Twitter is a Private Company

Promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue sky…The flames are all long gone, but the pain lingers on…


Meanwhile - Elon is running the Twitter as a pro-Putin disinformation operation.


Just found out Neil Gaiman left X for Bluesky in December. His account is now run by his publicist, who uses it to post news about Gaiman, but he doesn't read or post there now.

Can't find you on there, DB, so feel free to follow me or stay hiding.


ridski said:

Just found out Neil Gaiman left X for Bluesky in December. His account is now run by his publicist, who uses it to post news about Gaiman, but he doesn't read or post there now.

Can't find you on there, DB, so feel free to follow me or stay hiding.

FYI, he's also on mastodon at https://mastodon.social/@neilhimself


PVW said:

ridski said:

Just found out Neil Gaiman left X for Bluesky in December. His account is now run by his publicist, who uses it to post news about Gaiman, but he doesn't read or post there now.

Can't find you on there, DB, so feel free to follow me or stay hiding.

FYI, he's also on mastodon at https://mastodon.social/@neilhimself

He has to be, or someone will join it using his name. He's not posting there, just Boosting other posts, so I guess it's another account run by his publicist. He definitely posts on Bluesky, though.


I like that Bluesky, in theory, is more open. I worry it's in the end just another billionaire digital land grab.


ridski said:

X is still transitioning, and I respect X during this stage as it works towards its vision of what it knows now was inside it all this time, and as such will no longer refer to X by its deadname, but will continue to use its preferred pronouns "it" and "its."

BTW, Elon just made this joke yesterday, from what I heard.


PVW said:

I like that Bluesky, in theory, is more open. I worry it's in the end just another billionaire digital land grab.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here.


ridski said:

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here.

Bluesky is built on an open protocol that, in theory, would allow for a decentralize/federated set of social networks that interact. Same concept as mastodon and the wider fediverse, but a different standard.

So in theory that's great, because it means the current blue sky could be the beginning of basically a decentralized twitter, with more polish than something like mastodon. But right now the only user of this protocol is Bluesky, so it's actually still a centralized social media network, and maybe it always will be. That would mean that it's basically just Twitter, but with Jack Doresey instead of Elon Musk.

So if people's problem with Twitter was that Musk bought it, maybe that's enough. But if people's problem with Twitter is that it was an example of a small handful of rich men controlling our most important online spaces, then that's kind of a problem, as Twitter's current state is basically what you can expect to happen over enough time.

t;dr -- is the problem with Twitter specifically Elon Musk, or is it the fact that one billionaire buying a social media network can be so disruptive? If the latter, is Bluesky really something new, or just a rinse and repeat situation?


We'll have to see where it goes I guess.


paulsurovell said:

ridski said:

Yawn. It's a website. He ruined it. Let's move on.

Has anyone here besides you left X? I was pleasantly surprised to find out that @drummerboy is also a user.

I'm still seeing X as the go-to place for journalists, academics, corporations, non-profits and governments around the world.

Don't take it from me. Take it from the author of the Twitter Files.


ridski said:

Don't take it from me. Take it from the author of the Twitter Files.

A guess: Because the following media contained the word “explosive,” it tripped an automated “potentially sensitive content” message that temporarily flagged it. The message is gone now, leaving the post visible and unencumbered.


ridski said:

paulsurovell said:

ridski said:

Yawn. It's a website. He ruined it. Let's move on.

Has anyone here besides you left X? I was pleasantly surprised to find out that @drummerboy is also a user.

I'm still seeing X as the go-to place for journalists, academics, corporations, non-profits and governments around the world.

Don't take it from me. Take it from the author of the Twitter Files.

apparently matt and musk have had a falling out. my son sent me this today

https://www.mediaite.com/tech/you-are-dead-to-me-twitter-files-journalist-matt-taibbi-posts-unhinged-messages-from-elon-musk/


drummerboy said:

apparently matt and musk have had a falling out. my son sent me this today

https://www.mediaite.com/tech/you-are-dead-to-me-twitter-files-journalist-matt-taibbi-posts-unhinged-messages-from-elon-musk/

Very Trump-like behavior by Musk.


here's a story. dunno if true but sure looks bad


Just a promoter of hateful crap. 


PVW have you noted that the African ex-Twitter workers ( all located in Ghana) finally got their pay & settlements?  Really shabby treatment. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68330701 


joanne said:

PVW have you noted that the African ex-Twitter workers ( all located in Ghana) finally got their pay & settlements?  Really shabby treatment. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68330701 

I hadn't see that, thanks for sharing. Terrible they were treated like that; glad to hear they've finally received what they're owed.


Musk is a racist. Apartheid era racist. 


Jaytee and PVW, you might also be unaware of Canadian research on 60 years of US elections, by Stewart JH McCann professor emeritus of psychology at Cape Breton University. He  studied US data about US voters during the years 1964-2016. Found a pattern:higher levels of State left-handedness were associated significantly with liberal ideology. Truly! If you’re really interested, I can provide the paper’s title.
Reported recently in New Scientist also.
I feel it addresses Musk’s scoff that societal standards have crashed alarmingly. Well obviously, since now we pretty much allow children to use whichever dominant hand feels best, so there are more lefthanded people around, with their liberal, radical thoughts…  grrr


Jaytee said:

Musk is a racist. Apartheid era racist. 

That's nothing. I understand his mattresses have no labels on them. 


drummerboy said:

well, that's weird. I'm pretty sure I had muted Wall Street Silver, but all of a sudden they showed up again.

You haven't shown up on my thread since I muted you, so sometimes it works.


paulsurovell said:

drummerboy said:

well, that's weird. I'm pretty sure I had muted Wall Street Silver, but all of a sudden they showed up again.

You haven't shown up on my thread since I muted you, so sometimes it works.

You take your wins as they come. 


Elon just suggested I follow the following X/Hellscape accounts. Better report them to their employers:


nohero said:

Meanwhile - Elon is running the Twitter as a pro-Putin disinformation operation.

Elon missed someone:


Elon didn't want anyone ruining his Putin party.

paulsurovell said:

Elon missed someone:


paulsurovell said:

Elon just suggested I follow the following X/Hellscape accounts. Better report them to their employers:

I guess that statement meant something to you. 


tweet not embedding. here's a pic


In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.