/2 Day 179 some #Twitter users are attempting to sabotage the #ElonMusk’s #BlueCheck program. A lot of users not happy, trying to bend #Musk to their will rather than leave and migrate to #Mastodon

What does it take?

#Twexit #MastodonMigration #TwitterMigration

washingtonpost.com/technology/…

/3 -Day 180 Kyle Chayka of the New Yorker writing on the decay of the largest social networks with a particular focus on #Twitter:

“we can’t rely on large digital platforms that are motivated by profit above all”

Certainly makes the case for #Mastodon

#TwitterMigration

newyorker.com/culture/infinite…

BuzzFeed, Blue Check Marks, and the End of an Internet Era

Kyle Chayka on the end of BuzzFeed News, Elon Musk’s removal of blue check marks from Twitter, the SpaceX Starship explosion, and the end of a social-media era.

^{Kyle Chayka (The New Yorker)}

/4 - Day 182. Now here’s a surprise, those who have purchased a #Twitter #BlueCheck with have their posts prioritized

So much for the democracy of the internet or whether the quality of your content should be prioritized by opaque algorithms

I prefer my #AlgorithmFree #Mastodon experience

foxbusiness.com/technology/elo…

#TwitterMigration

Elon Musk says verified Twitter accounts now 'prioritized'

Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that verified accounts on the social media platform are now "prioritized," after some celebrities were granted the badges without paying.

^{Julia Musto (Fox Business)}

/5 - Day 183 - The elimination of the #BlueCheck has degraded #Twitter’s utility as a #news source. The new implementation has nothing to do with authentication and verification, if anything it is a propagandist’s delight. In #Musk’s conception of #SocialMedia, truth, veracity and honesty are of little value

#TwitterMigration

nytimes.com/2023/04/26/technol…

/6 Day 184 - What are the consequences of #Twitter laying off 75% of its workforce?

Two factor authentication used to be available for all accounts, it is now limited to Twitter blue payers. This recent removal, coupled with the lack of staff to assist with hacks, degrades the network. Classify this one under foolish #ElonMusk monetization attempts

#TwitterMigration

slate.com/technology/2023/04/t…

My Twitter’s Been Hacked. But Hasn’t Everyone’s?

Life on a social platform that a shady character has taken from you and debased.

^{Daniel Hemel (Slate)}

/7 Day 185 - #JackDorsey now regrets #ElonMusk’s take over of #Twitter. I guess there were no signs of toxic narcissism and egomania when he advocated for #Musk as the owner a year ago

I wonder if Dorsey is feeling more anti-Musk now that #BlueSky is making the news?

#SocialMedia #TwitterMigration

bloomberg.com/news/articles/20…

Twitter Co-Founder Dorsey Rues Musk Deal: ‘It All Went South’

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — once a supporter of Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the site — is now offering sharp criticism of the new owner and his handling of the deal.

^{Sarah Frier (Bloomberg)}

/8 It used to be that #Twitter was a preferred distribution channel for governmental agencies, that status appears to be crumbling. The MTA, #NYC’s transit agency used the network to provide service updates - now no more.

Twitter is now apparently offering gold and gray check marks for organizations. Maybe a poop brown tick mark will work for #ElonMusk?

abcnews.go.com/amp/Business/wi…

/9 Ah yes that looks like a winning strategy to bring back #NPR to #Twitter

#ElonMusk oozes hostility towards legitimate #NewsMedia companies. At what point do #Journalists cut the cord and say ENOUGH!

I get it's difficult to walk away from a large following, but do you really want to continue putting money in this #oligarch's pocket?

#TwitterMigration #News

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/elo…

Elon Musk Threatens To Assign NPR’s Official Twitter Account To ‘Another Company’

Newly minted Twitter CEO Elon Musk threatened to reassign National Public Radio’s...

^TPM

/10 Looks like #ElonMusk has just realized that public service announcements are additive to #Twitter. Could be, requiring public agencies pay for access to the #TwitterAPI might cool said organization’s enthusiasm for the #SocialMediaPlatform

foxbusiness.com/technology/new…

New reversal by Twitter after move sparked MTA withdrawl

Twitter says it has restored free access to a key tool for verified government and “publicly owned" services so they can tweet weather, transit and other alerts.

^{Associated Press (Fox Business)}

11) The #TwitterBlue value proposition appears to be lacking. Churn rates on the service are extraordinarily high. Without a bona fide set of support services to truly validate users, #BlueCheckMarks have become meaningless. Chalk this one up as an #EpicFail

mashable.com/article/half-of-t…

Over half of Twitter Blue's earliest subscribers are no longer subscribed

The early birds cancel their subscriptions.

^{Matt Binder (Mashable)}

12) Another day, another degradation of the #Twitter work environment because you know employees shouldn't be letting child birth get in the way of #ElonMusk world domination

shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-…

#Family #TwitterMigration #WorkLifeBalance #PaidLeave

Twitter Slashes Parental Leave Policy

​The social media giant is slashing its paid parental leave policy by 90 percent in some cases, according to new reports.

^{Kathryn Mayer (SHRM)}

13) Increasingly #Twitter looks like a seedy, battered, casino property. There are plenty of adds for erectile dysfunction and bongs likely encouraging mainstream advertsiers to stay away. Or might it be the bigotry encourage by #ElonMusk under the guise of #FreeSpeech?

The #NYT is out with a story based on an internal presentation from Twitter showing a 59% decline in YOY ad revenues for April.

All is clearly not well

#TwitterMigration #Twexit

nytimes.com/2023/06/05/technol…

14) Another clownish misstep from #Twitter is drawing to a close. Clearly an attempt to force people to register on the site, I imagine the hope was to increase the MAUs

#TwitterMigration #Twexit

techcrunch.com/2023/07/05/twit…

15) Meanwhile the Facebook/Meta complex has lumbered onto to the stage to take a crack at #Twitter’s microblogging empire

Nice for those who feel they can trust #Zuckerberg. I’m sure he’ll be kind to your personal data even if he’s not as erratic as #Elon

#TwitterMigration #Twexit

irishtimes.com/technology/big-…

Threads app: Meta’s Twitter rival logs five million users in first four hours after going live

Instagram-linked app rolls out in US and UK but is unavailable in EU over regulatory concerns

^{Gwyn Wright and Cormac Pearson, PA (The Irish Times)}

16) Yup that’s a real good look for #Twitter. So much for the virtue of #BlueCheckMarks. Now that designation has become a symbol for #disinformation

#Twexit #TwitterMigration #Ukraine

bbc.com/news/world-europe-6611…

Twitter Blue accounts fuel Ukraine War misinformation

False and misleading claims about the war in Ukraine are being widely shared.

^{By Shayan Sardarizadeh (BBC News)}

17) I think this cartoon from Bruce MacKinnon captures the current state of #Twitter and #ElonMusk’s judicious approach to managing a prime #SocialMedia property

#TwitterMigration #Twexit

saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/o…

18) How much do people dislike #Twitter? Enough for 70 million users to sign up for #Threads two days into it’s launch!! That’s the equivalent of 15% - 20% of Twitter’s active users.

How many of those 70 million know that threads is part of the #Meta, sell your data to anyone complex, is a question that is likely not on the radar.

We might be at an odd moment when #Zuckerberg is considered a benign #SocialMedia actor compared to #ElonMusk

#TwitterMigration

bloomberg.com/news/articles/20…

Meta’s Threads Has 70 Million Signups, Surprising Mark Zuckerberg

Meta Platforms Inc.’s new social media app Threads has garnered 70 million users in just two days after its launch, a sign of enthusiasm that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said was “way beyond our expectations.”

^{Natalie Lung (Bloomberg)}

19) Speaking of #Meta and #Zuckerberg, Fast Company is out with a review of #Threads and it’s certainly not complementary.

Pretty surprising that the app was launched without support for #HashTags!

#TwitterMigration #TwitterExodus #Twitter

fastcompany.com/90919575/zucke…

20) #Twitter is not worried about the reported 100 million #Threads signups, it’s just blocking URL’s which reference the new #Meta service.

Disappointing to see so many people jumping from one #SocialMedia oligarch to another. Do they really think that #Zuckerberg can be relied on to be less willful than #ElonMusk?

#TwitterExodus #TwitterMigration

techcrunch.com/2023/07/11/twit…

21) How far along the #Twitter wrecking curve are we?

@lopezlinette has the detailed litany and when gathered together, rather than from the daily assault of #Elonmusk’s narcissistic foolishness, it’s even more damning

That said, there is no alternative that has an obvious lead in supplanting the #BirdSite, plenty of contenders, but they’re just nibbling so far.

businessinsider.com/elon-musk-…

Elon Musk hasn't killed Twitter, he's just made it irrelevant

From rate limits to Threads, it's clear that Elon Musk's "new and improved" Twitter is losing the one thing that made it special.

^{Linette Lopez (Insider)}

22) Looks like @catvalente took unfiltered dictation from my brain as we watched the #Musk vs #Zuckerberg which personal data sucking #oligarch do you want to support, play out

Does anyone get it?

Seriously I wish I could write with as much comedic profanity and stay on point at the same time

#TwitterMigration #TwitterExodus

catvalente.substack.com/p/mark…

Mark F***king Zuckerberg Is Not Your Friend

You know, I had other things I wanted to yell about. I have about five essays in my drafts folder about like, deep systemic issues and big bad shadows on the horizon. And I have like three jobs, all of which are screaming for my attention.

^{Catherynne M. Valente (Welcome to Garbagetown)}

23) David French of the #NYTimes with some thoughts on how attempts to enable toxic #RightWing demagogues and their bankrupt ideas on #Twitter yielded an enormous opportunity for #Threads

Sadly he fails to note/appreciate that throwing your lot in with #Zuckerberg’s new social media project, might be quietly toxic for democracy. Do you remember #CamebridgeAnalytica?

#TwitterMigration #TwitterExodus #ElonMusk #SocialMedia

nytimes.com/2023/07/13/opinion…

24) How do signups look for #Threads?

Is the volume accelerating or not?

Here’s a chart

First 24 hours yields 50 million

Second 50 million takes a little more than 3 days.

Unsurprisingly the growth is not linear despite the extraordinary volume.

Will the next 10 days yield another 100 million?

I’m guessing not.

Opinions?

#TwitterMigration #TwitterExofus

25) Things are not going well at a #SocialMedia service, when it‘s on the receiving end of a scathing take from the sober pages of @foreignpolicy

I’d also suggest that the financial situation for #Twitter is increasingly precarious. The debt burden of $12 billion and Twitter’s ability to service the payments is questionable and may threaten ongoing operations. #ElonMusk May need to ante up again.

With thanks to @miah_he for the great piece

#TwitterMigration

foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/15/e…

Elon Musk's Twitter Is Becoming a Sewer of Disinformation

Changes to the platform have systematically amplified authoritarian state propaganda.

^{Miah Hammond-Errey (Foreign Policy)}

26) It’s no surprise that advertisers have fled #Twitter. #ElonMusk has admitted a 50% drop in revenues. Those advertisers are not going to return soon knowing that their ad placements could pop up next to a racist post from the likes of Nick Fuentes.

Coupled with $13 billion of debt, the company is in more than a shaky position. Are #oligarch types going to be willing to throw more money at this sinking ship to curry favor with his Muskness?

#TwitterMigration

bloomberg.com/news/articles/20…

Twitter’s Surge in Harmful Content a Barrier to Advertiser Return

Since Musk’s takeover, a number of researchers see a rise in hate speech, violent content

^{Aisha Counts (Bloomberg)}

27) Day 269 since the #ElonMusk Twitter acquisition and the latest change appears to be a pure exercise in narrcisism and self sabotage.

#Twitter is not in need of renaming and rebranding, it is in need of investment to prop its creaky technical infrastructure, and a serious content managment effort which might lure advertisers back; they're not fond of #HardRight wackadoos and agents of #disinformation

Don't hold your breath folks

#SocialMedia #TwitterMigration

apnews.com/article/elon-musk-t…

Musk says Twitter to change logo to "X" from the bird. Changes could come as early as Monday.

Elon Musk plans to change the logo of Twitter to an “X” from the famous blue bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last year.

^{ANNE D'INNOCENZIO (AP News)}

28) A scathing obituary for #Twitter from @oliverdarcy at @CNN

Not much to argue with here as the #ElonMusk wrecking ball continues to level the edifice of a once extraordinary #SocialMedia company

Twitter mortuus est. Vivat Mastodon

#TwitterMigration

view.newsletters.cnn.com/messa…

29) #ElonMusk wants to turn the #SocialMedia company formerly known as #Twitter into an #EverythingApp

Pretty interesting that there is an expectation of turning over personal financial information to an entity that can barely handle text postings at the moment.

Yeah I want to tell #Elon all about my money 🙄

bloomberg.com/news/articles/20…

@CNN @oliverdarcy

Why Did Twitter Rebrand? Elon Musk Wants to Transform X Into the Everything App

Long before Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter Inc. in 2022, he talked about building an all-encompassing service called “X.” In typical Musk fashion, the concept was expansive and amorphous.

^{Aisha Counts (Bloomberg)}

30) In a true sign of #ElonMusk's sucess in monitizing #Twitter's blue checkmark, some poor coding creature was charged with making said checkmark hideable

The old #BlueCheckmark has come a long way in 10 months. What was once and indicator of authenticity and influence has now degraded into what exactly?

Please fill in the blank:
The X Blue Checkmark signifies ________

#Sad #SocialMedia

theverge.com/2023/8/2/23816924…

Twitter Blue subscribers can now hide their blue checks

Twitter has added an option to hide the notorious blue checkmark for Blue subscribers. It comes just as Elon Musk has been rebranding Twitter to X.

^{Tom Warren (The Verge)}

31) Just in case you were wondering whether #X would retain the term #Tweet, apparently that is being tossed onto the garbage pile along with #Twitter

#ElonMusk is expunging every element of the #BlueBird brand, it will be no more

#NYT has the goods tweet will be replaced by post, I guess xost wasn’t a runner

All this is the most extensive case of brand vandalism I’ve observed

Rock On #Elon LOL

🔑 nytimes.com/2023/08/03/technol…

32) On #X, digital eviction is part of the new operating philosophy

Fond of your X handle, well a hammer can come down anytime and change things arbitrarily. Too bad if you thought you owned a handle, that’s certainly not the case on #ElonMusk’s X.

Just another case being made for decentralized #SocialMedia and #Mastodon

#Twitter #Oligarchs

pcmag.com/news/elon-musk-swipe…

33) Another day, another petulant use of power by #ElonMusk

#X formerly known as #Twitter is adding to its pile of reasons to leave the degrading #SocialMedia site

The site is still heavily favored by many #NewsMedia professionals. Is it time to reconsider their support for the blighted site?

#Journalism #Journalist

washingtonpost.com/technology/…

34) Contempt for #Journalism and #journalists is core to #ElonMusk’s world view. His latest move, detailed in #TheGuardian, is just one more swipe at #FreedomOfThePress.

Increasingly the #Twitter/ #X platform is becoming increasingly hostile to members of the #NewsMedia and yet members of the profession cling to the corrupted platform.

What or where is the tipping point?

theguardian.com/technology/202…

35) Day 305

#Twitter / #X’s formerly valued #BlueTick has now degenerated into a tool for scammers and frauds. #TheGuardian has the story below.

It’s extraordinary to see how quickly #ElonMusk has destroyed one of #SocialMedia’s premium brands

theguardian.com/technology/202…

Blue-tick scammers target consumers who complain on X

Misleading Twitter handles displaying paid-for icon being used to carry out phishing attacks

^{Anna Tims (The Guardian)}

36) Another day another threat of legal action directed by #ElonMusk. His target, the ADL?

Apparently #ADL analysis reveals #HateSpeech is on the rise at #Twitter / #X since the #Musk acquisition

Coming from a supposed #FreedomOfSpeech advocate, this critique of a data driven fact based study, is more than dissonant. I guess the only speech that is acceptable in Musk land is that which aligns with his bigoted world view

theguardian.com/technology/202…

37) Excellent graphic visualization from #TheMarkup on how #Twitter is attempting to strangle traffic to sites that #ElonMusk doesn’t like

Am I surprised? No

Is Twitter continuing to undermine its credibility? Yes

Will more users leave the site as a result? Maybe

With thanks to @dangillmor for sharing this piece. Dan is on my daily reading list and has been at the forefront of encouraging journalists to leave the #DeadBird site

themarkup.org/investigations/2…

Twitter is Still Throttling Competitors’ Links—Check for Yourself – The Markup

Loading links to Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Substack takes far longer than to other sites. We built a tool so you can check any domain you like…

^{themarkup.org}

38) Not only does he want to sell your data to the highest bidder, now #Elon Musk wants to charge you for the pleasure on a monthly basis

Is this just a trial balloon or will all users now have to pay for #twitter

Interesting how #Musk is justifying a fee as an anti bot strategy, nothing to do with the fact that all his changes have driven the network deeper into the financial ditch

#SocialMedia

techcrunch.com/2023/09/18/elon…

39) A question that needs to be asked by all those that continue to support / post/ patronize #Twitter

Is it morally acceptable to engage in any way, manne,r or form on Twitter?

I will admit to continuing to lurk on the #DeadBird site but was spending less and less time there.

I'm done with it now

#SocialMedia #ElonMusk

bloomberg.com/opinion/articles…

40) Day 347 since the #Twitter acquisition and all credibility for what was once the preferred #SocialMedia breaking news platform, has evaporated

#Wired has the story on how bad algorithms, bogus blue checks and the the elimination of Twitter’s fact checking team has resulted in a flood of #Gaza and #Israel disinformation

wired.com/story/x-israel-hamas…

The Israel-Hamas War Is Drowning X in Disinformation

People who have turned to X for breaking news about the Israel-Hamas conflict are being hit with old videos, fake photos, and video game footage at a level researchers have never seen.

^{David Gilbert (WIRED)}

41) #Frontline just released an excellent history of #ElonMusk’s Twitter take over

The phrase “chaos monkey” jumped to mind in watching this extended treatment of the #Twitter takeover story

#SocialMedia

pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documen…

Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover | FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE traces Elon Musk’s long and often troubled relationship with Twitter.

^{priyanka_boghani@wgbh.org (FRONTLINE | PBS)}

42) #Twitter’s numbers are continuing to slide while #Threads does not seem to be gaining any traction.

A space has been made by all the madness of the last year with distrust of the #Technogarch class, #SocialMedia is up for grabs.

Will the space opt for a more decentralized solution?

bigtechnology.com/p/exclusive-…

Exclusive Data: Twitter Is Shrinking Under Elon Musk

Twitter's lost 13% of its daily users and its rebrand has failed. But those remaining on the app are still engaged, according to new data from Apptopia. Threads, meanwhile, is a nonfactor.

^{Alex Kantrowitz (Big Technology)}

43) Tomorrow will mark 1 year since #ElonMusk took control of #Twitter, what has he wroth?

.While #X is private, it is generally agreed that the company is now worth 1/3 of the acquisition price, an implosion of $30 billion in value

Attempts to monetize the platform, with user fees largely failed while top advertisers have cut back on their spend or left the platform altogether. Despite an 80% workforce reduction cash continues to hemorrhage

#SocialMedia

🔑 bloomberg.com/news/articles/20…

44) #Twitter has now entered the twilight zone where a once proud brand, used to source #BreakingNews, is now begining to be discounted as a useful #news sourcing tool

How long will it take before it will drop to complete irrelevance for #journalists and #politicians? The war in #Gaza has revealed just how unreliable a source it has become. There is nothing in #ElonMusk's plans that will make it better

The only constancy now on Twitter if the flow of #disinformation

politico.com/news/magazine/202…

Opinion | Twitter Gave Us an Indispensable Real-Time News Platform. X Took It Away.

The Arab Spring cemented Twitter’s indispensable role in fast-moving international stories. Elon Musk has destroyed that and given us something useless — and dangerous.

^POLITICO

45) Hard to believe that anyone with a scintilla of commonsense would endorse this kind of bigotry on #Twitter

Sensible behavior has long fled #ElonMusk’s brain. As his wealth expanded, I imagine an inflated sense of self was given free rein.

Most bigots keep their #racism hidden, but when an individual is worth a couple of hundred billion, the worst types choose to indulge their #bigotry

#Bloomberg has the story 👇

#Antisemitism

🔑 bloomberg.com/news/articles/20…

46) Another day and more advertisers are fleeing #Twitter on the back of #ElonMusk’s endorsement of #FarRight #Antisemitic posts on #X. This time, #IBM has pulled the plug

The troubled #SocialMedia company has been hemorrhaging cash since the #Musk takeover a little over a year ago

Twitter is no longer a viable business. Its ability to continue to service its debt is highly questionable. How much is #Elon willing to spend to continue its operation?

theverge.com/2023/11/16/239641…

IBM pulls X ads as Elon Musk endorses white pride

An investigation indicated ads from IBM and others appeared alongside pro-Nazi X content as owner Elon Musk agreed with an antisemitic post.

^{Jacob Kastrenakes (The Verge)}

47) Nothing like a little #Trumpian hyperbole to go along with the lawsuit threat.

The current world’s richest man, is upset that his #SocialMedia plaything aka #X, formerly #Twitter is being damaged by #MediaMatters. Apparently he wants to destroy the company all on his own

Is it just me, or does anybody else feel that #ElonMusk and #DonaldTrump have done a mind meld?

I’m sure #Trump would like to have #Musk’s bank account merged into his

politico.eu/article/elon-musk-…

Musk threatens ‘thermonuclear lawsuit’ as X ad boycott gathers pace

Companies including Disney, Apple and IBM reportedly have suspended advertising on X amid an antisemitism storm around the social media platform.

^{Jacopo Barigazzi (POLITICO)}

48) Looks like a new record broken by #ElonMusk.

Apparently #X the #SocialMedia network formerly known has #Twitter has lost more major million dollar advertisers in one day, than any other social media company

Congrats #Elon. I’m relying on you to improve on that performance. I’m sure you can be even more bigoted with a little practice.

Maybe tune into #DonaldTrump rally to get a few pointers?

npr.org/2023/11/17/1213836636/…

49) Glad to see Ann Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, calling it quits on #Twitter

Is your elected representative still playing in the sewers of #X? Maybe they should be encouraged to do otherwise?

Time to start encouraging your representative to leave the nightmare that #ElonMusk has constructed behind. Maybe they should be encouraged to join #Mastodon where real engagement happens?

#SocialMedia #Politics

politico.eu/article/paris-mayo…

‘Vast worldwide sewer’: Paris mayor quits X with swipe at Elon Musk

‘This platform and its owner act deliberately to exacerbate tensions and conflicts,’ Anne Hidalgo says.

^{Nicolas Camut (POLITICO)}

50) Interesting effort from the wonderful folks at @indivisibleteam - see the link below

As denizens of #Mastodon, a question we have to ask of ourselves is to what degree we should persuade friends colleagues and those we admire to leave the blighted #Twitter platform? Is there a moral obligation?

#SocialMedia #X #ElonMusk

xlast.org

xlast

Collective action to address X's hateful, dangerous direction and help strengthen better, more functional alternatives.

^xlast

51) Another day, another step downward towards complete irrelevance.

At the behest of #ElonMusk, #X has reinstated #AlexJones

While #Musk claims to champion #FreeSpeech, he clearly has little interest in truthful speech. The US courts have found Jones guilty of the most mean spirited fabulation, but I guess truth and honesty are of little relevance in the mind of the world’s richest man

#FarRight #SocialMedia @dangillmor

npr.org/2023/12/10/1218453370/…

52) Yet another example as to why #journalism and #journalists can be harmed by their continued participation on the #Twitter platform.

I sympathize with hard working #NewsMedia people who have built up a following on the butchered service, but am in agreement with @dangillmor that #X should be abandoned

While the #Irish journalist's account has been reinstated,
everbody is just one step away from an arbitrary #Musk ban with little or no transparency

irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41…

'Was it something I said?': 'Irish Examiner' columnist Séamas O’Reilly sees X account suspended

"Personally, I’m quite annoyed," said Séamas O’Reilly of his suspension from the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "Professionally, I’m alarmed."

^{Niamh Griffin  (Irishexaminer.com)}

@cwwilkie @dangillmor

#Musk isn’t interested in moral principles or intellectual consistency. He just wants to flood the zone with BS and create enough uncertainty in the world so that he and his ilk have a free hand to do what they want