pierreFeb 9, 2023
Casey Newton

NEW: Elon Musk fired a top engineer over his declining view counts.

Plus the reason the site went down yesterday, fears about an upcoming FTC audit, and more, and more.

https://www.platformer.news/p/elon-musk-fires-a-top-twitter-engineer

From @zoeschiffer and me.

Elon Musk fires a top Twitter engineer over his declining view count

Inside Twitter 2.0, turmoil leaves employees stretched to the max

Platformer
Feb 9, 2023 at 8:01pmWeb
Show threadStefanFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer probably ends with elon's tweets as required reading.
Show threadTofuTheSquirrelFeb 9, 2023
@stefan @caseynewton @zoeschiffer for every Musk tweet you like, you get the right to post one tweet for free.
Show threadTofuTheSquirrelFeb 9, 2023
@stefan @caseynewton @zoeschiffer but then it's not free reallly, it either costs money or self respect.
Show threadChloe Tse Feb 9, 2023
@stefan
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer ha that's what I'm thinking too. I can see him deciding to have his tweet pinned on top of every users timeline. That would be hilarious
Show threadStefanFeb 9, 2023
@chloetse @caseynewton @zoeschiffer you login after a week or two and it's just a wall of elon.
Show threadChloe Tse Feb 10, 2023
@stefan @caseynewton @zoeschiffer it would be like that French catacomb with a wall of skulls but lame.
Show threadJaeFeb 9, 2023
@stefan @caseynewton @zoeschiffer Definitely feels like they’d need to force Musk’s tweets into timelines to increase engagement. Then people will ban or hide Musk, or just stop using Twitter.
Show threadmbulskovFeb 10, 2023
@me @stefan @caseynewton @zoeschiffer Already muted him. I get angry reading his bull so just protecting my sanity 😊
Show threadTurdus MerulaFeb 10, 2023
@mbu @me @stefan @caseynewton @zoeschiffer 👍👏👏
Show threadalexmakFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer lol, what a baby
Show threadpaulmather007Feb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Wow. It almost makes me glad I’m not a super rich guy surrounded by sycophants. ALMOST.
Show threadReboot RobotnikFeb 10, 2023

@paulmather007 @caseynewton @zoeschiffer As a supervillain myself, I still surround myself with sycophants - but I do it on an hourly wage.

I'm accessible!

Show threadpaulmather007Feb 10, 2023
@DrOtto @caseynewton @zoeschiffer I’m actually okay with being middle class as long as I’m surrounded by
sycophants. The rich part is negotiable.
Show threadReboot RobotnikFeb 10, 2023

@paulmather007 @caseynewton @zoeschiffer The rich part is nonsense - when the world is mine, I'll have done it honestly and under budget

I mean it HAS to come in under budget...there's virtually no budget

Show threadAdrian Bhagat ⓋFeb 10, 2023
@DrOtto @paulmather007 @caseynewton @zoeschiffer
I get my sycophants on a gig basis from UberYes. Everyone says that's a great idea.
Show threadTyler McGeeFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton Who does this sound like… 🤔
Show threadslackmaster ɹǝddøʞ Feb 9, 2023
@ty_406 @caseynewton Does it rhyme with Tronald Dump?
Show threadEpiphanic SynchronicityFeb 9, 2023

@ty_406 @caseynewton

Hmm…I’m picturing orange hair but can’t recall the name…

Show threadCaryFeb 9, 2023
@ty_406 @caseynewton Another stable genius?
Show threadDerekFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer he kept appearing on my feed so I blocked him.
Show threadBrandon ButlerFeb 9, 2023
@gringlegrif @caseynewton @zoeschiffer This. I keep adding him to blacklists on apps because, frankly, I don’t care to read what he’s up to.
Show threadTom Klaver Feb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer The billionaire that can't stop giving.
Show threadWeltzeitgeistFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Disgusting human being.
Show threadSenhor Schlauschlau 🪐Feb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Elno Muks 🤡 (cc @gavinkarlmeier und @dennishorn für #hakendran)
Show threadAndrew HintonFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer @Gargron look up “narcissistic wound” and it explains *all* of this https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/impossible-please/201401/the-narcissistic-wound
The Narcissistic Wound

The first cut is always the deepest.

Psychology Today
Show threadBlueDotAZFeb 10, 2023
@Andrewhinton @caseynewton @zoeschiffer @Gargron Great article! I worked for a narcissist once. It was one of the most miserable work experiences of my life. Musk is no different from that guy. I will say that I am truly amused to watch the Twitter apocalypse from the safety of Mastodon. But what I want to know is, how many lawsuits for wrongful termination (California is NOT a "right to work" state) are brewing? I hope they all have the sharkiest of lawyers.
Show threadFubaroqueFeb 9, 2023

@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Well, hardcore development... they should have asked for the specs before they agreed to it.

Always important when a manager uses a buzzword. 😜 🤭

Show threadSean Eric FaganFeb 9, 2023

@caseynewton @zoeschiffer So, yeah, that continues to describe someone who is untouchable, and thinks he’s the next (or better) Steve Jobs: always ready with the next vision, mercurial, quick to anger.

But SJ had one big asset going for him: *any* employee could approach him and argue for or against something. Including complaining about management, or SJ’s own decisions. You might lose your job if you couldn’t convince him, but the option was *always there*, and everyone knew it.

Show threadPatrida1941🇬🇷🇺🇸🇺🇦Feb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer I think he’s artificially inflating his follower count so that he can eventually top Obama
Show threadTamar YellinFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer "You can’t be the smartest person in the room about everything, all the time.” <-- this
Show threadGeorge Liquor, AmericanFeb 9, 2023
@TamarYellin @caseynewton @zoeschiffer I'd argue that Musk can't be the smartest person in the room about anything at any time.
Show threadTamar YellinFeb 9, 2023
@liquor_american @caseynewton @zoeschiffer 💯
Show threadGeoFeb 9, 2023
@liquor_american @TamarYellin @caseynewton @zoeschiffer Depends. If he continues like that, firing everyone who says something he doesn't like, the room will, except for him, be empty soon.
Show threadGeorge Liquor, AmericanFeb 9, 2023
@Geo @TamarYellin @caseynewton @zoeschiffer The galaxy brain isn't going to figure that out until it's far too late lol
Show threadllywrchFeb 10, 2023
@TamarYellin @caseynewton @zoeschiffer But you can be the smartest person in the room all the time: just gotta shut up & listen
Show threaderamneFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer this is really funny
Show threadGeorge Liquor, AmericanFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer The larger the fortune, the more fragile the ego
Show threadKevin MarksFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Classic: “As the adage goes, ‘you ship your org chart,’” said one current employee. “It’s chaos here right now, so we’re shipping chaos.””
Show threadNedFeb 9, 2023

@caseynewton @zoeschiffer

Are they not just going to artificially pump up his tweets from now on? Definite side effect of micro management is that software becomes mangled with one off fixes for narrow problems because the engineer is just trying to get through the next meeting.

Also, embarrassing as hell that capitalist maximus musk has to resort to Soviet style purges when he receives bad news.

Show threadantipode77Feb 9, 2023

@theWesterhazys @caseynewton @zoeschiffer

Yes, build a hall of mirrors around Elon. Allow him to live in his own illusions.

What can go wrong? 🙊🙈🙉

Show threadllywrchFeb 10, 2023
@theWesterhazys @caseynewton @zoeschiffer I’ve noticed a lot of people claiming to be libertarian in their philosophy expect to get people to do what they want by ordering them around. It’s a tendency.
Show threadm3enzoFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Can’t wait till it all comes crashing down…day by day 🤡
Show threadDebra BarconFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer
This is perfect narcissistic behavior. Musk makes demands of staff and now users to feed his ego. Not his fault if it fails 🙄
Show threadYusuf GadFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer amazing.
Show threadJL RobersonFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Laughable little man.
What an absolutely childish and stupid thing to waste a (admittedly phony, but he had one) reputation and several fortunes on. It really is just about his ego and #Twitter feeding it; this is now just #ElonMusk's Delphi Forum.
Show threadJL RobersonFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Like if Henry Ford had decided the Dearborn Independent was a higher priority than his car company.
Show threadFiveAcresFeb 9, 2023
@jlroberson @caseynewton @zoeschiffer I was fairly active on
Delphi Forums for a while a long time ago. About ten years ago I logged in again and it had become a very scary place.
Show threadJL RobersonFeb 9, 2023
@FiveAcres @caseynewton @zoeschiffer Rubbish left in the street gets dirty
Show threadRodneyFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer @Gargron
Show threadShinigamiDad 死Feb 9, 2023
He's *literally* turning into Captain Queeg!
Show threadSkepticat 😸Feb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer 'you're fired...you're fired,' hmmmmm...sounds so familiar.
Show threadDarryl RammFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer Mr. Musk, sir, your newspaper ink bath is ready. Nice and warm just like you like it.
Show thread👨🏻‍💻☕Feb 9, 2023

“As the adage goes, ‘you ship your org chart,’” said one current employee. “It’s chaos here right now, so we’re shipping chaos.”

🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣

@caseynewton @zoeschiffer

Show threadBoredomFestivalFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer something something "Snowflake" something
Show threadGadgetGavFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer “Platformer is withholding the engineer’s name in light of the harassment Musk has directed at former Twitter employees.”
That won’t save the engineer though, will it? I mean, Musk knows who he fired, so if he wants to direct harassment at them, he doesn’t need to read the name in Platformer…
Am I missing something? If you’re worried about tipping off a big mob, then sure, but it’s not protecting them from Musk himself.
Show threadDarren OlivierFeb 9, 2023
@gadgetgav @caseynewton @zoeschiffer By not publishing the engineer’s name, Musk won’t be able to quote tweet the relevant bit with a comment that sends his fans after the person. He would actually have to name them himself, which is more effort and I’m guessing introduces him to more legal risk.
Show threadFennix Feb 9, 2023

@caseynewton @zoeschiffer

“As the adage goes, ‘you ship your org chart,’” said one current employee. “It’s chaos here right now, so we’re shipping chaos.”

Might be the most apt quote about their current state.

Show threadBlaidd DrwgFeb 9, 2023
@caseynewton @zoeschiffer he is more fragile than Trump