Everything You Need to Know about Elon Musk's $44bn Twitter acquisition

[upnorth]

Twitter won't restore banned accounts until after next week's midterm election, Elon Musk wrote in a tweet early on Wednesday. That means former President Donald Trump and others banned by the pre-Musk Twitter won't be allowed back just yet.

Musk meets with critics, says Twitter won’t restore banned users before election

Musk: Twitter will consult civil rights groups before restoring any banned users.

arstechnica.com

 

[Stopspying]

The Guardian view on Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover: the unfulfilled promises pile up | Editorial

Editorial: The world’s richest man promises more than he has delivered. His social network purchase is likely to go the same way

www.theguardian.com

I thought that this editorial summed up the Muskovite's dealings pretty well.

 

[plat]

Here are some thoughts from the "WannaCry Guy" Marcus Hutchins. He has some good thoughts and concerns going on, but right now, there seems to be so much turmoil and mess in this Twitter thing that I'm not sure anything will stick. He may have to repeat himself a number of times before anything might register with anyone who can make a difference. You know?

What Twitter Got Wrong and How To Fix it

The case against Twitter's new business model and some ideas for a better one

escapingtech.com

Excerpt:

Firstly, the current problem is not all future problems. Bots spray Twitter with insane volumes of low quality spam because that requires the least possible effort. But it’s not to say that is all they can do. If user verification made mass spam less viable, they’d pivot to more targeted alternatives.

I actually don’t think verification will even combat spam at all. Firstly, the kind of users falling for these scams are likely not thinking critically in the first place (a website that doubles your bitcoin? really?). But more importantly, I think it’s unlikely enough people will pay for verification that users will start to see unverified accounts as less trustworthy.

In fact, giving the option to boost accounts visibility could open the door to more problems. Scammers, spammers, and bots need only exceed $8/month worth of value from an account for verification to be worth the cost. Social media verification has always given an illusion of trustworthiness. it could certainly be worthwhile for bad actors to pivot to more convincing messages from verified accounts, rather than carpet bombing with burner ones.


Give that state-backed disinformation ops have always been a cost center, I can’t see any real effect there. In fact, being able to buy verification (even if the account gets banned after a week) would be highly beneficial. 1000 verified accounts for $8,000 a month is simply a rounding error for an influence op.

 

[Stopspying]

Here are some thoughts from the "WannaCry Guy" Marcus Hutchins. He has some good thoughts and concerns going on, but right now, there seems to be so much turmoil and mess in this Twitter thing that I'm not sure anything will stick. He may have to repeat himself a number of times before anything might register with anyone who can make a difference. You know?

What Twitter Got Wrong and How To Fix it

The case against Twitter's new business model and some ideas for a better one

escapingtech.com

Excerpt:

I think this article is onto something. Twitter wasn't a big money spinner for previous owners, relative to other 'big tech'. Now, they're not going to be able to viably charge much more than the sums mentioned here IMO. Whats his business plan, to focus on servicing less people who pay a fairly insignificant subscription fee that won't deter serious spammers etc? Hows that fit in with his ego? He doesn't do smaller, does he?

Whens he going to follow his spacecraft sent to orbit the sun? Am looking forward to his Icarus-inspired experience.

 

[plat]

A picture of a supposed Twitter employee sleeping on the floor in her office. Apparently, a number of Twitter staff people will be working and sleeping in their offices to get 'er done by Monday's deadline. This new subscription thing is being pushed by Elon Musk and if it's not ready, those folks get the ax (he threatens).

Spoiler

Some more yucky stuff.

Spoiler

But as I posted to someone else's Tweet, I can always leave whenever. I don't depend on Twitter but I do like my feeds and they're not contaminated (yet). Some stuff there is still highly entertaining and informative. Let's hope it's preserved.

 

[CyberTech]

When Elon Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, he wasted no time making drastic changes at the company. One of these is firing CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde.

It looks like the "Chief Twit" is not yet done revamping Twitter's workforce, as the popular microblogging site will reportedly start laying off its employees on Friday. According to a report by The Washington Post, about half of Twitter’s workers appeared set to lose their jobs, consistent with previous reports. This is reportedly a way for the company to cut costs.

The rest

This is how Twitter will lay off half of its employees

According to a recent report, Twitter will begin laying off its employees on Friday as it looks to improve its profitability. Employees are asked to stay home while they await their fate.

www.neowin.net

 

[Digmor Crusher]

Its going to get bad, really bad.

 

[plat]

Did we see this coming? I didn't but it wasn't shocking when I read about it.

As Twitter brings on $8 fee, phishing emails target verified accounts

As Twitter announces plans to charge users $8 a month for Twitter Blue and verification under Elon Musk's management, BleepingComputer has come across several phishing emails targeting verified users.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

Following Musk's tweets, BleepingComputer observed newer phishing campaigns emerging with threat actors now targeting verified accounts.

Like many phishing emails, these emails convey a false sense of urgency, urging the user to sign-in to their Twitter account or risk "suspension."

Analysis by BleepingComputer revealed these emails were originating from servers of hacked websites and blogs that may be, for example, hosting dated WordPress versions or running unpatched, vulnerable plugins.

 

[Chuck57]

Latest says the layoffs/firings start this coming Tuesday. Seeing a lot of whining about having to pay $8 a month for a verified account, too. This from multimillionaires who spend more than that for a cup of coffee without a whimper. It will be interesting to watch what happens there. Regardless of the outcome, I dumped Twitter years ago and have no intention of going back. There are more important things going on in the world than an internet site.

 

[Stopspying]

Alarm on Capitol Hill over Saudi investment in Twitter

Possible access to users’ data could pose national security risk and could be used to target kingdom’s dissidents

www.theguardian.com

Twitter sued by former staff as Elon Musk begins mass sackings

Ex-employees say they were not given enough notice under US federal law over job losses

www.theguardian.com

Twitter staff ‘treated appallingly’ as layoffs start; US jobs report beats forecasts – business live

Lawsuit filed as Elon Musk begin mass layoffs at Twitter, while former Bank of England governor Mark Carney warns UK’s ‘difficult period’ will get worse

www.theguardian.com

Why am I not surprised at the Muskovite treating staff like this if these stories are true?

 

[Pixelman]

Twitter faces a class action lawsuit over mass employee layoffs without proper legal notice

Former Twitter employees have filed a class action lawsuit against Twitter for failing to notify them of a mass layoff.

techcrunch.com

 

[entropism]

Tell Musk that. He only only worth close to a trillion now LOL


Well G now. this fool is giving FREE internet to Ukrain. Is that also a bad thing?

He also threatened to pull that free internet when they criticized his "peace plan". ##### on outta here with that. He's narcissistic scum who built his empire on his family's slave labor.

 

[plat]

I like to think this is an illustration of Elon's initial tenure at Twitter and that it all dies down eventually. Like: ALL of it.

Spoiler

 

[upnorth]

Volkswagen on Friday said it has recommended to its brands to pause paid advertising on Twitter until further notice in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover of the social media platform. "We are closely monitoring the situation and will decide about next steps depending on its evolvement," Europe's top carmaker said in a statement.

The comments by Volkswagen group, which covers the VW, Seat, Cupra, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ducati and Porsche brands, echoes similar remarks from other firms, including GM and General Mills Inc

Volkswagen tells brands to pause paid advertising on Twitter

Volkswagen on Friday said it has recommended to its brands to pause paid advertising on Twitter until further notice in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover of the social media platform.

www.reuters.com

 

[piquiteco]

This is not good, it will generate a lot of unemployment

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Twitter is now asking some of its laid off employees to come back

Last Friday, microblogging platform Twitter laid off half of its employees following Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the company and sacking of its CEO, CFO, and legal policy head. In a sudden turnaround, however, the social media company is now asking dozens of its laid off employees to return.

According to a report by Bloomberg, some of those who are being asked to return were laid off by mistake. Others were let go before management realized that their work and experience may be essential to build the new features Musk envisions.

Casey Newton of news outlet Platformer even notes that one Twitter employee even asked their colleagues to ask those that were laid off if they will come back.

Twitter is now asking some of its laid off employees to come back

Twitter fired half of its staff last weekend in a move to streamline its operations and improve profitability. However, the company is now asking some of its staff to return to their positions.

www.neowin.net

 

[upnorth]

Spoiler

 

[Stopspying]

Twitter is now asking some of its laid off employees to come back

Twitter is now asking some of its laid off employees to come back

Twitter fired half of its staff last weekend in a move to streamline its operations and improve profitability. However, the company is now asking some of its staff to return to their positions.

www.neowin.net

"According to a report by Bloomberg, some of those who are being asked to return were laid off by mistake. Others were let go before management realized that their work and experience may be essential to build the new features Musk envisions."

And this man Musk is the world's richest person, a fortune 'earned' through 'managing' a range of busineses! I hope that if he drives one of those Teslas that he has his learner plates attached to it.

 

[oldschool]

So for $7.99 anyone can be 'verified', meaning no actual security check as to actual account owner, so the 'verified' badge is meaningless. Twitter will be just like Truth Social, 4Chan, etc. Fake news!

 

[Pixelman]

So for $7.99 anyone can be 'verified', meaning no actual security check as to actual account owner, so the 'verified' badge is meaningless. Twitter will be just like Truth Social, 4Chan, etc. Fake news!

At this point I don't know what to think of it. Everything is just tragicomical. Job losses, blue validation circles, bots, free speech, asking fired staff to return.. you name it.

​