Elon Musk Twitter and the Attention Economy
Twitter is a social media corporation that generates income through advertising revenue, but it also acts as an archive for cultural capital.
Elon Musk is a capitalist who understands the power of attention. Through his companies, he has amassed immense economic, social and cultural capital. Now, he is investing much of this wealth into Twitter as well.
What Is He Doing?
Elon Musk's actions on Twitter have drawn criticism from Silicon Valley experts, even though he insists his primary intention is protecting free speech. Other experts believe there may be other motives behind his strategy.
One theory suggests he's trying to turn the company into a super app similar to WeChat or China's QQ, where people can use messaging services as well as share social media posts. But to achieve that goal, he needs partners willing to collaborate; otherwise, his tactics will alienate these key allies, leading to further revenue losses for the business.
Musk has focused on building a payments business and exploring video content creation. Additionally, he's attempted to diversify away from advertising by permitting users to pay for verified accounts; however, many advertisers have stopped spending due to concerns over censorship.
Experts agree that Musk's ultimate aim is to make money. After already amassing wealth through SpaceX and Tesla, many of his moves at Twitter could be seen as attempts at duplicating this successful formula.
But even if that were true, it doesn't explain why he's taking such dramatic risks with Twitter, which has never been profitable. His decision to reduce content moderation further damages its image with advertisers.
Musk may also be trying to force the company's board into adopting an even more radical turnaround plan. However, that is unlikely without losing the support of investors and employees - in which case, attention to economy damage would only become even greater. Join Alex Heath for Command Line's weekly newsletter featuring inside conversations from the tech industry - flexible plans you can cancel anytime are also available here - click here now and sign up! 2019 Wired Digital LLC. All rights are reserved.
What Is He Saying?
Elon Musk may be one of the world's most influential influencers, capable of moving markets with his tweets alone. Yet as owner and operator of Twitter - an underperforming platform still struggling to grow user bases and turn a profit - experts advise him to use it responsibly.
Troubles for this company started when its moderation of content was insufficient, leading advertisers to withdraw and revenue to decrease significantly. Furthermore, multiple lawsuits alleging First Amendment violations by attempting to curtail misinformation also surfaced against it.
As a result, the company has made substantial changes to its policies, such as banning high-profile users like Trump. Furthermore, Linda Yaccarino from Comcast's NBCUniversal has been appointed CEO to drive ad sales.
But despite all these efforts, the company's stock price has plummeted, and they continue to lose money; this could indicate it is time for leadership change at the top.
One possible explanation is that some of Musk's followers have become so alienated by his increasingly strange Twitter behaviour that some have decided to walk away, according to interviews conducted with people who have left. Some of those have experienced harassment or threats from other Twitter users, while others have noticed a change in the tone and direction of the site.
As soon as news broke of his potential takeover of Twitter, many said they would leave in protest; others have decided to stay because they see potential in making Twitter more trustworthy and responsible.
Musk has made changes to Twitter, but there is no guarantee they will work - and for people reliant on it for income, this can be unnerving. In order to understand what was happening, we consulted social media experts specializing in its effects in real life. We asked these specialists their view on Musk's Twitter behaviour and whether it might indicate that he should step down as CEO of a company he bought for $44
billion.
What Is He Trying to Do?
Musk's acquisition of Twitter stands out as one of the most significant business deals of our time, not only due to its huge user base and massive investment amount but also for the powerful influence it holds over politics and culture. Furthermore, investors with close ties to countries like China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia could affect this deal, potentially drawing scrutiny from CFIUS -- usually reserved for more sensitive investments.
Musk must give Twitter's users, advertisers and potential shareholders reason to trust its future if he hopes to reap any return on his investment. That won't be easy when considering its history of operating at an operating loss and hiring inexperienced executives as leaders.
Musk envisions a Twitter that could quadruple revenue and users by 2028 while ditching advertising altogether, as outlined in his pitch deck. In doing so, he also asserted freedom of speech: He pledged to fund legal bills against anyone unfairly fired or discriminated against due to their Twitter activity.
⦁ His vision for Twitter includes:
⦁ Permitting more than two accounts per person.
⦁ Introducing verified badges.
⦁ Mandating that all tweets bear their real names in order to reduce spambot activity.
Furthermore, he wishes for public access to algorithms used for tweet promotions and demoting; these changes would create a more transparent and equitable Twitter environment but may make it easier for dishonest individuals to game the system.
Musk recently stated his intention to hire engineers with expertise in "hardcore software engineering, design and infosec" while improving server hardware. Furthermore, he is said to plan to make Twitter more user-friendly by including features like video streaming, photo sharing and audio playback - likely an attempt at competing against Snapchat, TikTok and Facebook, which all boast large monthly active user bases.
What Is He Trying to Avoid?
Musk initially justified his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter as being motivated by his desire to preserve an open digital town square; in reality, it's a way for him to gain attention and keep himself visible in public debate about the future of human civilization. Unfortunately for Twitter, however, its architecture simply isn't capable of supporting such loads as are being applied by Musk.
Most notable of Musk's moves is his attempt to institute new rules governing Twitter content moderation, which could result in users seeing fewer tweets they enjoy reading and more of those that irritate them. Furthermore, this move would impose stricter restrictions on which tweets can be promoted and which users are allowed to create accounts at all - all seemingly designed to make the service "safe" for himself and his fawning group of right-wing supporters, yet likely drive away many who actually use Twitter for its original purposes.
Another measure taken by his administration to combat anonymity on Twitter involves mandating authentication of identities by all users. This could help stop people from using Twitter to spread false news or manipulate information flows by means of bots employed by repressive regimes. However, this change would impede journalists, writers, and celebrities from using it as part of their work.
Musk appears intent on turning Twitter into a super app like China's WeChat, offering features for social media, messaging, payments, shopping and ride-hailing -- everything you could ever need on your smartphone in one convenient place. But such an undertaking would require substantial user growth -- something which may prove challenging given online advertising's weakness.
Musk must determine his power at Twitter within its limits or continue trying to run it as his personal property. This approach has already alienated advertisers that contribute money toward keeping its operations running smoothly. His approach could prove disastrous for a business which relies heavily on advertisers for revenue.
