logienickNov 12, 2022
Mike Galsworthy 🦣

Great article.

"Musk thinks he bought a tech company, but he’s actually bought a community of users, and that's where its value lies..."

So says Prof Paul Bernal - Professor of Information Technology Law at the University of East Anglia School of Law.

https://eastangliabylines.co.uk/why-elon-musk-the-chief-twit-is-in-trouble/

Why Elon Musk – the Chief Twit – is in trouble

Musk thinks he bought a tech company, but he’s actually bought a community of users, and that's where its value lies.

East Anglia Bylines
Nov 11, 2022 at 4:23pmWeb
Show threadAlexander GreenbergNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy It’s actually the other way around. He thought that by buying the tech company, the community of users would come with it, regardless of what he did. And from the jump, he treated then users like his personal property. It’s not working out well.
Show threadDave NattrissNov 12, 2022
@arg11 @mikegalsworthy they HAVE come with it though. Nobody important has left.
Show threadBigNurseMike✅Nov 13, 2022
@natts @arg11 @mikegalsworthy Stephen Fry has. 12,000,000 followers.
Show threadDave NattrissNov 13, 2022
@BigNurseMike @arg11 @mikegalsworthy and now Stephen has just 1/240th of that of here. Not exactly a loyal following then...
Show threadAlexander GreenbergNov 13, 2022
@BigNurseMike @natts @mikegalsworthy How many were bots?
Show threadDave NattrissNov 13, 2022
@arg11 @BigNurseMike @mikegalsworthy hard to say, but it's not usually in bots' interests to follow already popular accounts. They're usually used to post (mis)information.
Show threadguardianelmNov 14, 2022

@natts @arg11 @mikegalsworthy

Quite a few are staying because the meltdown and failure of someone so absolutely sure of himself is fun to watch.

Show threadSimon MasonNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy some brilliant points raised there and goes to show why so many are choosing Mastodon as a new open source, open minds community that will be clutter free of bile!
Show threadDave NattrissNov 12, 2022
@simonmason @mikegalsworthy it will never be as popular or successful as Twitter. Twitter's global public posts by default is what made it what it is. This decentralised service is fundamentally different.
Show threadKim Spence-Jones #FBPENov 13, 2022
@natts @simonmason @mikegalsworthy You may be right, but if the thoughtful creators that generate a large part of Twitter’s content (and thus half its revenue) decide that Mastodon suits them better, then Twitter itself will never again be as successful as Twitter. And I suspect that’s what’s happening.
Show threadPaulMNov 13, 2022
@natts @simonmason @mikegalsworthy never? If tw1tter implodes, which looks entirely possible, Mastodon will by definition be more successful.
Show threadDave NattrissNov 13, 2022
@onebiskuit @simonmason @mikegalsworthy I've yet to see any realistic reason why it will implode any time soon. Almost nothing has changed, as yet.
Show threadProgGrrlNov 13, 2022
@simonmason @mikegalsworthy Yup. It’s definitely my biggest worry, that the right wing nut jobs will come over here to seek all of us out once there’s no one left to bully on Twitter. But the Fediverse seems built to tackle that sort of thing. 🤞
Show threadPaulMNov 13, 2022
@mikegalsworthy @ProgGrrl @simonmason I shudder to think what admins might face if that came to pass, but being a voluntary effort, not looking for profit and not paying attention to clicks, ads etc, the admins will be less shy about actioning reports of unacceptable behaviour.
Show threadOliver Romain 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺 ☮️Nov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy this is why it’s important to ditch accounts from the other place and defund this grotesque Saudi backed experiment. If you are concerned about permanently losing your following you can temporarily reactivate every 30 days and post a reminder of why you aren’t there.
Show threadMike Galsworthy 🦣Nov 13, 2022
@oliverromain Interesting point - and interesting method!
Show threadSean MacreavyNov 11, 2022

@mikegalsworthy Great article by Paul!

Here's an idea: why don't we create OwnTheLibs.com, populate it with our own leftie versions of the Gammon bots, and just leave them to it?

(I'm giggling remembering Douglas Adams' delicious fantasy of banishing the 'undesirable' elements of society - management consultants et al - to a far-off planet on the 'Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B'!)

Show threadsparetomatoNov 11, 2022
@SeanMMedia ahhh… but one’s never alone when one has a rubber ducky!
Show threadSean MacreavyNov 11, 2022
@sparetomato 😄
Show threadSean MacreavyNov 17, 2022

@mikegalsworthy

Great minds think alike, @PaulSchliefer !

Show threadSean MacreavyNov 17, 2022
@PaulSchleifer 👍
Show threadStephen FryNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy That is exquisitely well put - rem acu tetigisti, Professor Bernal
Show threadRaj 🇬🇧🇪🇺💻🖥(🌻🇺🇦;🇵🇸)Nov 11, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy @mikegalsworthy I think it goes beyond all that. Fundamentally, he doesn't understand either how "normal" business ticks, and the value of stability, or how "normal" advertising works and the value of ... errm "stability". His business strategy is make the big bet, and wait on the turn of the card. And his promotional modus operandi isn't advertising, it's PR, the big jape, grand stunts, and PAs. He is divorced from "normal".
Show threadRaj 🇬🇧🇪🇺💻🖥(🌻🇺🇦;🇵🇸)Nov 11, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy To follow on, there was commentary that suggested his blunderings destroyed the other place's revenue prospects for 2023 which is why they forced him to see the buy-out through because he'd already made the business untenable. His ego, big mouth, and complete lack of comprehension of how the real world works. Now he's trying to undo the damage he did without realising he is the root cause.
Show threadStephen BoydNov 11, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy @paulbernalUK
Show threadPumpsNov 11, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy #NailedIt
Show threadMark BeeneyNov 11, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy 🎯
Show threadAbstractNov 13, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy Elon Musk is actually on the spectrum autistic spectrum that is
Show threadRaj SinghNov 14, 2022
@stephenfry always delighted to see a Wodehouse reference! You've truly put your finger on the nub as Bertie would say.
Show threadDewi IoanNov 14, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy
Elon has never run a company that relies on Advertisers for most of its revenue, they all make money from products or services, and have no need to advertise at all (Paypal, SpaceX) or very little as they are well known already (Tesla)
Show threadSirFin🇪🇺 Nov 14, 2022
@stephenfry @mikegalsworthy it’s a good article … but I fear it’s a bit shallow. I found this article/blog seemed to fit better with the random jigsaw pieces that we know about Musk and Dorsey and all their current actions/comments thus far. Might be a bit too “tin foil” hat for some … but it does tie it all neatly together. Be afraid … https://davetroy.medium.com/no-elon-and-jack-are-not-competitors-theyre-collaborating-3e88cde5267d
No, Elon and Jack are not “competitors.” They’re collaborating.

Wherein I attempt to clarify a number of ridiculous and false narratives currently taking hold about Musk and Dorsey’s “rivalry.”

Medium
Show threadChris PirilloNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy ...this is a lesson that I wish companies would learn when it comes to #community and #socialmedia. The platforms have changed over the years (and we have lost / restarted our social graphs with every migration). Community isn't on a service, it's in the person.
Show threadPyrielNov 11, 2022

@mikegalsworthy that Is a very succinct and accurate article.

Interesting times await.

Show threadЯєıинαʀd Gɘıger 🌍 😷Nov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
Elon M. The Upper Class Twit of the Year.
Show threadDibleyNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy By all accounts it’s the most fun it’s been since a long time. All sorts of shenanigans at play. Not for Musk of course.
Show threadWaylander's WanderingNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy based on the way he's treated the actual techs I don't think he can be trusted with a tech company either
Show threadRwa2playNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy No mention of his financial and business miscalculations? 😜
Show threadDewi IoanNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy He bought a collection of people advertisers want to advertise to ... but does not understand the advertisers, or the people they want to advertise to
Show threadMrs Mouse at workNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy a LOT of companies are mis-labled technology companies that... just arn't. Twitter, lyft, ...
Show threadNick GiordanoNov 11, 2022

@MrsMouse @mikegalsworthy

That’s a good point. What makes Airbnb a tech company, but not Hilton and Marriott?

They have basically the same reservation technology available. They all have apps

Show threadAlex Bambury #ActuallyAutisticNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy a very well written article
Show threadkcarruthersNov 11, 2022

@mikegalsworthy @RHW so true “There are three things he [Musk] doesn’t seem to grasp:

* That it’s the community that matters, not the tech;
* Where the value is in that community;
* What the right-wing-nut-jobs want.” And especially this: “Right-wing nut-jobs …want is a place where they can rant at the libs, at the MSM, at the people they hate. If those people aren’t there…the ranting isn’t nearly as fun.”

Show threadDragonFlameNov 11, 2022
@kcarruthers @mikegalsworthy
MSM also contributed & inflamed the spite & ranting on the birdsite. It has done journalists a disservice as a profession because so many there had eyes opened, turned away and went to more trustworthy news sources. They also underestimated the power and intelligence of the community. No longer the 'elite' they assumed themselves to be.
Show threadBruno NicolettiNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy It’s commercial media basics, whether social or traditional. You make money by selling your users/readers to advertisers. Subscriptions and the like are icing on the advertising cake. Very few things survive on subscriptions alone. You keep you users sweet to keep your advertisers sweet. And very few advertisers want their brand next to some nazi posts now appearing due to freeze peach. How he can not know that is just nuts.
Show threadnorskimposterNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Hes an absolute cunt.
Show threadPaul NavezNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy nice article, and straight to the heart of the problem. If Musk is trying to reinvent hot water, he could get a cold shower I'm afraid.
Show threadDJP (Darren John Pope)Nov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy ... a good read but I kinda think it conveniently skirts around the emerging reality that Musk is beholden to financial backers - he didn't buy Twitter with loose pocket change - and these backers (investors) will be calling the shots going forward. That his inflated ego gets in the way is the defining issue (granted, a point made in the article) 👍
Show threadTonyDFNov 12, 2022
@GreenCarnation2 I still remember that with some pain. Flickr was rendered useless virtually overnight
Show threadBea ResNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy loved the article. Musk is applying the same system of rapid iteration that he uses for SpaceX, to Twitter: while it's a great idea to innovate rocket prototypes and try new components at each flight, it's very wrong to make the same experiments with people. I hope that at least, people like him and himself will soon understand that freedom does not mean anarchy: nobody is free in a place where everyone can be abused and offended by everyone else. 🤷🏻
Show threadDewi IoanNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy
He bought a community of users that advertiser wanted to advertise to
Show threadArthur WyattNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy I'm convinced all the fucking around with checkmarks is the result of all his pals being right wing chuds and right wing chuds being absolutely obsessed with the checkmarks.
Show threadtoholioNov 11, 2022
@mikegalsworthy it feels so similar in many ways to when Flickr was bought by Yahoo. In that case they thought they were getting content and didn’t understand they had bought a community.
Show threadAntNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy Elon only cares about the data. No matter what happens to Twitter, he has ownership of the largest human behavior dataset in the world. It is everything he needs to take his neuralink\bionic tech projects to the next level. #posthuman #technology
Show threadJustathoughtNov 12, 2022
@antz @mikegalsworthy This!!!
Show threadChris_SwanNov 12, 2022
@antz @mikegalsworthy I think you've hit the nail on the head. I certainly think he was expecting to be received with universal praise and is finding it difficult to handle the position he is in. ( See multiple deleted tweets). He is making poorly considered decisions without forethought and consultation ( see blue tick debacle). The integrity of the platform had been punctured. IMO he's bailing out like crazy. Watch the privacy policy change.
Show threadDave NattrissNov 12, 2022
@Chris_Swan @antz @mikegalsworthy Twitter never had integrity. Primitive technology, full of spam, losing billions by the year... it only became popular with celebrity and media because of posts being globally public by default.
Show threadThe Neglectful GardenerNov 12, 2022
@mikegalsworthy You either come to the conclusion PB is right, o4 nearly right! Or It is deliberate on Musk’s part ie. He wants to tear down the place where people of a different general persuasion can discuss things. I don’t know which. I just have to wait and see.
Show threadPeter RelphNov 13, 2022

@mikegalsworthy I put this up 10 days ago:

Elon Musk did not buy the contributors of Twitter, he invested in us.

He has spent his life's "savings" in a lot of people who despise his very existence.

One of us is going to have to change & we have nothing to lose.

Maybe he didn't think this rush of blood through.

Show threadPeter RelphNov 13, 2022

@mikegalsworthy & another

Elon Musk owns Twitter

What is Twitter?

Us

Does that mean that Elon owns us?

Quite the opposite

We own Elon

If we all walked away he would be sitting there with nothing but an empty bank account in the Caymans

We have the power here

Elon hasn't realised yet

Have you?

Show threadAndywouldNov 13, 2022
@mikegalsworthy seems to me that the main thing Musk has bought is guaranteed top headlines across all news cycles for the foreseeable. Best thing we can do is ignore him so he hopefully goes away, preferably in one of his 'space ships '