With regards to turning Twitter into a free for all, it seems like this would be bad for bringing in new users or securing advertising. I imagine he will scale back moderation and make some big gestures like allowing some high-profile people who have been banned to come back, but (as ruralguy said) advertisers don't want their products appearing next to a racist or sexist tweet and that pressure will prevent him allowing a free for all.

I do have a Twitter account, but I don't use it much. My only reason for having or using it is to tweet my new articles or new articles from others. I'll keep doing that as long as my academic "friends" are still there to see these tweets. If they leave then I won't have much reason to remain an active user.

Final thought (and this is a big reason for my thinking that Musk cannot turn it around without a dramatic overhaul in Twitter's purpose and user experience) is that Twitter is yesterday's news as a social media platform. It is a crowded marketplace Twitter is no longer "the" town square, if it ever was.

[marshwiggle]

Boomers, (circa 1995): "Wow! The internet is a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that great!"

Boomers' children (aka Gen Z, 2022): "Wow! Twitter will become a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that horrible!"

[Sun_Worshiper]

Boomers, (circa 1995): "Wow! The internet is a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that great!"

Boomers' children (aka Gen Z, 2022): "Wow! Twitter will become a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that horrible!"

I don't think Gen Z is on twitter, which is the problem for that platform and its business prospects.

[mamselle]

I've had an account for awhile...not much-used, recently.

At first I crafted some nice visuals with commentary to make points about my tours.

Now, I think I'll email those to myself, to keep the files, etc., and then close the account.

M.

[jerseyjay]

Two weeks ago I asked my students in an upper-level history course in a public comprehensive university in the Northeast about their social media use. (In part because I wanted to know if the history department should adopt one or another as a way of outreach to students.) If anything my students are probably a bit older than their counterparts at many schools.

Almost all of the students use Instagram.

Next, maybe 15-25 per cent use Twitter.

Next, maybe 10-15 per cent use TikTok.

Then, two students use Facebook. About the same number use LinkedIn.

They laughed when I asked about MySpace, which means they have heard about it, but none uses it.

(The students suggested that the history department use TikTok, especially to read out interesting history facts.)

My experience is that Facebook has the oldest average user age, followed by Twitter, followed by Instragram, followed by TikTok.

[marshwiggle]

My experience is that Facebook has the oldest average user age, followed by Twitter, followed by Instragram, followed by TikTok.

So why do the media follow it so religiously?

[ergative]

Boomers, (circa 1995): "Wow! The internet is a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that great!"

Boomers' children (aka Gen Z, 2022): "Wow! Twitter will become a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that horrible!"

Aren't Boomers' children Gen X and Millennials?
From Wikipedia: 'Most members of Generation Z are children of Generation X.'

Wikipedia also says that the next generation will be called 'Generation Apha', which is new to me. I hadn't realized it had been named. Who comes up with these names?

Generational pedantry aside, that characterization seems about right. Gen Zers are like the genre-savvy horror-movie character saying, 'WTF?!--under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should we split up to cover more ground.'

[marshwiggle]

Boomers, (circa 1995): "Wow! The internet is a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that great!"

Boomers' children (aka Gen Z, 2022): "Wow! Twitter will become a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that horrible!"

Aren't Boomers' children Gen X and Millennials?
From Wikipedia: 'Most members of Generation Z are children of Generation X.'

Sure, that makes sense.

But in that case, what made Gen X raise children who are so fearful?  (But at the same time, so much more trusting of government oversight of all kinds of things?)

Wikipedia also says that the next generation will be called 'Generation Apha', which is new to me. I hadn't realized it had been named. Who comes up with these names?

Generational pedantry aside, that characterization seems about right. Gen Zers are like the genre-savvy horror-movie character saying, 'WTF?!--under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should we split up to cover more ground.'

It's not like people in the 90's didn't forsee the internet being a place where people could (and would) say awful things; it's that they saw the removal of gatekeepers to public speech as a good thing since it would allow previously marginalized viewpoints to be expressed. Somewhere between the generations, the script flipped and young people think the *government will ensure that previously marginalized viewpoints get expressed, and will only silence people trying to say awful things.

What made the younger generation so trustful of authority figures? What made them think being encased in bubble wrap was secure, rather than (or at least, also) restricting?


*and/or media, big tech, etc.

[jimbogumbo]

My experience is that Facebook has the oldest average user age, followed by Twitter, followed by Instragram, followed by TikTok.

So why do the media follow it so religiously?

Doing so makes it easier to post "stories" quickly, and of course, get the all important clicks.

[ergative]

Boomers, (circa 1995): "Wow! The internet is a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that great!"

Boomers' children (aka Gen Z, 2022): "Wow! Twitter will become a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that horrible!"

Aren't Boomers' children Gen X and Millennials?
From Wikipedia: 'Most members of Generation Z are children of Generation X.'

Sure, that makes sense.

But in that case, what made Gen X raise children who are so fearful?  (But at the same time, so much more trusting of government oversight of all kinds of things?)

Wikipedia also says that the next generation will be called 'Generation Apha', which is new to me. I hadn't realized it had been named. Who comes up with these names?

Generational pedantry aside, that characterization seems about right. Gen Zers are like the genre-savvy horror-movie character saying, 'WTF?!--under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should we split up to cover more ground.'

It's not like people in the 90's didn't forsee the internet being a place where people could (and would) say awful things; it's that they saw the removal of gatekeepers to public speech as a good thing since it would allow previously marginalized viewpoints to be expressed. Somewhere between the generations, the script flipped and young people think the *government will ensure that previously marginalized viewpoints get expressed, and will only silence people trying to say awful things.

What made the younger generation so trustful of authority figures? What made them think being encased in bubble wrap was secure, rather than (or at least, also) restricting?


*and/or media, big tech, etc.

I think it's more that each generation grew up well-positioned to see the downsides of one extreme or the other. So Gen X in the 90s was ready to remove boundaries and gatekeepers and allow marginalized viewpoints to be expressed, and Gen Z (and younger millennials) grew up seeing that some of those marginalized viewpoints are extremist assholes who delight in being dicks online.

Someone who grew up with parents who paddled them for not cleaning their fingernails is going to be real keen on 'free-range' parenting. Someone who grew up looking after themselves dawn to dusk might think it would be nice to have parents making sure they brush their teeth. Someone who grew up being forced to write five-paragraph essays that they never had to use in the workplace might be eager to lighten up on the regimented curriculum and learn to read and write for the pleasure of it. Someone who grew up being encouraged to 'express themselves', free of the tyranny of standardized spelling and punctuation might find themselves in a remedial GED course begging the writing tutor, 'just tell me the rules.' [trufax: I was that tutor.]

It's not the case that one view is better than the other. It's the case that each view reflects a different background (dare I say 'lived experience'?) where the drawbacks and solutions lay in opposite directions.

[marshwiggle]

I think it's more that each generation grew up well-positioned to see the downsides of one extreme or the other. So Gen X in the 90s was ready to remove boundaries and gatekeepers and allow marginalized viewpoints to be expressed, and Gen Z (and younger millennials) grew up seeing that some of those marginalized viewpoints are extremist assholes who delight in being dicks online.

Honest question: Does that mean it's Gen X who are the champions of free speech? At least on here, I haven't gotten the impression that it's Gen X particularly pushing free speech; my sense it that it's more Boomers.

Any research on that?

Someone who grew up looking after themselves dawn to dusk might think it would be nice to have parents making sure they brush their teeth.

So again, were Gen Z raised by "free--range parents" so they crave authority? (Again it's an honest question because the conventional wisdom is that it was helicopter parents who produced fearful offspring, which is the opposite situation.)

It's not the case that one view is better than the other. It's the case that each view reflects a different background (dare I say 'lived experience'?) where the drawbacks and solutions lay in opposite directions.

But historically, across cultures and through history, the younger generation has been expected to rebel against authority, and doing so is almost considered a sign of maturity. Young adults advocating stronger authority seems unprecedented.

[secundem_artem]

Boomers, (circa 1995): "Wow! The internet is a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that great!"

Boomers' children (aka Gen Z, 2022): "Wow! Twitter will become a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that horrible!"

Aren't Boomers' children Gen X and Millennials?
From Wikipedia: 'Most members of Generation Z are children of Generation X.'

Sure, that makes sense.

But in that case, what made Gen X raise children who are so fearful?  (But at the same time, so much more trusting of government oversight of all kinds of things?)

Wikipedia also says that the next generation will be called 'Generation Apha', which is new to me. I hadn't realized it had been named. Who comes up with these names?

Generational pedantry aside, that characterization seems about right. Gen Zers are like the genre-savvy horror-movie character saying, 'WTF?!--under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should we split up to cover more ground.'

It's not like people in the 90's didn't forsee the internet being a place where people could (and would) say awful things; it's that they saw the removal of gatekeepers to public speech as a good thing since it would allow previously marginalized viewpoints to be expressed. Somewhere between the generations, the script flipped and young people think the *government will ensure that previously marginalized viewpoints get expressed, and will only silence people trying to say awful things.

What made the younger generation so trustful of authority figures? What made them think being encased in bubble wrap was secure, rather than (or at least, also) restricting?


*and/or media, big tech, etc.

What caused this?  Uncertainty.  They have watched their parents lose jobs, have their salaries or hours cut, have their benefits trimmed, seen employer pension contributions decreased, saw defined benefit plans changed to defined contribution plans, and watched the bankers destroy the economy and suffer no consequences for it.

Government and bubble wrap may not be the answer to their problems, but hey - what has happened in the last 20 odd years has made things worse for a lot of people, not better.  Same reason people voted for Trump.  He was clearly NOT like the other guys and when you are watching your future slip away, you have nothing to lose by changing your political allegiances. 

[marshwiggle]

Boomers, (circa 1995): "Wow! The internet is a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that great!"

Boomers' children (aka Gen Z, 2022): "Wow! Twitter will become a place where people can say anything they want! Isn't that horrible!"

Aren't Boomers' children Gen X and Millennials?
From Wikipedia: 'Most members of Generation Z are children of Generation X.'

Sure, that makes sense.

But in that case, what made Gen X raise children who are so fearful?  (But at the same time, so much more trusting of government oversight of all kinds of things?)

Wikipedia also says that the next generation will be called 'Generation Apha', which is new to me. I hadn't realized it had been named. Who comes up with these names?

Generational pedantry aside, that characterization seems about right. Gen Zers are like the genre-savvy horror-movie character saying, 'WTF?!--under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should we split up to cover more ground.'

It's not like people in the 90's didn't forsee the internet being a place where people could (and would) say awful things; it's that they saw the removal of gatekeepers to public speech as a good thing since it would allow previously marginalized viewpoints to be expressed. Somewhere between the generations, the script flipped and young people think the *government will ensure that previously marginalized viewpoints get expressed, and will only silence people trying to say awful things.

What made the younger generation so trustful of authority figures? What made them think being encased in bubble wrap was secure, rather than (or at least, also) restricting?


*and/or media, big tech, etc.

What caused this?  Uncertainty.  They have watched their parents lose jobs, have their salaries or hours cut, have their benefits trimmed, seen employer pension contributions decreased, saw defined benefit plans changed to defined contribution plans, and watched the bankers destroy the economy and suffer no consequences for it.

But the government bailed out the banks. Why would people who saw that put more faith in government after that???

What convinces them that the powers-that-be can be counted on to do the right thing after they have clearly shown failures to do so?

Government and bubble wrap may not be the answer to their problems, but hey - what has happened in the last 20 odd years has made things worse for a lot of people, not better. 

But that's been true after all kinds of historical events (such as the Great Depression, which was much worse than the last 20 years); I'm not sure this cultural response is similar to what happened in other situations.

[ergative]

I think it's more that each generation grew up well-positioned to see the downsides of one extreme or the other. So Gen X in the 90s was ready to remove boundaries and gatekeepers and allow marginalized viewpoints to be expressed, and Gen Z (and younger millennials) grew up seeing that some of those marginalized viewpoints are extremist assholes who delight in being dicks online.

Honest question: Does that mean it's Gen X who are the champions of free speech? At least on here, I haven't gotten the impression that it's Gen X particularly pushing free speech; my sense it that it's more Boomers.

Any research on that?

Not a clue. My social commentary is mostly based on vibe.

Someone who grew up looking after themselves dawn to dusk might think it would be nice to have parents making sure they brush their teeth.

So again, were Gen Z raised by "free--range parents" so they crave authority? (Again it's an honest question because the conventional wisdom is that it was helicopter parents who produced fearful offspring, which is the opposite situation.)

I wasn't making this claim about Gen Z, specifically. I was trying to draw a parallel about how different types of upbringings produce different value systems that crave an alternative to the previous system's faulty extremes.

It's not the case that one view is better than the other. It's the case that each view reflects a different background (dare I say 'lived experience'?) where the drawbacks and solutions lay in opposite directions.

But historically, across cultures and through history, the younger generation has been expected to rebel against authority, and doing so is almost considered a sign of maturity. Young adults advocating stronger authority seems unprecedented.

But, perhaps related to the above comment and what counts as 'fearful offspring', I would argue that young adults doing things like demanding disability accommodations and recognition of neurodiversity is, in a way, rebelling against authority. Maybe governments and administrations mandate that such things be recognized, but as we've seen on these boards, and among our colleagues, there's quite a bit of resistance to that sort of accommodation of 'snowflakes'. So from the perspective of the zoomers, there are two sets of authorities in play. Seeming to crave one does not mean that you're not rebelling against the other.

[marshwiggle]

But historically, across cultures and through history, the younger generation has been expected to rebel against authority, and doing so is almost considered a sign of maturity. Young adults advocating stronger authority seems unprecedented.

But, perhaps related to the above comment and what counts as 'fearful offspring', I would argue that young adults doing things like demanding disability accommodations and recognition of neurodiversity is, in a way, rebelling against authority. Maybe governments and administrations mandate that such things be recognized, but as we've seen on these boards, and among our colleagues, there's quite a bit of resistance to that sort of accommodation of 'snowflakes'. So from the perspective of the zoomers, there are two sets of authorities in play. Seeming to crave one does not mean that you're not rebelling against the other.

Fair enough, but by supporting (or even encouraging) government policing of speech requires one to believe that the government has and will continue to have the "correct" ideas of what speech to suppress. (Obviously, since any attempt in the future to tell the government they are not doing it correctly will itself be subject to the government's suppression.) In other words, to trust the government to limit speech would seem to preclude having the kind of ambivalent attitude toward authority mentioned above; it requires a conviction that the level of government allowed to police speech is and will continue to be benevolent.
You're not rebelling against any authority that you give permission to silence you.