What next for Twitter under Elon Musk?

2 years ago 42

Elon Musk successful  a suitImage source, Getty Images

By Zoe Kleinman

Technology editor

It is the infinitesimal cipher was rather definite would really ever happen: aft months of drama, Elon Musk says his $44bn (£38bn) woody to bargain Twitter is complete.

He announced the large quality connected Twitter itself, of course, helium has changed his bio to work "Chief Twit" and declared "the vertebrate is freed". Job done, arsenic acold arsenic helium is concerned.

There has been nary authoritative confirmation arsenic yet, and the soundlessness from Twitter HQ truthful acold has been alternatively deafening.

But possibly determination is cipher determination to nonstop that email - Mr Musk has reportedly already fired main enforcement Parag Agrawal, main fiscal serviceman Ned Segal, and ineligible and argumentation enforcement Vijaya Gadde, portion president Bret Taylor's LinkedIn illustration suggests helium is nary longer astatine the steadfast either.

So what mightiness Mr Musk's Twitter look like?

Mr Musk addressed imaginable advertisers successful an uncharacteristically humble connection posted connected the tract connected Thursday. In it, helium spoke of buying Twitter due to the fact that helium wanted to "try to assistance humanity", and said helium wanted "civilisation to person a integer municipality square". He besides accepted that his ngo whitethorn fail.

The information that helium wrote specifically to those who advertise connected Twitter suggests helium intends for present astatine slightest to instrumentality with its integer advertizing concern model. That is contempt this gross starting to autumn for giants similar Google-owner Alphabet and Facebook-owner Meta, arsenic the planetary fiscal situation bites and firms find themselves with little currency to splash connected marketing

In the past helium has spoken bombastically astir wanting to lighten moderation, truthful that much voices tin beryllium heard much freely (Twitter has agelong been accused of favouring left-leaning, wide messages, which it denies).

Might helium determine to bring backmost immoderate of the much arguable tweeters, banned nether the erstwhile medication - erstwhile US president Donald Trump (who has antecedently said helium had nary tendency to return), oregon much recently, his person Kanye West?

I americium not truthful sure. Mr Musk present offers a much curtailed vision, saying that the level indispensable stay "welcoming", indispensable abide by nationalist laws and indispensable not go "a free-for-all hellscape".

West was banned for anti-Semitism and Mr Trump "permanently suspended" for inciting unit - sounds a spot hellscapey to me.

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Musk has raged against the magnitude of spam and bot accounts helium believes litter the tract - Twitter has ever disputed his claims that its authoritative fig is acold excessively low. He could bid a wide cull, though that would astir apt impact everybody's all-important follower numbers, which could beryllium an unpopular archetypal move.

Perhaps his astir intriguing hint truthful acold is astir his caller institution being the commencement of "X, the everything app". He has ne'er elaborated connected that but galore person suggested that helium is referring to the instauration of a benignant of "super app" on the lines of China's WeChat - a one-stop-shop for societal media, messaging, finance, nutrient orders - successful a nutshell, mundane beingness admin.

The West does not yet person specified a thing, though 1 could reason that Meta's WhatsApp and adjacent Facebook Messenger are softly morphing into services with aggregate functions.

Mr Musk has not disguised his emotion of cryptocurrency and Binance, the world's largest crypto-exchange, is simply a arrogant capitalist successful his imaginativeness (according to the property merchandise I received conscionable aft 05:00 BST).

Could we spot a Twitter set-up for businesses to judge payments - successful crypto? That would beryllium a deed with crypto fans and a fearfulness for those who pass that crypto remains a risky choice, unregulated and truthful unprotected if thing goes wrong.

What we bash cognize astir Mr Musk is that helium is visionary, volatile, ambitious, and creative. We tin warrant the changes volition commencement rolling successful - and already immoderate Twitter fans are saying the alteration of enactment volition thrust them away.

"We wanted flying cars, alternatively we got 140 characters," said the capitalist Peter Thiel of the tech industry, agelong earlier the meme "expectations vs reality" became a thing. With Mr Musk, we whitethorn good get both.

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