Neil JohnsonNov 13, 2022
Between Elon destroying Twitter, another crypto exchange (FTX) revealed as an over-leveraged Ponzi scheme, and the failure of most of the neo-fascist election deniers to secure enough votes to actually win office, it feels like this week we may have finally reached the end of an era, and the grifters will finally have to face some consequences. Who knows, maybe Trump will actually serve some time, too — he’s certainly lost his grip on his party. Maybe the spell is broken?
Show threadNeil JohnsonNov 13, 2022

I want to be clear that I’m not celebrating anyone losing their job at Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, or any of the other Big Tech firms that have dominated our online lives, now facing a contracting market.

I'm simply pointing out that these surveillance capitalism companies who’ve made money spreading misinformation and outrage may have reached a limit to what they can monetize at the expense of civil society and healthy social relationships.

Show threadIvan MoscosoNov 13, 2022
@stratofax they may have reached a limit with their current business models, but I still wonder what happens to all those unspent advertising dollars, the “fuel” for that engine..
Show threadNeil JohnsonNov 13, 2022

@ivan3bx that’s a good question and I have no idea where that money will land.

It’s telling that the most punishing consequences for Musk’s cruel and careless handling of Twitter were a result of the brands pulling their ad dollars out as Twitter descended into unfettered hate speech

Show threadIvan Moscoso
@stratofax Yep. I suppose the thing these social media companies provide advertisers (other than eyeballs) is a place for brands to reinforce a positive image. Make the platform’s problems the focus, and it’s suddenly a risky proposition. So maybe these ad dollars will end up some place that’s boring but data-rich..
Nov 13, 2022 at 3:39amWeb