Musk's nonsense promoting Russian propaganda "peace deal" is coming back to bite him in the a$$ on the world stage. Olena Zelenska says she hopes Musk’s Ukraine peace tweet was ‘chance mistake’ Exclusive: First lady says ‘even smartest people could be influenced by Russian propaganda’ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/03/olena-zelenska-elon-musk-ukraine-peace-tweet Ukraine government is seeking alternatives to Elon Musk’s Starlink, vice PM says https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/03/ukraine-government-seeking-alternatives-to-elon-musks-starlink.html
"Trump-Style" -- can't sink much lower than that. Musk is managing Twitter Trump-style https://www.axios.com/2022/11/03/musk-trump-twitter-management-style Elon Musk's chaotic new Twitter arrives with a distinct echo of Donald Trump's old White House. The big picture: The world already knew that Musk's shoot-from-the-hip Twitter posting style recalled the former president's. Now it appears that Musk's management approach owes a debt to the former president as well. Musk's first days as Twitter CEO have such a familiar feel because the world's richest man is leading his new company from the same playbook Trump used as he tried to change the U.S. government's direction after his 2017 inauguration: Rely on an inner circle chosen for loyalty more than expertise; seize and hold the public's attention by rolling out new proposals and ideas on Twitter first before they've been widely vetted internally; Keep the existing organization in a state of uncertainty and fear. Why it matters: Trump achieved only a fraction of the goals he set because it's nearly impossible to turn around a gigantic organization by posting tweets. Twitter, the company, is much smaller than the federal bureaucracy. But Musk is likely to get no further than Trump did if his leadership-by-tweet isn't accompanied by tenacious and coherent internal planning. That could be difficult for someone who changes his mind in public a lot and is also the CEO of four other companies. Between the lines: For Trump-detesters, watching Musk's leadership approach in action can feel like a reopened wound or a recurring nightmare. Trump fans angered by Twitter's ban on the former president have been cheered by Musk's promises to restore "free speech." But Trump says he will continue to use his own network at Truth Social for his online communiques, and Musk says it will be weeks before anyone's ban is lifted. Yes, but: There are big differences between Trump and Musk, too. Musk really is the world's richest man, whereas the extent of Trump's wealth has always been a subject of dispute, further clouded by his secrecy. Musk is a veteran leader in business with success running companies like Tesla and SpaceX, whereas Trump took the presidency with zero government experience. Musk has no limit on his term and no reelection schedule, nor does he face a threat of impeachment — though he still needs to win over users, court advertisers and show his investors positive results. Also unlike Trump, Musk actually replies to other users on Twitter and seems to enjoy the site. Be smart: Tweets move at the speed of electrons but actual change to products and organizations happens more slowly. Musk fans who expected a Twitter free-for-all in the hours after Musk tweeted "the bird is freed" last Thursday have been disappointed in the new owner's announcement this week that he won't change content moderation policies until he has formed a new council. It's still unclear when Musk will spring an expected big round of layoffs. Since taking the Twitter helm, he has feverishly tweeted out new product ideas, from charging monthly fees for "verified user" checks to relaunching the Vine short-video service.
Op-ed: What Elon Musk really gets out of owning Twitter https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/03/op-ed-what-elon-musk-really-gets-out-of-owning-twitter.html Think of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover less like a typical private equity play, where he fixes the business and sells it, and more like Jeff Bezos’ purchase of the Washington Post. Twitter is a crummy business. Always has been. The company’s never made sustained profits. Its audience is much smaller than Facebook or Instagram (both owned by Meta), YouTube (which is part of Google) or TikTok (owned by China’s ByteDance). It’s not even as big as Snapchat in terms of daily users. Elon Musk knows this. He’s a canny businessperson who can read an earnings report. So any chatter about Musk’s plans to revamp Twitter and turn it into a better business misses the mark. It doesn’t really matter if the math adds up for his new plan to charge $8 a month for verification or Twitter Blue or whatever it ends up being called. Whether he cuts 25% or 50% or 75% of the staff and how much money he saves from doing so isn’t that important. Creating some super-app that imitates China’s WeChat in combining commerce and content — which, by the way, would pose interesting challenges on a service that allows anonymity and fake names — isn’t really the point, either. Yes, running the business efficiently and improving cashflow will matter for the platform’s continued existence, especially now that Twitter has a $13 billion debt load to service. But like Mark Zuckerberg said in 2012 about Facebook, making money is a means to an end, not the end in itself. Musk’s net worth exceeds $200 billion. He’s going to be fine. The real power of Twitter is its influence. Musk frequently boasts that Tesla doesn’t spend on traditional advertising. Twitter, which he uses to communicate directly to his more than 100 million followers, is a big reason why. He’s used it to introduce and promote countless new Tesla products and features (many of which have not been delivered after years of talk). He’s sold flamethrowers, tequila and perfume. He’s engaged with and criticized the press and regulators. He’s even influenced the prices of cryptocurrencies. Musk also got in hot water with the SEC for tweeting in 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take the car company private at $420 a share. The regulator charged Musk with fraud, and the two sides eventually settled, with the Tesla CEO required to have some future tweets first reviewed by a “Twitter sitter.” As the owner of Twitter, Musk now controls a platform that has mounds of data about the connections among its users, their interactions, their interests and so on. Just imagine the information available about Tesla’s automotive competitors — how much they’re spending on advertising, which keywords and demographics they’re targeting, how they engage with customers and fans, how they receive and resolve customer service complaints and so on. Most important, by owning Twitter, Musk expands his reach far beyond his own fanbase. He’ll be able to set principles that influence the entire flow of information through the platform. Musk has hinted at this in his statements about Twitter as a bastion of free speech. In April, when he first disclosed his investment in the company, Musk wrote to then-Chairman Bret Taylor, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.” More recently, when pledging to advertisers that Twitter would not become a “free-for-all hellscape,” Musk explained, “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.” Of course, Musk subsequently tried to terminate his purchase agreement before eventually relenting and avoiding a high-profile court battle.
L'Oréal denies report saying it suspended Twitter ad spending https://www.reuters.com/business/re...s-advertising-spending-twitter-ft-2022-11-02/
In under a week Musk has turned Twitter into a free-for-all hellscape with endless n-word posts while Elon personally intervened to return individual banned right-wing users coupled with Musk personally posting misinformation Advertisers want to know what the f@ck Musk plans to do to fix the problems -- otherwise they are gone. Advertisers begin to grill Elon Musk over Twitter 'free-for-all' https://www.reuters.com/technology/...on-musk-over-twitter-free-for-all-2022-11-03/ Elon Musk promised advertisers he would keep Twitter from turning into a "free-for-all hellscape." This week, advertisers are beginning to demand details on how he plans to uphold the commitment. A media buyer at one major ad agency, who declined to be named for fear of reprisal, said the agency would meet with Musk this week to ask how the Tesla chief executive plans to clamp down on misinformation on the social media platform. The buyer also wanted to know how Musk's pledge squared with his own actions, including one tweet over the weekend that spread a conspiracy theory about the attack against U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul. Other topics include Musk's plan to raise the cost of Twitter's subscription service and serve "half as many ads," and who will serve as advertisers' point of contact after a procession of senior executives, including Twitter's ad chief, left the company since he took over. The agency's top clients are expected to join the meeting, the media buyer said. Neither Twitter now Musk immediately responded to request for comment. After tweeting in 2019 about his dislike of advertising, Musk is now under pressure to avoid alienating the advertisers who contribute more than 90% of its revenue. He is spending his first week as CEO in New York, with venture capitalist friends joining him in meetings to reassure companies that contribute more than $5 billion annually to Twitter. Jason Calacanis, an angel investor and podcast host who is assisting Musk in his first week of ownership, tweeted on Monday that Twitter had a "very productive day" of meetings with advertisers and marketers. Another media buyer who spoke with Reuters said their agency will not meet with Musk until he articulates a direction for Twitter or provides a substantive update on how the platform will serve advertisers. Some clients have already begun to pause ad spending on Twitter this week, said the second media buyer, who declined to name the advertisers as the source was not authorized to do so. The buyer said some clients had already pulled out of Twitter due to the months-long chaos around the deal, and some in response to concerns about child sexual abuse material on Twitter. IPG, an advertising holding company that represents major clients including Coca-Cola and American Express, has advised clients to pause their Twitter ads for the next week, according to a person familiar with the matter. Even as Musk took meetings with major agencies and advertisers this week, he took to Twitter on Wednesday night with a poll asking users whether advertisers should support freedom of speech or "political correctness." Of more than one million votes, 80% answered "freedom of speech." "Those type of provocations are not helping to calm the waters," the media buyer said. More marketers also took to LinkedIn to voice their concerns about Musk's takeover of the platform. "Unless Elon hires new leaders committed to keeping this 'free' platform safe from hate speech, it's not a platform brands can/should advertise on," said Allie Wassum, global director of social and integrated media for Jordan shoe brand, which is owned by Nike, in a post on Linkedin. Wassum did not respond to a request for further comment. ======================== In related news --- I am not seeing ads for any major brands in my Twitter feed currently. Prior Musk I got ads for cars, cruises, banks, tech stuff, etc. --- major brands aligned with my interests. Now all I get is crap like THC gummies (which I have no interest in) and nuts.com (how appropriate). The only tech related ad stuff I see in my Twitter feed are for Anker 735 chargers and Aqara Sensors.
"Hellscape". What a joke. Twitter has been the best it has in a long, long while. You're just pissed off that your side doesn't have the only voice, banning everyone who says things you don't agree with. While you're crying into your glass at the party, everyone else is having the time of their lives.
Calm down Sparky. Everything that happens in the world does not happen to you personally. As I have said, Elon has a side of him that functions as a home entertainment system and Twitter is just a bullshit social media platform. It really matters very little whether he ever makes a profit or if it goes tits up next month. No one is trying to unplug your heart-lung machine. You and your ilk have received your script from the lefties that says that you must focus 100% on making Elon the new Trump and then demonized him that way. Most likely Elon is Elon. Warts and all.
You don't understand, Tree. If Twitter suddenly allows dissention to the Narrative™, he'll no longer be able to say "misinformation flagged by Twitter" as an excuse for dismissing any opposition.
Yet the services that track ads on Twitter noted that no advertising from L'Oréal brands such as Maybelline and Lancome have appeared in recent days. I guess L'Oréal is into "quiet quitting".