Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter and the Twitter board has accepted the offer, which probably surprised some people. I know it surprised me. I thought it was just another one of his attention getting stunts. Social Media platforms have people talking about the future of Twitter and some folks have already jumped ship. Is the Privatization of Twitter under Elon Musk a good thing or the end for the platform?
What Businesses think about Elon Musk Buying Twitter
For some businesses, they are looking forward to a freer speech while others are leery of what that means for their brand.
Matthew Petersson Marketing Manager of GunHub
Elon Musk’s absolutist stance towards free speech has raised flags among many sectors, especially those who are concerned about online misinformation and hate speech. However, it may yet prove as a blessing in disguise for some sectors of the economy. As a marketing executive in a company that sells firearms, I feel so strongly that social media algorithms tend to be biased against companies like ours. Firearms are automatically associated with violence and hate crimes, but the reality is most businesses like ours have nothing but good and innocuous intentions. A freer Twitter may be beneficial for our business because we can talk more freely about our product offerings without fearing repercussions from oppressive algorithms.
Chris Grayson Founder of InfluencerMade
Based on his comments, it's clear that Elon plans to make some major changes to the way that Twitter operates. Some of these changes, such as increasing transparency around moderation decisions, are likely to be welcomed by users. Others, such as banning political ads, could have a more mixed reaction.
For too long, Twitter has been bogged down by political correctness to an extreme degree even resulting in bans to key figures like Donald Trump. With Musk's involvement the platform could end up improving substantially. The proposed changes will make Twitter a more politically neutral platform. As someone who uses Twitter to connect with my followers, I think these changes are positive and long overdue. However, they will also require me to change my marketing strategy. With more free speech dealing with trolls will be more challenging.
Bottom Line:
1. The proposed changes will make Twitter a more politically neutral platform
2. Expect more users trolling brand accounts.
Corey Ashton Walters. I’m the Founder and CEO of Here
Elon Musk will change freedom of speech on Twitter as the "de facto public town square develops into a virtual world he's created." While it's supposed to serve as a content forum to start a conversation, Musk's Twitter platform may allow more negative interactions than positive ones. We need to remember there are young children using this social channel, and many of them suffer from cyber bullying from their peers. Musk needs to ensure that hate speech will not be tolerated, and the platform should be used to educate and understand - not bring others down and spread false information.
Tomika of Life in Pumps
As an influencer, I think there will be an increase in social media bullying as he stops censoring what is posted.
Maria A. McDowell, the founder at EasySearchPeople
Going by Elon’s ideology of free speech, which is basically allowing everybody to air their opinion without restriction, I think Twitter will be chaos under him. Elon Musk’s Twitter will be a platform where hate speech and insensitivity will be classified as free speech.
Emma Gordon, the founder at USSalvageYards
While we cannot tell with certainty what Elon Musk's vision is, there is reason to be wary of an individual having complete control over news outlets. This is not new though as both Jeff Bezos and Jack Ma own The Washington Post and The South China Morning Post respectively.
An important conclusion that must be made is that there is indeed a need for some degree of regulation on free speech. Irrespective of what political views you have, we all can agree that not all free speech is good speech. Elon Musk has hinted that he intends to cooperate with national regulations on free speech..and that is good news. As to whether Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter is good or bad…the jury's still out! Only time will tell
Zach Goldstein, CEO & Founder of Public Rec
I think the biggest change for us will be that we will use Twitter less than we do now. Given Musk’s track record with managing his own employees and social media, I don’t feel confident in his new reign as King of Twitter.
My deepest concerns are that the platform will continue to devolve and create barriers to free speech and individual expression. When the richest men on the planet either own or created our most popular social media platforms and news outlets, there are serious, underlying concerns about maintaining journalistic integrity and free speech to consider.
If he chooses not to act in his personal interest as a result of this takeover, I will be shocked. But we will have to wait and see.
Free Speech on Twitter, Can Elon Do it?
Elon has stated that free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and the platform is the “digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.” I agree with Elon about the importance of debate in a democratic society to find real solutions. However, what I have witnessed on Twitter, like the halls of parliament, there is more yelling and less listening going on. Neither side of any debate is willing to compromise or even try to understand the other side.
Elon himself has dismissed people who don’t agree with him, cancelled a Tesla order due to a bad review, and called a guy rescuing kids from a flooded cave – a pedophile. I hope he does enable people to have real debates regardless if they agree with him or not. It would be sad if he started banning people who didn’t agree with his point of view.
Jeffrey Howard, associate professor at University College London made a good point in a recent BBC news report. "I think Elon Musk is relatively naïve on the actual challenges involved in content moderation. He will learn as a result of this you cannot simply have a laissez-faire approach to content management." Considering that there are people out there who have dark intentions and nefarious agendas, a truly censor free platform could result in some unwanted consequences.
CTV reported that there are plenty of fledgling examples of “free speech”-focused social media platforms that have been launched in the past few years as Twitter antidotes, largely by conservatives. Many have struggled to deal with toxic content, and at least one has been cut off by its own technology providers in protest.
If he allows the worst offenders who were banned back onto the platform and the free speech increases bullying, fake news, and conspiracies advertisers may not want to be associated with the platform. Brands will need to make a tough choice about whether or not their values align with the platform.
The good news is the laws of the land still hold power over platforms like Twitter. “Be it cars or social media, any company operating in Europe needs to comply with our rules - regardless of their shareholding,” tweeted Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner in charge of the bloc's internal market. “Mr. Musk knows this well. He is familiar with European rules on automotive and will quickly adapt to the Digital Services Act.” The UK Online Harm’s Bill and other countries versions of it may be in for a rude awakening for those people hoping for a wild west of free speech.
What Businesses think about Elon Musk Buying Twitter
The idea of removing bots and improving the technology, has some businesses looking favourably on this change in leadership.
Evan J. Zimmerman of Drift Biotechnologies and Jovono
Twitter owned by Elon Musk will look quite different. He has been clear that he will be focused on bots. This is way more significant than it seems. Bots are one of the major degraders of the user experience, decreasing engagement. More critically, it decreases the ad effectiveness considerably by showing ads to fake accounts, thus decreasing ad conversion rates.
Elon's proposal to make Twitter more revenue-focused could also tip the balance by changing the economics of bots--bot networks only work because they're cheap, and an insignificant cost to a user may be a huge cost to a bot network with millions of fake accounts.
The most significant change might actually be at Tesla, not Twitter. His equity requirements are suspiciously close to his remaining Tesla stake. His other positions are not liquid. Elon only became CEO of Tesla by accident and has said many times that he would like to stop being CEO someday. With Tesla firing on all cylinders, is this a sign that Elon is finally going to step away from the CEO role? Today's stock drop says "maybe".
Kimberly Silva, the CEO of the public record search engine FindPeopleFirst
The technological advances will make Twitter the best it’s ever been. Twitter has seen little to no new technology in recent years, which will change. Marketing on Twitter will be bigger and better. Why? Because for starters, all the tweets are reaching real humans, which will drive more traffic to any brand, and secondly, the newly acquired freedom of speech will allow a more truthful interaction with the audience.
Ryan Yount, founder of LuckLuckGo
The Tesla and SpaceX boss also proposes enhancing the product with new features, including defeating spam bots, opening up algorithms to increase trust, and authenticating all humans in a campaign that promotes free speech.
However, accusations against Russia of taking advantage of Twitter to manipulate U.S. elections, attacks against minorities and vulnerable groups on the platform, and complaints by Anonymous groups may render the measures counter-productive in the case of a massive exodus of subscribers.
Michael Kim CoFounder at Evcharger Reviews
As Elon Musk takes over as the new owner of Twitter, many are wondering how the popular social media platform will change under his leadership. While there is no doubt that Musk will work to make Twitter more profitable by introducing new features like video ads or premium business accounts, one thing is certain - he will be committed to ensuring that Twitter remains a platform for open and free exchange of ideas.
Moreover, he will remove and filter bot accounts, as he has mentioned in his tweets, in order to make Twitter a more trustworthy source of information. With Musk at the helm, it is safe to say that Twitter will continue to be one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
The Spam Bots Days are Numbered…
The best thing I’ve heard him say about his plans for Twitter is getting rid of the Spam Bots. Making sure people are real – Yes PLEASE – Can we not hide behind avatars and anonymity? If he does this, the whole change in ownership will be worth the disruption to our marketing plans.
If you want free speech, then you have to remove the anonymity of bots and avatars. If people want to say whatever they want, then their face and name need to be attached to their words. That is the best way to fix a lot of the problems with the platform. I will welcome knowing the people I’m trying to engage with are logging in and paying attention. I don’t want to waste time talking to a bot.
Robin Mansell, professor of new media and the internet at the London School of Economics, says there will "always be errors" in the authentication of users by humans or algorithms. Sure, there will always be errors but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make sure that the people who are talking smut are real people who can be held accountable for what they tweet. Just like Elon who faces backlashes with every dumb tweet he posts.
What Businesses think about Elon Musk Buying Twitter
Businesses are looking forward to changes in features and the promise of the edit button along with open source algorithm.
Stella Scott. I’m a co-founder at EasyPaydayLoan
An edit button is long overdue and will prevent having to delete a whole tweet due to a mistyped character. The open-source algorithm will also promote trust amongst users and provide more insight into how tweets are promoted, which can be helpful for marketers. Longer tweets can be an advantage since a whole text advert can fit into a single tweet.
On the other hand, the implementation of absolute free speech poses a threat to safety on an app that is somewhat infamous for 'toxicity.' Absolute free speech can result in the prevalence of risky content and the spread of misinformation. If this becomes rampant on Twitter, my company may have to abandon the platform in favor of others.
Philip Pasma, President of Asterisk Marketing Inc
Musk has shown his concern about the de facto bias in Twitter’s algorithm. He told that this can have a major impact on public discourse. When Mush created a poll for his followers whether they would support open-source algorithms, around 83% of the 1.1 million respondents voted in its support. With this positive response, Elon is likely to incorporate open-source algorithm in Twitter.
Andreas Grant Founder of Networks Hardware
On paper, it seems like all the changes he is talking about will make Twitter one of the best social media platforms if not the best.
Then you start looking at the decision he makes every now and then and start wondering how much of it will actually end up happening.
He would like to ensure everyone is a verified person which is a welcoming change. People love to hide behind an anonymous account and that leads to all the e-bullying and trolling. The verification process might put an end to it.
Moreover, he discussed how he would like to make the algorithms open source. These algorithms are designed to make us keep going through a rabbit hole, to keep feeding us posts based on our preferences.
Making them open-source will actually help us make an informed decision on how much time we should actually spend. Now it all depends on whether he sticks to these decisions or not. Once those algorithms are out in the open, we will be able to make changes to our marketing strategy accordingly. What’s important here is to make sure people don’t feel like we are taking advantage of their vulnerabilities.
Stella Cooper - CEO at PaydayLoansUK
Musk has said that he is worried about prejudice being inherent to Twitter's algorithm, which he said he would solve with an open-source algorithm. Moreover, in late March 2022, he tweeted that he is fretting about de facto bias in the Twitter Algorithm, Having a significant impact on the public discourse. Moreover, Musk wants to release an edit button that the Twitter users have long asked for as a way to edit the typo errors on their tweets. The biggest changes will be combatting cryptocurrency scams and tweaking content moderation.
Dan Steele of influential.co
Hopefully they will open the Twitter firehose back up to developers. Prior to their IPO, Twitter would allow just about anyone to use the Twitter data to develop apps. This allowed small developers to build useful tools in the Twitter ecosystem. Sometime around when they IPOed they closed this off and put a six-figure price tag on it pushing all non-venture backed developers out of business and making it so that only large companies could develop for Twitter. There are some major changes coming for the platform and it will affect how we use the platform.
Knowing that they are going after bot traffic makes me believe I will be spending money in the near future on Twitter. With SO MANY fake accounts and people being able to run coordinated bot campaigns I was unsure if it was worthwhile to direct dollars that way.
If they open up the developer ecosystem, I will likely look at ways to develop apps that work inside of Twitter for my new start-up.
Sharon Van Donkelaar Chief Marketing Officer of Expandi
In my personal opinion, I think that Elon's Twitter won't be as different as some people think to current Twitter. I know not everyone is a fan of Mr. Musk, but there are already people acting like a dictator just bought the platform, while I'm still thinking that this is just a massive troll move from Elon, as he has already acted like a troll other times. Of course, I also consider that the world's richest man will make a few changes to make this investment profitable. If there's something that billionaires know how to do is to make more money.
As for the changes, I think Elon will bring back some banned accounts, as he has repeated time and time again that he is a massive supporter of freedom of speech. However, I also think that content management will explode on his face, as, especially on Twitter, content restrictions are necessary, and managing what kind of content can be distributed on the platform is vital.
Apart from things like adding an "edit" button for editing tweets and getting rid of ads, I personally think that some kind of premium/subscription feature will be introduced. It will be interesting to see how Elon manages to make Twitter a profitable investment.
The Coveted Edit Button
An edit button would be a good thing as Twitter is the only platform, I use that doesn’t enable me to edit my posts to fix things like spelling errors. The question is, will such a feature protect the transparency and accuracy of the conversations? When we look at web 3.0 - the blockchain’s biggest selling feature is that you can’t alter a record, and this ensures accurate reporting. I don’t think Facebook and LinkedIn have many issues with editing creating problems with conversations, but those platforms don’t have the same animosity as some conversations on Twitter.
If the deal goes through, Musk will likely replace the board with a “yes” board that will rubber stamp his decisions. Elon has no interest in having his hands tied or having to debate with anyone about getting what he wants. He has said, “Private companies also don't face as much scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission,” which has caused Musk frustration and loss of his seat on the Tesla board due to his Tweets. Without shareholders to keep happy, Elon would be able to do and say whatever he wants with the platform.
What will an Elon Musk Owned Twitter Look Like?
Beranger Rios Founder, CEO The Brios
Like a convertible in space with a mannequin, floating in orbit. Strong trajectory with a note of derision, made by an imperfect human seeking out of earth experience to fill an unsatisfactory void. It will neither become more relevant nor more democratic and freedom of speech will remain to the image of its creators, humans, Elon included. It is, although, rather important to keep an eye on what one does with such power - what's the saying, if you control the media, you . . .
My bet is: minor tweaks to satisfy the attention followed by major remelting to power it differently. Since no explanation was provided as to how any of the announced changes will be implemented and what they will entail, we will only adjust our strategy once we know more. The changes all include opposite consequences and major paradoxes.
Maria A. McDowell, the founder at EasySearchPeople
First, there will be little or no restriction on sensitive opinions or hate speeches as they will be classified as free speech. Secondly, Twitter will go full business mode as some free features will be monetized. Lastly, Twitter may finally introduce the much-awaited edit feature. Monetizing some features of Twitter to give businesses more tools to promote and advertise on the platform is a positive change. This change will make me increase my business marketing budget to exploit the full benefits of the Twitter platform.
Isaac Mashman Founder, Mashman Ventures
"Elon's recent acquisition of Twitter is likely to bring my company more business. The platform has received so much press within the past several weeks, I have seen new people joining each and every day, many of which have never had an account. I view this is an opportunity to expand and cements Twitter's place among other social media giants."
Madilyn Hill, CEO at TruePersonFinder
Elon Musk’s idea of making Twitter a model for free speech platforms is highly criticized by Twitter officials and other platform users. To extend his free speech goals, Musk will have to loosen up the rules for content, which might eventually lead to the excessive spread of misinformation, and enhance social media harassment. The tech billionaire has argued that social media networks should not remove comments just because they are offensive unless it’s illegal. Social media analysts and experts also fear that relaxing the rules on the content will empower those individuals who look for various ways to exploit the platform on political grounds.
Katie Lyon Co-Founder of Allegiance Flag Supply
Elon Musk is passionate about free speech. I believe he will loosen up Twitter’s content rules. This can be good or bad. Free speech is fundamental to democracy, but it can be taken too far. Some people will likely abuse their new-found freedom.
From a business or marketing perspective, I’m not imagining we’ll have to change our strategy too much. I don’t think Musk will make sweeping changes immediately. I think he’ll slowly implement his changes and we’ll be able to adapt accordingly.
Will Elon Musk Remove Ads from Twitter?
He has said, "The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive," Mr Musk wrote. With 90% of Twitter’s income coming from Ads, I wonder where he thinks the money will come from to run the company. The subscription model for Blue is new and could be used to entice people who don’t want to see ads to buy their way on to the platform.
“He's made it pretty clear he's not interested in making Twitter a profitable enterprise,” said Joan Donovan, who studies misinformation at Harvard University. “It's about the power and the influence of Twitter itself and its importance in our culture.”
What Businesses think about Elon Musk Buying Twitter
Chun-Kai (CK) Wang is Co-Founder & CEO at Kooapps
Wall Street firms said that Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter may increase ad revenue for YouTube, Snap, Facebook parent Meta and TikTok, according to a recent note to investors. If brands don't want their content to appear next to misinformation or hate speech, they might pull back their spending. In light of Twitter's 85% revenue generated from brand advertising, as well as Musk's commitment to free speech, advertisers may shift budgets to other channels
Ed Ratner at Edammo Inc
Content moderation and brand safety are concerns, but advertisers may react differently to the news based on their unique interests. Elon Musk fans and crypto advertisers will buy more Twitter advertising. Consumer brands may be concerned about the content with fewer regulations. When associated with unsavory, unregulated content, YouTube and Facebook advertisers have dropped off.
Kevin from WealthPursuits.com
Like any multibillion dollar company, Twitter is, first and foremost, a business with many stakeholders and an obligation to generate profit. While Elon's antics may be considered fun, I'm sure he doesn't take a $44 billion investment lightly.
So far, he has expressed a few ideas, the most salient of which is protecting free speech. Twitter has been the subject of criticism for banning certain individuals and I believe Elon wants to move closer to a "pure free speech" model where speech (however outlandish) is protected. I think this will be more difficult to execute than expected, especially since common sense rules become more difficult to enforce at scale. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if previously suspended accounts find their way back to Twitter.
Elon has also hinted at releasing a feature to allow people to edit tweets (which Twitter already confirmed was in the works). He also seems interested in cracking down on bot accounts, which is great for businesses and personal users. I think the most interesting changes are yet to come.
We may even see the entire business model change (i.e. switching to a paid model). Twitter has had a lot of untapped potential for years. It will be interesting to see what changes Elon brings.
Zachary Colman, CEO of Creatitive
Nothing is set in stone yet, but Elon Musk has attempted to crowdsource opinion on a Twitter feature. His statement focuses on free speech, which may mean that he might apply it to the platform, which will put a stop to content moderating which is not good for the platform as it may swarm online abuse and harassment.
Also, there is this buzz about removing paid ads from Twitter which will affect the strategy of marketers who has set their goals to include Twitter. A limited platform and people will be reached if this happens. A major change is being foreseen and affects the way digital marketing works.
Maria Saenz, CEO at Fasttitleloans
Impeding cryptocurrency scams is the most positive change that Elon Musk could bring to Twitter. With this change, no scammers can impersonate any business using fake accounts on social media platforms.
Sara Graves, the founder of USTitleLoans
Loosening up content rules is a positive change, but getting rid of adverts will have us changing our marketing strategy to fit in the context.
Why is there so much Fear around Elon's Purchase?
One thing that has people upset is Elon’s habit of Tweeting and saying whats on his mind without any concern for other people. Katelyn Burns over at MSNBC dove deep into this question and after asking Trans friends if they’d be sticking around on Twitter wrote, “Musk’s personal views on trans people aren't what seemed to rankle folks most, though they were a big factor. Instead, it’s his potential for loosening the already lightly enforced rules against transphobic harassment.
Musk has a history of making snide and often bigoted tweets about trans people. Queer journalist Nico Lang recently tweeted a thread showing the times Musk has mocked trans people. He’s not an anti-trans activist or anything, but it’s clear where his sympathies lie in the “trans debate.”
His habit of callous and non-PC statements makes people nervous about what the future holds for the platform.
After reading his biography, I don't hold a high opinion of Elon. He isn't my idea of a great man, a person to follow, or someone to learn from. I think he is a narcissist who uses people to get what he wants without any concern for them. BUT ... let's be fair... I don't know the guy. I've read a book about him, seen a few of his tweets, and read news articles about the guy. Still, I wouldn't go out of my way to meet him but I wouldn't cross the street to get away from him either.
Whether he buys Twitter or not will have little affect on my life. I use the platform, it is one of my favourites. But I can do without it if it becomes the Elon Musk show.
Sources:
Four Ways Elon Musk Might Change Twitter – BBC
Twitter is a lifeline for Trans People and Musk could Kill it. - MSNBC
Will Musk’s Hands-off Ideal for Twitter have Broad Appeal? - CTV
