Should we ditch twitter?

[PDQ Mobile]

Apologies.What is Twitter ?

A place where twits congregate?

[djnotts]

The "Musk and Trump Show" hitting new heights as Musk hosts.

"The relationship between Mr Musk and Trump has shifted over the years and they have traded online barbs in the past.

But Monday's conversation between the two was chummy and never adversarial.

Trump, who has been sceptical of electric vehicles and previously vowed to roll back federal subsidies, praised car-maker Tesla, which Mr Musk also owns.

He recently said he had “no choice” but to support EVs because of Mr Musk's endorsement and called the Tesla product "great" on Monday.

Mr Musk said he would be willing to offer a Trump administration help on a proposed "government efficiency commission".

Meanwhile Trump said "it's nice to have a forum like this" on X, where he could speak at length." (BBC)

Idly wonder if Musk sees himself as a potential political successor to Trump in a few years time.

[mattheus]

Idly wonder if Musk sees himself as a potential political successor to Trump in a few years time.

There seems to be no limit to the scope of his ego, so it wouldn't surprise me.

(also, he has the same self-awareness as Trump, but twice the intellect - so he'd probably thump Trump in candidate selection battle ... )

[Psamathe]

The "Musk and Trump Show" hitting new heights as Musk hosts.

"The relationship between Mr Musk and Trump has shifted over the years and they have traded online barbs in the past.

But Monday's conversation between the two was chummy and never adversarial.
...

I wonder how much Musk's increasingly direct support for Trump with his way of running Twitter (eg censor dissenting voices whilst allowing thise inciting violence) will be perceived as Twitter becoming and if that will encourage politicians & journalists to move elsewhere.

I can't see any way Musk's behaviour (politically and running Twitter) is in the interests of the company and I wonder how shareholders will be reacting. But given they've already taken a massive loss maybe they've little more to lose - consequences of blindly supporting Musk.

Ian

[Psamathe]

An interesting article raising some faxcts I wasn't aware of eg

...
Anyone who doubts the practicality of this should take a look at social media in Germany, where platforms are significantly more accountable. In Germany, illegal Nazi content is routinely removed within minutes of it being reported. Liability extends to local leaders and it is incredibly mobilising.

In my experience, that threat of personal sanction is much more effective on executives than the risk of corporate fines. Were Musk to continue stirring up unrest, an arrest warrant for him might produce fireworks from his fingertips, but as an international jet-setter it would have the effect of focusing his mind.
...

Ian

[Tangled Metal]

Idly wonder if Musk sees himself as a potential political successor to Trump in a few years time.

There seems to be no limit to the scope of his ego, so it wouldn't surprise me.

(also, he has the same self-awareness as Trump, but twice the intellect - so he'd probably thump Trump in candidate selection battle ... )

He is not American born so cannot be US president.

Same reason The former Californian governor and ex actor could not rise further up the political ladder. Still, that governor job was in charge of a budget and economy that IIRC would make it something like a top 5 economy in the world based on GDP. Bigger than the UK economy so he did alright for a foreigner over there.

[Tangled Metal]

AIUI twitter has absolutely lost value since Musk took over. Didn't the shares tank at one point making people wonder if it would fold?

Tesla for years never made a profit if indeed it has ever. Their production costs went up and generally have had a period of significant difficulty. Sales dropped significantly.

If sales go down then costs can be reduced if needed to manage that to some extent. I know that Ford was known for handling downturns in the industry by reducing costs with the economic difficulties. For example in some downturns they switched from good steel to some more than dodgy steel grades. This resulted years later in missing registrations in some of their models on the secondhand market. Put simply the downturn produced cars rusted away and were scrapped long before 10 years. In fact one model of car I was interested in at about 4 to 5 years of age could not be found or very hard to find in one of those ages. You could buy older or younger but not that one year.

Tesla could cut variable costs to adjust the total manufacturing costs with any drop off of sales. To a point at least.

BTW was it just my hearing or did I really hear Trump sounding like he had a speech impediment? Is he unwell? Could he have health issues like stroke? If he gets into the white house a second time should we be thinking that it would end up with a Vance presidency by the end? The pundits have beem describing him as the Heir apparent for carrying on Trump's plans and politics. I find President Vance as scary or even more scary than President Trump. I am not looking forward to the next 10 years of politics. 10 years because I think it would take at least a full presidential term without Trump or his acolytes in charge to recover.

If not twitter / X then what would you use? Are the others any better? Honestly, are they?

Equating Amazon to twitter / X is a bit misleading. Amazon is about capitalism not politics and is not a cesspit. Plus it allows a lot of small companies to sell to the public and do well and in that respect it is positive. I understand it is less exploitative of small retailers and companies than etsy for example.

[mattheus]

He is not American born so cannot be US president.

That's such a blinkered, 20thC view of the world.

[Traction_man]

If not twitter / X then what would you use? Are the others any better? Honestly, are they?

This indeed is a challenge, I have started on Threads but just cannot get on with it, early days so I shall see how it goes but at the moment I just seem to get loads of random rubbish!

I have been on Twitter since 2018 and mainly use it for work stuff, and perhaps because of the length of time and the follows/followings I seem to get more relevant/interesting content.

But the current shifts with X have given me cause for thought on whether I should now ditch Twitter... is it better to stay a while longer in the hope that the sensible majority keep the voice of reason afloat :-/

[axel_knutt]

Letter from Breton to Musk.

[toontra]

Letter from Breton to Musk.

I don't think "bald" links are a good idea in general, but in this particular thread a trigger warning would be appreciated

[Jdsk]

Letter from Breton to Musk.

Thanks for posting.

Looks like a good start.

The Digital Services Act:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Services_Act

Jonathan

[Nearholmer]

Yep, it needs to be throttled from the UK.

Has everyone seen the way Musk is using it to victimise Hamza Yousaf?

[Pendodave]

When I first heard about this happening I thought it was insane!!!!

But it seems to work

I've done it on WhatsApp with Great Western

Thanks.
Next time I book a bike, I'll try it on Avanti.
Though I'm wondering if I'll be able to show my face in polite company again...

Regarding this earlier post, I booked my bike using WhatsApp last night. It worked exactly the same as twitter.
Just off for a nice day in the western pennines from Lancaster to Oxenholme

[UpWrong]

Yes, ditch X and Tesla. Elon is toxic.