The immeasurable value of Twitter under the guidance of Elon Musk

December 17, 2023, 10:21 AM

ensigmatic

quote:
Originally posted by 12131:
As much as I enjoy knowing what's happening at X (formerly known as Twitter) , I will not be joining. Whatever topics over there that's important enough for me to have an interest in will be posted on here, anyway.

Like I said: Think of it as an investment in protecting and promoting free speech

Gab tried. They really, really tried. But Gab has never amounted to more than a niche platform. Parler tried. Got shut down by Amazon (one of the reasons we dropped Amazon Prime 2½ years ago) and GoDaddy (who also helped try to kill Gab). Parler still exists... barely. MeWe? Niche. Truth Social? Ditto.

Of all attempts to run a free speech platform only X appears poised to succeed.

For this reason I think it absolutely imperative X succeed.

For X to succeed two things need to happen: 1. There needs to be enough user base to make advertisers' interest in the platform more attractive than their interest in being woke. 2. X needs to be as independent as possible from advertising revenue.

December 17, 2023, 10:39 AM

nhtagmember

Ok so I’d like to support X and the premium fee is inconsequential in the big scheme of things.

But what is mechanism for finding information? Do you subscribe to channels or what?

Lastly is anyone spoofing X or is it well enough protected that you’re not going to end up on the wrong platform.

Thanks

December 17, 2023, 11:05 AM

ensigmatic

quote:
Originally posted by nhtagmember:
Ok so I’d like to support X and the premium fee is inconsequential in the big scheme of things.

quote:
Originally posted by nhtagmember:
But what is mechanism for finding information? Do you subscribe to channels or what?

You "follow" X accounts of interest. There are also channels/accounts that have separate paid subscriptions. But see below. There's a search box that actually sometimes finds what you're looking for

quote:
Originally posted by nhtagmember:
Lastly is anyone spoofing X or is it well enough protected that you’re not going to end up on the wrong platform.

Providing your DNS "chain" and 'net connections aren't compromised, your browser is doing what it's supposed to (it isn't compromised, either), and you don't typo the URL: It's as safe as any other web site. (I don't use the apps.)

Downsides/Dangers

I ain't gonna lie. X, like any other social media platform, survives on users spending as much time as possible on the platform. It's software is designed to encourage that. So, not only will you see posts (formerly known as "Tweets") from accounts you follow, but you'll also see posts the platform's algorithms "thinks" will interest you. Some of them are likely to be real head-scratchers.

When those pop up you'll have to "Mute" those accounts from a drop-down menu. Then you won't see posts from those accounts anymore.

The thing to do is not become addicted to spending time on the platform. The way to do that is choose what you wish to follow carefully and exert a bit of self control. The main thing is to avoid "doom scrolling," where you just keep scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and... the next thing you know you've blown three hours doing it.

December 17, 2023, 12:12 PM

nhtagmember

Thanks. I will set up an account this evening.

December 17, 2023, 12:17 PM

ensigmatic

quote:
X Has Already Won

Elon Musk closed the acquisition of Twitter, now X, in October of 2022. Once that deal was closed, a bunch of advertisers left the platform out of fear of their brands being impacted by the new “Freedom of Speech” rules that X was looking to implement.

The premise was that ads would be shown next to content that advertisers don’t want to be associated with, and because X would now allow more “improper” content, the chances of having a negative ad experience could increase.

After leaving the platform for a few weeks, almost all advertisers have come back, albeit with lower ad spends. However, earlier this year, X gave guidance that the platform is near cash-flow neutral, minus debt obligations. This means that even though the platform has suffered losses in terms of ad revenue, the company is close to being self-sufficient.

In other words, no outside cash has to be brought into the company to keep it alive, as long as the trend continues.

Fast forward a few months, and after controversial comments made by Elon and an effort by Media Matters to encourage advertisers to boycott the platform, advertisers left again.

However - just like the first time, after a few weeks, advertisers are beginning to come back. There’s confirmation that Netflix has started to spend ad money on the platform again, and per Elon at his recent conference in Italy, advertisers are beginning to come back to the platform en masse.

...

Full Post: X Has Already Won

Let us hope this is true because, while paid subs will certainly help, Musk, himself, has said if X doesn't get the advertising revenue it needs it will die. There simply aren't enough people willing to pay for social media for it to be viable without advertising dollars.

December 17, 2023, 12:29 PM

sigmonkey

Advertisers are whores. They will be back raining cash as X grows and generates viewers.

X is unlikely to go anywhere.

December 17, 2023, 01:15 PM

parabellum

Some recommendations of who to follow. Once you establish following these members, the Twitter I SAID TWITTER algorithm will display similar content in your timeline, from other members.

In no particular order:

James Woods

Libs of TikTok

Scott Adams

Andy Ngô

The Mossad: Satirical, Yet Awesome

Israel Defense Forces

Kari Lake

Glenn Greenwald

The Gateway Pundit

RNC Research

The Babylon Bee

Moms for Liberty

Steve Inman

Carl Benjamin (aka Sargon_of_Akkad)

Tom Fitton

Buitengebieden (animals and smiles. Trust me, you'll need it in your timeline)

B&S (more animals)

Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson Network

Attorney General Andrew Bailey

Rep. Clay Higgins

Rand Paul

General Mike Flynn

Greg Price

Matt Walsh

Mike Lindell

December 17, 2023, 01:17 PM

stoic-one

Pre-Musk the left used twitter to "craft narratives" for stories and agendas they favored. A large majority of stories pushed by the media were shaped to the left and sourced from twitter. ANY disfavored narratives or stories were shut down.

Musks' biggest gift was "allowing" all sides to be heard, we owe him big time.

December 17, 2023, 03:02 PM

ensigmatic

quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Buitengebieden (animals and smiles. Trust me, you'll need it in your timeline)

This one will regularly bring a smile to your face

quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
B&S (more animals)

I'll have to take a look at that one. Thanks!

More interesting/amusing animal feeds:

Nature is Amazing @AMAZINGNATURE
Figen @TheFigen_
Yog @Yoda4ever
The Dodo @dodo

Two of the subject areas I follow most are golf and health/fitness. In the latter category (no particular order):

Noah @easygymprogress
Chace Chambers @ChamberofFit
Huberman Protocols @humbermanrules
Coach Friso @TheCoachFriso
Fitness Olympia @FitnessOlympia0
Science for Sport @ScienceforSport
High Performance Founder @hpfounder
Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN @Wendi_Irlbeck
Tobias @HealthOverhaul
Dr. BP | Metabolism 2.0 @DrBPHealth
Reuben Hewitt @FitFastCoach
Chris Beardsley @SandCResearch
Ashley Richmond @_AshleyRichmond
Danny Foley @danny_ruderock
Brooks | Fat Loss Coach @ForeverFatLoss
Colin Matson @thecolinmatson
William Wayland | Physical Training Craftsman @WSWayland
The Sports Physio @AdamMeakins
Alan Aragon @TheAlanAragon
Brad Schoenfeld, PhD @BradSchoenfeld
Daniel Berglind, PhD @DanielBergind
Layne Norton, PhD @BioLayne
Cedric Bock @thehealthbender
Andreas | Fit Father Journey @DadTransformer
Johnny Brown @johnnyxbrown
Awake The Warrior @AwakeTheWarrior
Dan Go @FitFounder
Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. @hubermanlab

Some of them post regularly. Others only infrequently.

December 17, 2023, 06:03 PM

Veeper

quote:
Steve Inman

I never tire of his play calls.

Gina Carano and End Wokeness are also pretty good.

Also Kurt Schlichter.

Also, what ever happened to Iowahawk?

December 17, 2023, 06:09 PM

nhtagmember

Does sigforum have an X presence?

December 17, 2023, 07:00 PM

lkdr1989

Yeah Steve is the best!!!

quote:
Originally posted by Veeper:
quote:
Steve Inman

I never tire of his play calls.

https://twitter.com/SteveInman.../1736464629335785651

https://twitter.com/SteveInman.../1736199933034705058

December 17, 2023, 09:10 PM

parabellum

quote:
Originally posted by nhtagmember:
Does sigforum have an X presence?

December 18, 2023, 01:04 AM

Rey HRH

He’s like a benevolent feudal lord. Like Trump, he didn’t have to give a fuck as he’s unreachable by the bullshit common people have to wade through but he did. Thank you, Elon Musk.

"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.

December 18, 2023, 07:07 AM

Greymann

The left hate free speech.
The EU is against X.
..............
LONDON (AP) — The European Commission on Thursday made a formal, legally binding request for information from Elon Musk’s social media platform X over its handling of hate speech, misinformation and violent terrorist content related to the Israel-Hamas war.

It is the first step in what could become the EU’s inaugural investigation under the Digital Services Act, in this case to determine if the site formerly known as Twitter is in compliance with the tough new rules meant to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content.

https://apnews.com/article/mus...446ff1103253e239ce85

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