Twitter and Elon Musk

[iacas]

Elon runs the risk of banks taking controlling interest in Tesla.

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

It's not like Twitter isn't without problems now.

And I'm not saying you said that, just… I like Twitter quite a bit, but there are and have been major issues with it.

Twitter can be a very valuable source of information. You use it quite well. But to improve the system, a well developed plan should be put in place. Musk is far too impulsive to do that. He’ll also start letting the conspiracy theories crazies take over and allow misinformation to run rampant. He does that himself, which is sad.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

Musk is far too impulsive to do that.

I mean…

• He's literally built rockets that go into space.
• He's changed the auto industry with a successful company in Tesla.
• He created PayPal and other companies.
• Twitter isn't at all the same as a car company or an online banking-type thing, etc.

Twitter would be a decent user experience if you only saw things from people you followed, but that's not how things work - no celebrity would ever see anything you ever saw, and your interactions with people just outside your sphere would basically be non-existent because they'd literally never see/hear from you.

So that's where problems arise. Whatever your position, someone who disagrees can tag you, and even if you ignore the initial post, if they have enough of a sphere themselves, it's probably going to get back to you at some point.

Content moderation and "showing people what they want to see" is incredibly difficult. Also, showing people what they want to see can lead to extremism.

People like "decisive" people, and that's one of the things about impulsive people - they're often "decisive."

[GolfLug]

I don't have a Twitter account but this is all very amusing. One thing I know of Musk is that he is blessed or cursed (depending on who you ask) with God syndrome. He just knows what's best for humanity. Just ask him. 

So if he fired the entire content moderation department then he didn't do it just to balance the books. More than likely he wants a fundamental reset of moderation to suit his own narrative. There will eventually be a new team. There has to be one, one that he will hand pick.

To subscription thing seems to be purely financial. I have no opinion on how that will work out but I might partake, cuz like I said, this is all very amusing and I don't want to miss out. Maybe... 😂.

 

[Hohjoe]

I tried Twitter and didn’t like it. It was full of far too much debris I didn’t want to see, and I couldn’t figure a way to filter it out and I didn’t care enough to learn how, if it’s even possible to filter the junk.

 

I do think it’s somewhat laughable Dorsey tweeted an apology to the laid off Twitter employees, from the back of the limo on his way to the bank.

[iacas]

I've been on Twitter since… Mar 19, 2007 at 10:47:40 AM.

I like it. I even pay and have paid for Twitter Blue (it was $2.99/month, only recently switched to $4.99), and I don't have a white checkmark (the checkmarks aren't blue, they're white checkmarks on a blue background). I may keep my Twitter Blue subscription even when it goes to $7.99/month… but I find it kinda funny how it's not actually doing what he said it would do for seemingly anyone. So, one of the first things he said he's done hasn't actually seemed to happen. Will I get a checkmark when my subscription renews? Who can say?

[iacas]

[iacas]

[GolfLug]

Yeah, those who write code control what information will get through and get served via EM's filters. I think.

[bking]

57 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Yeah, those who write code control what information will get through and get served via EM's filters. I think.

No one developer, or handful of developers, will be able to control that by themselves. Code reviews and DevOps practices in general will prevent that.

Meanwhile though, the major takeaway from that Message Musk posted is that working massive overtime and basically putting your personal life on hold will be a job requirement, and the payoff for employees will most likely be all smoke and mirrors.

[iacas]

Who Said It: Elon Musk or Mr. Burns?

---

The Simpsons character and the guy ruining Twitter often sound a lot alike.

 

I scored a 92%.

[dennyjones]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

Who Said It: Elon Musk or Mr. Burns?

---

The Simpsons character and the guy ruining Twitter often sound a lot alike.

 

I scored a 92%.

25% I thought they were one and the same!  

[GolfLug]

13 hours ago, bking said:

No one developer, or handful of developers, will be able to control that by themselves. Code reviews and DevOps practices in general will prevent that.

Prevent the will of God (aka Elon Musk)?? 

Just so that we don't end up talking past each other what I meant by my post earlier is that Elon will control the narrative on Twitter via algorithms (code) that he dictates to his puppets (developers/code writers). I am sure lot of code writing is to fix glitches but lot of it is to accomplish ulterior motives. And if that sounds like an armchair quarterback conspiracy theory, then it's because it is. 😜

[boogielicious]

3 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Prevent the will of God (aka Elon Musk)?? 

Just so that we don't end up talking past each other what I meant by my post earlier is that Elon will control the narrative on Twitter via algorithms (code) that he dictates to his puppets (developers/code writers). I am sure lot of code writing is to fix glitches but lot of it is to accomplish ulterior motives. And if that sounds like an armchair quarterback conspiracy theory, then it's because it is. 😜

I can see the algorithm set up in this way.

You tweet:

Golf is Hard but I managed to get 3 birdies today!! Wooo Hooo!

Algorithm makes a few corrections:

Elon Musk is the smartest, handsomest man on the Planet! Wooo Hooo!

[GolfLug]

20 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

I can see the algorithm set up in this way.

You tweet:

Golf is Hard but I managed to get 3 birdies today!! Wooo Hooo!

Algorithm makes a few corrections:

Elon Musk is the smartest, handsomest man on the Planet! Wooo Hooo!

"Golf is hard but Elon Musk made 3 birdies today".

[Elmer]

On 11/6/2022 at 7:59 AM, iacas said:

I mean…

• He's literally built rockets that go into space.
• He's changed the auto industry with a successful company in Tesla.
• He created PayPal and other companies.
• Twitter isn't at all the same as a car company or an online banking-type thing, etc.

Twitter would be a decent user experience if you only saw things from people you followed, but that's not how things work - no celebrity would ever see anything you ever saw, and your interactions with people just outside your sphere would basically be non-existent because they'd literally never see/hear from you.

So that's where problems arise. Whatever your position, someone who disagrees can tag you, and even if you ignore the initial post, if they have enough of a sphere themselves, it's probably going to get back to you at some point.

Content moderation and "showing people what they want to see" is incredibly difficult. Also, showing people what they want to see can lead to extremism.

People like "decisive" people, and that's one of the things about impulsive people - they're often "decisive."

I would say he literally owned the company who built rockets that go into space. I am not sure how much he knows about jet propulsion, aero dynamics and engineering. Aside from saying "the rocket needs to go up" I would guess he left much of the building to engineers and rocket scientists. 

I think we are seeing a guy born on 3rd base, and who has been successfully trying to reform a platform that was not profitable in the first place. Some of his decisions have been horrific, such as firing a lot of the programmers. Declaring "free speech" is back and then banning everyone who opened an account under his name.
Changing the rules for parody after someone already tanked the stock of an insulin company. And picking an argument with a member of congress who oversees the FTC consent order.
Someone, someplace mentioned that Elon's actions make sense when viewed as a means of destroying twitter, not trying to reform it. 

21 hours ago, iacas said:

I have seen a lot of chatter regarding this "fork in the road" and how labor lawyers are going to have a field day with it.
First "long hours and high intensity" is not only changing the conditions of employment, but does not take into account employees who require reasonable accommodations, child care issues or ADA.

second, they are offering severance when the company is reportedly disputing the severance that goes with the last batch of layoffs. 
I am sure there is a more formal way to conduct personnel matters than through mail blasts and clicking buttons. 

Elon Musk Is Bad at This - The Atlantic

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The Musk era of Twitter has so far been defined by unhinged tweets, fleeing advertisers, and botched layoffs.

 

[Vinsk]

I scored an 83%.

[iacas]

27 minutes ago, Elmer said:

I would say he literally owned the company who built rockets that go into space.

Okay. You know what I was saying. This isn't a technical discussion, so you're awarded zero pedantry points. 😀

3 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I scored an 83%.

Not too bad.

Like John Gruber, I did it more based on grammar than the actual words.