Twitter + Elon Musk… IMHO…
But a lot is wrong with it, too. Chatbots, Crypto Currency Scammers and Fake Accounts have been a constant pain for many regular users; hindering the push toward the masses, significantly.
If it were up to Elon Musk, Twitter would be an even more powerful communications tool than it already is today. With the potential to take on a central role in free speech and the "new world". I think we're all sceptical of his intentions with the platform, but if Jeff Bezos can buy the Washington Post, why wouldn't Elon Musk be able to buy a whole social media platform, right...?
I love this short TikTok that explains what has happened between Twitter and Elon Musk in the last couple of days. Have a look.
@johnsfinancetips Elon Musk buys Twitter for $43 Billion #elon #twitter #buyout #johnsfinancetips
♬ original sound - John Liang
Should anyone be allowed to buy a social media platform
It's a simple question, but very hard to answer. As it stands today, most social media platforms and owned and run by the founding teams or under strong supervision of its leaders. In the case of Twitter, Jack Dorsey has only just recently decided to take a true step back and hand over the reigns.
IMHO it is not more than normal that someone CAN own a product or service. The fact that Twitter is a platform and ecosystem that allows others to share their opinions and voice their needs/concerns, doesn't really change that to me.
Yet, the main point of concern for many is not so much the IF but the WHO.
Elon Musk has build a reputation for himself to be jumpy, short-term focused and explosive in his actions + opinions. Twitter is a medium that can move markets (Dodgecoin), form opinions and drive change—we have seen our Twitter Commander in Charge show us exactly how that can be done, in recent years.
We—as a community—simply don't really know what Elon Musk's intentions truly are.
Should one of the richest persons on the planet be allowed to buy "anything"
Another controversial question... Technically, probably yes.
But in the case of a social media platform like Twitter, the question of who controls the media is highly relevant.
To many, Twitter isn't just a fun platform, it is their main source of information and media consumption. By owning Twitter, Elon Musk essentially owns the keys to how >300 million people around the world consume their information — and potentially what they consume.
Should social media platforms be decentralized (ownership)
If we acknowledge that social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram are news outlets, should they be allowed to be controlled by a single person — or a small group of people — in the first place?
This is a near impossible question to answer.
One of the main arguments Elon Musk has brought up regarding why he should be "allowed" to purchase Twitter, is that the media that's shared on Twitter should not be limited to a certain group / type of people. As long as the content is within the lines of the law, anyone should be allowed to say what they would like to say.
According to Musk, that is currently not the case and one of the main reasons someone will have to make some big changes.
i♥️u
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
Yet, who controls whether or not someone like Musk is capable of making these types of decisions — especially given the fact that his attention span is shorter than his tweets.
I don't know how I feel about this
- I love Twitter as a platform and I could see this move make it more relevant to a broader public in the short–run.
- The risk associated with one single person—as powerful as Elon Musk—being able to control how media is consumed and potentially what messages are spread, worries me.
- Do I think this is a good investment of his time and energy... not really.
- ... But I'm certainly interested to see what will come out of this in the weeks and months to come... And tweet about it.