Alex Bruno
The fact that what occurs on Twitter doesn’t simply remain on Twitter makes it one of the most prominent social media platforms, even if it may not be the largest. which may explain why Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, is a fan.
Musk paid an outrageous $44 billion for Twitter, even though the ad-supported site has only made money twice in the last ten years.
Kara Swisher, a tech writer and podcast host, says that entrepreneur Victor Kiam used the old saying “I loved the shaver, so I bought the company” to promote Remington electric shavers.
Since taking control, Musk has let around two-thirds of Twitter’s workforce go or accepted their resignations. He believes he can fix it, according to Swisher.
“If you approached it as a company, you would have to advise people to “No, no, stay away from this.” But it’s comparable to a wealthy individual purchasing a boat or a baseball club. “He finds this intriguing.”
Swisher has had several interviews with Musk and has known him for more than 20 years. He hasn’t liked her coverage of him as much lately, however.
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” bought Twitter and has since welcomed several users who had previously been blocked or subjected to other restrictions back.
He has dismissed staff members who have criticized him on Twitter, and he once published (and then removed) a tweet that one observer dubbed “the most costly tweet ever”: a hoax about Nancy Pelosi’s spouse. Expensive because Musk’s numerous other tweets are thought to have driven away Twitter’s advertising base.
Swisher complained to journalist Luke Burbank that the advertisement was “now provoking them and calling them woke.” “If Satan, Inc., can sell a Fitbit, advertisers will run advertisements there.” Seriously, however!”
Musk suspended the account of the artist previously known as Kanye West after he tweeted a picture of a swastika, precipitating a confirmed increase in hate speech since Musk’s leadership.
Swisher says that “visitors, advertisers, and the overall experience tend to like things that are more monitored and moderated” than things that are “censored.”
Musk, though, believes that Twitter’s previous leadership unjustly restricted conservative expression. Musk admiringly retweeted the thread on Friday after journalist Matt Taibbi posted a collection of internal emails that claimed to demonstrate Twitter’s “left bias.”
According to Alex Stamos, who was once the top security officer at Facebook, the Russian hacking of emails belonging to the Democratic National Committee in 2016 caused Twitter to be skeptical of campaigns involving foreign influence.
The New York Post report regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop was not permitted to be posted on Twitter in the days leading up to the 2020 election, according to him, so that Twitter could investigate whether or not it was a part of a government influence effort.
“Then they made the decision to let it be uploaded since it would be covered.” So, yes, they were mistaken. But the notion that it had an impact on the election is absurd.
Some people saw it as a violation of the First Amendment when Twitter removed the article. But according to Swisher, that is missing the point. “People who haven’t read the First Amendment a lot are the ones who have allowed it to get entangled in a discussion about free speech or the First Amendment.”
Additionally, what is said on Twitter might affect the real world. A user’s identity has been confirmed by Twitter’s “blue checkmarks” for many years.
The stock price of Eli Lilly fell as a result of a fake Twitter account tweeting “Insulin is free now,” which was created by Musk after he began selling the checkmarks without any real verification. In fact, two weeks ago, CBS News took a temporary break from using Twitter because of security concerns.
One present Twitter employee who talked with “Sunday Morning” requested that his name not be published out of concern for Musk and his internet supporters.
He stated that he wanted to experiment with long-form content, which is anything longer than a tweet.”The product had already been released and was accessible on the platform.” And he dismissed the development and launch teams.
Burbank inquired: “What is your current job position with Twitter?”
“If we sign a severance agreement, they will put us on severance after January 4th, even though I’m still officially an employee,” the individual said.
This soon-to-be ex-worker is anonymous, but they share the belief that Musk is attempting to minimize the amount of severance and stock options he owes to former Twitter employees. “To be clear, Elon Musk purchased the business.
“He is free to choose which business path he wishes to take,” he said.”We were fired in a manner that may have even violated the law on employment.” And it’s the unfriendly, even cruel, way that we were abandoned—there was no contact, no guidance.”
In response to a possible class-action lawsuit filed by its employees, Twitter said that claims that it broke American employment law are not true.
Musk, according to Stamos, “really makes a terrible boss,” which sort of shocks me considering how poor he is at handling people.
Unless he chooses to hire a CEO to diffuse the situation, I don’t believe there is much chance that they will be able to perform successfully over the next year. It’s obvious that this is exactly what he’ll have to do at Twitter if the company is to stabilize and stem the loss of the talent it needs to succeed.
Musk was contacted by “Sunday Morning,” but no response was given. Swisher was questioned by Burbank on how he came across as a person.
“Oh, I guess it depends on the day,” she said. “Elon was working on brilliant stuff,” one Silicon Valley resident said, “and I often think of Silicon Valley as a bunch of smart people working on dumb things.”
Things like Tesla and SpaceX, two of Musk’s businesses, have undoubtedly transformed humankind’s way of life.
But before all that, in 1998, Elon Musk was just 27 years old when he was interviewed on “CBS Sunday Morning” by journalist Rita Braver. At the time, Musk was working at his first firm, Zip2, an online city directory.
Musk stated: “The internet offers a degree of freedom that truly isn’t available anyplace else.” Additionally, there isn’t a centralized authority that decides if a piece of material is good or terrible.
But now that Musk is in charge, at least when it comes to Twitter, he has complete power and can do as he pleases with regard to moderation or allowing the dissemination of false information.
one individual who is aware of Twitter’s influence? For the sake of maintaining anonymity, this is what the wealthiest man in the world may tell that Twitter worker who may soon be laid off: “Whether people use Twitter or not, what happens on Twitter affects their lives, whether it’s local to national politics, the debate over significant cultural events or cultural concerns.”
Source: CBS News
