I really hope that this goes well for everyone. I have the same concerns about Elon that I do have for Jeff Bezos owning the Washington Post. It hasn't been necessarily the best thing for media. But I'm hoping that he is as honest as he appears to be about what he wants to do with Twitter.
The richest people in the world all seem to have their media arm. Bezos, Slim, Gates, Zuckerberg, the list could go on. Mega-billionaires seemed to have figured out that they need to wield powerful influence over the media to maintain the narrative over their reputation and wealth creation.
Which is obviously concerning and something to be concerned about. However, there is always the possibility that it can be beneficial to not be at the whim of whatever political fire storm is currently brewing.
The fact that it’s independent allows for the potential to be deceptive and less accountability when it happens. I’m not suggesting that corporate media is somehow better at that but being independent doesn’t solve the problem. And as has been articulated by people like Bari Weiss who is building her own independent media, the tendency is to give those who are financially supporting you exactly what they want rather than what’s factual regardless of the outcome. These are problems that doesn’t get fixed just because you’re independent.
Honestly, as time passes I'm less and less inclined to think that alternative media are an answer to anything. Increasingly I start seeing commentators I used to respect during the COVID crisis repeating the same mistakes the corporate media is doing. Partisanship. Pushing narratives rather than seeking for the truth. Sensationalism. Catastrophising the reality. Only debating the "hot" issues (lockdowns yesterday, vaccines today, Ukraine tomorrow). Obsessing over the details rather than trying to see the big picture. Never seeing the fault with themselves or show willingness to take accountability. Instilling in their audiences the need to repeat the narratives rather than to truly question everything. Majority of alternative media are alternative only in the type of news they present. At their current state they're certainly not a tool for substantial change.
You're right, I don't think it is but I think what it can do is become a balancing act for corporate media. For instance, I noticed that the New York Post recently cited a Substack writer as a source for information about an important subject. Apparently one of the people who went viral for her "impassioned" work advocating in favour of masks and lockdowns and all that wasn't who they said they are. They claimed to be working 12 hour shifts in a hospital treating children. However, in fact she was a school nurse while schools were closed getting paid to stay home. That is a benefit of something like alternative media. Bari Weiss has been able to break stories that the corporate media followed up on. Those are potentially good stuff.
I said that in my previous comment. You’re not pointing out anything that I don’t already know. But you asked what the problems were and I’m pointing them out. Just because something is independent doesn’t make it somehow better. The only difference is that if someone is running their own business and has no other employees, no one gets fired when they screw up and they aren’t necessarily incentivized to own up to mistakes any more than the corporate media is.
As a San Francisco native & a former student at Berkeley, two towns formerly associated with free speech, it's ironic now that Jordan rightfully calls these people "anti-speech San Francisco Social Justice Warriors". Also ironically, we now have to look to billionaires to protect open debate. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Making the algorithm code open source would be a massive reveal. More than anything else, I just want the world to know how devious and toxic the programming is under the surface.
He has said he will do it. I think it will be great for the platform and it will be hard to argue it is being run in a manipulated manner (obviously its dark past will be scrubbed)
I find it weird that people want to hate on musk, i get it, Jesus didn’t buy the company, but literally anything is better than it’s current management. I say it’s fantastic someone better than terrible now owns the company; heck maybe now I can exit the ghosted wasteland.
Twitter's SJWs certainly were the big problem. But underneath them is the US government using Twitter as a proxy to stop free speech. I don't think enough people understand this and Musk I don't think he understands either. Maybe it's a floating concern in his mind but the issue is really a problem. The government is deeply involved in silicon valley and may have been the original builders of the likes of Google et al. Musk will soon find out how rotten DC is especially that second tier of government commonly called the deep state. That group is not elected nor do they ever leave government, they are hidden in think thanks and consultants to cabinets influencing most if not all policy. We do not have a democracy, Musk mentioned we do but he's wrong, he'll soon find out.
I want the account I deleted on Jan 8 back. From March 2020 to the day I deleted it, my feed featured my April retweet of Musk’s March “The Coronarvirus panic is dumb” tweet. In short, he was on to that scam immediately. Musk does not always get it right, but he is a genius and unique talent. Hopefully he will deliver on this plan. History belongs to those with perspective.
whoa... ‘authenticating all humans’... how exactly does he intend to achieve this, does he even believe in the concept of privacy... am all for the restoration of free speech but why exactly is it necessary to ‘authenticate’ all humans... is this a control issue so your speech can be monitored in order to condition you to the approved ideas via financial punishment/reward... this sounds like the beginnings of the digital ID/passport/chipping program.
God bless and God speed, Mr. Musk. You certainly have your work cut out for you! Particularly when you have a former U.S. President and Secretary of State openly calling for more regulation of platforms currently benefiting from Section 230 protections. Interesting timing, to say the least, and a move that will undoubtedly favor those with economies of scale and, once again, negatively impact emergent competitors.
Thanks as always, Jordan, for your thoughtful perspective on what may be a watershed moment in social media's abbreviated history, and I certainly wish Elon every success in this his latest massive endeavor!
Moving the HQ to Florida would be icing on the cake.
And turn the present to be emptied building into a soup kitchen.
Yeah, if you wanted to send the SJWs minds to the insane asylum that would be the move.
I really hope that this goes well for everyone. I have the same concerns about Elon that I do have for Jeff Bezos owning the Washington Post. It hasn't been necessarily the best thing for media. But I'm hoping that he is as honest as he appears to be about what he wants to do with Twitter.
The richest people in the world all seem to have their media arm. Bezos, Slim, Gates, Zuckerberg, the list could go on. Mega-billionaires seemed to have figured out that they need to wield powerful influence over the media to maintain the narrative over their reputation and wealth creation.
Which is obviously concerning and something to be concerned about. However, there is always the possibility that it can be beneficial to not be at the whim of whatever political fire storm is currently brewing.
Even Fox is controlled media. Independent media is the way to go. https://swprs.org/media-navigator/
Independent media is good but it's still got problems that need to be addressed.
Such as?
The fact that it’s independent allows for the potential to be deceptive and less accountability when it happens. I’m not suggesting that corporate media is somehow better at that but being independent doesn’t solve the problem. And as has been articulated by people like Bari Weiss who is building her own independent media, the tendency is to give those who are financially supporting you exactly what they want rather than what’s factual regardless of the outcome. These are problems that doesn’t get fixed just because you’re independent.
Honestly, as time passes I'm less and less inclined to think that alternative media are an answer to anything. Increasingly I start seeing commentators I used to respect during the COVID crisis repeating the same mistakes the corporate media is doing. Partisanship. Pushing narratives rather than seeking for the truth. Sensationalism. Catastrophising the reality. Only debating the "hot" issues (lockdowns yesterday, vaccines today, Ukraine tomorrow). Obsessing over the details rather than trying to see the big picture. Never seeing the fault with themselves or show willingness to take accountability. Instilling in their audiences the need to repeat the narratives rather than to truly question everything. Majority of alternative media are alternative only in the type of news they present. At their current state they're certainly not a tool for substantial change.
You're right, I don't think it is but I think what it can do is become a balancing act for corporate media. For instance, I noticed that the New York Post recently cited a Substack writer as a source for information about an important subject. Apparently one of the people who went viral for her "impassioned" work advocating in favour of masks and lockdowns and all that wasn't who they said they are. They claimed to be working 12 hour shifts in a hospital treating children. However, in fact she was a school nurse while schools were closed getting paid to stay home. That is a benefit of something like alternative media. Bari Weiss has been able to break stories that the corporate media followed up on. Those are potentially good stuff.
Caving to advertisers is not a problem unique to independent media. Far from it. https://swprs.org/the-american-empire-and-its-media/
I said that in my previous comment. You’re not pointing out anything that I don’t already know. But you asked what the problems were and I’m pointing them out. Just because something is independent doesn’t make it somehow better. The only difference is that if someone is running their own business and has no other employees, no one gets fired when they screw up and they aren’t necessarily incentivized to own up to mistakes any more than the corporate media is.
As a San Francisco native & a former student at Berkeley, two towns formerly associated with free speech, it's ironic now that Jordan rightfully calls these people "anti-speech San Francisco Social Justice Warriors". Also ironically, we now have to look to billionaires to protect open debate. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Making the algorithm code open source would be a massive reveal. More than anything else, I just want the world to know how devious and toxic the programming is under the surface.
He has said he will do it. I think it will be great for the platform and it will be hard to argue it is being run in a manipulated manner (obviously its dark past will be scrubbed)
I find it weird that people want to hate on musk, i get it, Jesus didn’t buy the company, but literally anything is better than it’s current management. I say it’s fantastic someone better than terrible now owns the company; heck maybe now I can exit the ghosted wasteland.
Well said.
Twitter's SJWs certainly were the big problem. But underneath them is the US government using Twitter as a proxy to stop free speech. I don't think enough people understand this and Musk I don't think he understands either. Maybe it's a floating concern in his mind but the issue is really a problem. The government is deeply involved in silicon valley and may have been the original builders of the likes of Google et al. Musk will soon find out how rotten DC is especially that second tier of government commonly called the deep state. That group is not elected nor do they ever leave government, they are hidden in think thanks and consultants to cabinets influencing most if not all policy. We do not have a democracy, Musk mentioned we do but he's wrong, he'll soon find out.
Just like Trump found out. Perhaps Elon learned something from Trump's errors. Who knows?
I want the account I deleted on Jan 8 back. From March 2020 to the day I deleted it, my feed featured my April retweet of Musk’s March “The Coronarvirus panic is dumb” tweet. In short, he was on to that scam immediately. Musk does not always get it right, but he is a genius and unique talent. Hopefully he will deliver on this plan. History belongs to those with perspective.
Twitter will never become "free speech".
If Twitter supported "free speech", Google and Apple would ban Twitter.
whoa... ‘authenticating all humans’... how exactly does he intend to achieve this, does he even believe in the concept of privacy... am all for the restoration of free speech but why exactly is it necessary to ‘authenticate’ all humans... is this a control issue so your speech can be monitored in order to condition you to the approved ideas via financial punishment/reward... this sounds like the beginnings of the digital ID/passport/chipping program.
amen. sad that all the ex-addicts will rush back to the new pusher on the block. the enemy of your enemy, etc.
and ever take a look inside a tesla? it's a spycam on wheels. a corvair is more roadworthy.
Elon still believes in censorship. But he thinks it's the good kind... Watch this
https://youtube.com/shorts/PgjwctQ1mw8?feature=share
Meh, I'm pretty sure he's part of the cabal and this is just to string people along. #hollow-victory #cyborg-tweets
Seems like a giant Trojan Horse, to me.
Whether Musk can deliver on his vision for Twitter remains to be seen. To say he is a "mercurial" leader is an understatement.
Still, his vision is a good one, and even a little movement in that direction will be a welcome improvement for Twitter.
Elon has to FIRE EVERYONE first!
God bless and God speed, Mr. Musk. You certainly have your work cut out for you! Particularly when you have a former U.S. President and Secretary of State openly calling for more regulation of platforms currently benefiting from Section 230 protections. Interesting timing, to say the least, and a move that will undoubtedly favor those with economies of scale and, once again, negatively impact emergent competitors.
Thanks as always, Jordan, for your thoughtful perspective on what may be a watershed moment in social media's abbreviated history, and I certainly wish Elon every success in this his latest massive endeavor!
A Momentary Day for Democracy😎👍🎶💕
Maybe. Maybe not.