First modification:
Spending a hefty $44 billion on Twitter when recessionary winds blow was the easy part for Elon Musk. Now that he has control of it, he must undertake the deep cascade of reforms he promised and show why he believes the firm is worth much more than that.
“I am very happy that Twitter is now in good hands, it will no longer be run by radical left lunatics and maniacs who genuinely hate our country.” The message was sent by the former president of the United States, Donald Trump through his Truth Social platform.
The trill of the former US president is not free. His personal Twitter account was deleted after the attack on the United States Capitol that occurred on January 6, 2021 and which he is accused of promoting through his social networks.
Today, with Twitter under the command of billionaire Elon Musk, the situation could change not only for Trump, but for other personalities who have been suspended from the platform for their content considered inappropriate.
Before sealing the $44 billion buyout deal, the self-described free speech absolutist had said he would reverse the Twitter ban to prevent the platform from becoming an “echo chamber” for hate and division.
“Chief Tweet”
The eccentric luxury car and space travel mogul took over Twitter with nimble efficiency on Thursday, firing top executives upon his arrival and restoring the stage to artists like his personal friend Kanye West, with more than 30 million followers. .
The controversial artist was on international covers after large multinationals such as Adidas and Skechers closed the door on him for his publications considered anti-Semitic.
As well as bringing back some of the closed accounts and fighting for the abolition of fake or ‘spam’ ones, Elon Musk has outlined a long list of ambitions for the influential social media platform, but on which he has provided little clarity.
Edit button, subscriptions and more…
To announce the interest in Twitter to the world, Elon Musk broke out with a poll: do you want an edit button? The answer “Yes” received the majority of votes and a couple of months ago, while the legal fight for the business was taking place, Twitter announced that it was already testing this function.
if you see an edited Tweet it’s because we’re testing the edit button
this is happening and you’ll be okay
—Twitter (@Twitter) September 1, 2022
But Elon Musk’s proposals go beyond a mere technical issue. His main banner has been the promise to preserve freedom of expression of all kinds. Other goals include cutting jobs to improve profitability, leaving the 7,500 employees worried about their future.
“EverythingApp”
Perhaps the most contradictory of his plans has to do with advertisers. In 2019, Musk tweeted: “I hate advertising” and on the eve of the deal’s expected closing, he appealed directly to advertisers in a tweet saying he aspires to “be the most respected advertising platform in the world.”
However, he had previously suggested that he was going to move away from advertising and that he would bet on other income such as subscriptions. Today, the Twitter box, as well as the rest of social networks, depend largely on advertising.
The richest man in the world wants to test the concept of an “app for everything”, often called a “super app”, which is very popular in Asia and which tech companies around the world have tried to replicate.
The Chinese app WeChat is estimated to have more than a billion monthly users and is almost ubiquitous in daily life in China. Users can hail a car or taxi, send money to friends and family, or make payments in stores.
During a question-and-answer session with Twitter employees in June, Musk noted that there is no equivalent to a super app like WeChat outside of Asia.
“You basically live on WeChat in China,” he said, adding that he saw in Twitter an opportunity to create such an app.
With Reuters, EFE and AP
