The Only Thing Killing Twitter is Elon Musk

Yes, I still call it Twitter. And I've posted just twice on Threads.

WWF Germany had one of the best responses to the terrible things Musk is doing to Twitter. Sree’s newsletter is produced with Zach Peterson (@zachprague), with the Digimentors Tech Tip from Robert S. Anthony (@newyorkbob).

🗞 @Sree’s #NYTReadalong: Our guest this week was my former Columbia colleague, Kristal Brent Zook, author of the brand-new book, “The Girl in the Yellow Poncho.” You’ll find three years’ worth of archives at this link (we’ve been reading the paper out loud on social for 7+ years now!). The Readalong is sponsored by Muck Rack. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email sree@digimentors.group and neil@digimentors.group.

🎯 Work with us! Our company, Digimentors, works to increase the digital footprint and impact of companies and nonprofits around the world. We do this via digital and social consulting, as well as virtual/hybrid events production and all kinds of training. See our updated brochure (would love your feedback). Get in touch (no project too big or too small): sree@digimentors.group and neil@digimentors.group. If you’d rather chat, here’s my Calendly.

🤖 I’m now offering workshops about AI, ChatGPT, etc. They’re 20 minutes to 3 hours long, remote or in-person. No audience is too big or too small. If you know of any opportunities to present these (customized for businesses, nonprofits, schools, etc), LMK: sree@digimentors.group. Here’s the brochure to my non-scary guide to AI: http://bit.ly/sreeai2023

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“TELEVISION MAKES SO MUCH MONEY doing its worst, it has no incentive to do its best.” I still remember the day I heard Prof. Fred Friendly say those words in an ethics class at Columbia Journalism School in 1992. Friendly, who George Clooney played in “Good Night and Good Luck,” was talking about TV executives’ success despite (or maybe because of) putting on poor-quality programming (this was before the new golden age of TV launched by “The Sopranos,” et al).

I now say the same thing about most social media companies. They get so much engagement, so much attention, so many eyeballs from doing their worst, they have little incentive to change their ways. Sure, Elon Musk is losing money ($30 billion and counting) on his Twitter antics, but he’s loving everything about the chaos he’s causing.

The stupidity around the Twitter to X brand change is in keeping in line with everything else this “business genius” has done with Twitter. I am proud to say that I was opposed to his even BEING ON Twitter (let alone owning it) as early as 2018 when I wrote the following in this newsletter:

…for years, Musk's enablers — his board, his colleagues, his funders — all treated his social media usage as something different from what they were: official pronouncements representing a public company. Sure, his famously responding to customer complaints via Twitter was cool, but it wasn't worth the price of the multiple, terrible ways he used Twitter. As I teach my clients who are C-suite execs (and everyone else): Every word matters. Everything you say has consequences. Take 5-10 minutes to craft your posts. Imagine if Musk had grasped any of those concepts. 

Those are just the terrible things he does publicly on Twitter. We now know that he’s doing terrible things with Starlink, one of his other projects, including shutting down access to battlefield access for Ukraine, the ally of America, a country he has ostensibly sworn allegiance to.

Things are so bad at Twitter that he’s making Mark Zuckerberg look harmless — and that may be his biggest achievement of all. So many of us ran to Threads hoping that it would be a respite from the torture of Twitter, forgetting all the havoc Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger have caused in the world (I am more forgiving of Instagram because there’s less drama there. eg, When I was working at The Met Museum, I put my then-boss Tom Campbell on IG instead of Twitter).

Meta and Zuckerberg rushed a product that clearly wasn’t ready. Despite immediate red flags — no search, no desktop version, no hashtags, no DMs at launch — 100 million+ people flocked to Threads.

The initial sugar high from the release of Threads has officially worn off. This one really felt like we had it. It was right there — a true respite from Twitter that could actually maybe be the thing that lands a real blow to whatever X is now.

But, much like the other Twitter replacements, Threads has seen time spent on the app plummet after an initial burst of signups. This, from Forbes:

Threads, Meta’s new Twitter alternative, has seen a nearly 70% decline in the number of daily active users since its July 7 peak, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, spoiling their explosive launch just two weeks ago and paling in comparison to Twitter.

A distinct lack of features for marketers isn’t great for engagement either. If marketers aren’t on a platform, it probably means the platform is not worth being on. Here’s more from Erin Brady :

Threads is still in its very early stages of development, and there are expected to be numerous updates in the coming weeks aimed at increasing user retention. Because of this, it is too early to prove for certain whether a Threads strategy is right for your business. Sure, you can certainly test it out if your business has a strong Instagram following, but that is exactly what you should be doing right now: testing. 

If Threads is a testing-and-trying space for marketers, it’s safe to assume that the platform has not really gained traction. This is only heightened given Instagram’s prowess and utility as a marketing platform.

Threads can be something better, but right now, it’s just another place to post roughly the same stuff people are posting on Twitter. One can only cross-post so much. The numbers on Threads still pale to Twitter (from the FT):

We were discussing the evolution of Twitter in the Digimentors internal chat, and feelings are certainly all over the place. On one hand, Twitter is still a platform of some repute, despite it all. It’s quite clear that you get something akin to a functioning system if you pay $8 a month, and there are still benefits to being on X. A lot of people with massive followings are still there, and a lot about the core Twitter also remains. But, the platform’s utility in times of emergency, breaking news, or just as a network-based learning center all seem to be either gone or close to it — this is the lament for the Twitter of yore. It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty good a lot of the time.

Then there are the replies (X-plies?). The ability to have a normal interaction on Twitter is dwindling by the day. The amplified voices of Joe Rogan/Elon Musk fanboys with 200 followers are everything that’s wrong with the space — and something very unlikely to be remedied any time soon. A lot of people I truly respect pay for Twitter’s subscription service, and they do so for a reason (or, reasons). Do you pay for it? Why? Email me and let me know.

There’s also the underlying issue of Meta/Facebook’s history of abhorrent data management and usage, and we, the users, remain the product.

In the end, Threads is not some benevolent alternative to Twitter, it’s a product meant to make money, and Meta’s track record on how it makes money from its suite of apps is littered with privacy violations all over the world. If you’ve signed up for Threads, there’s no backing out without deleting your Instagram account. How Muskesque!

Despite everything I’ve said about Threads and my only having posted twice, I hope you will find me on the platform; am sreenet there. 🤦🏾‍♂️

Here are my other essays on Musk (I’ve got to stop writing about him!):

• If Linda Yaccarino Can't Save Twitter, No One Can (May 24, 2023)

• Six months of Elon, the Boss Baby (April 14, 2023)

• Elon Musk and Right-wing Grift: A Match Made in Heaven (Dec. 5, 2022)

• Elon Musk Era Begins at Twitter (Nov. 4, 2022)

• Elon Musk Can Be a Force For Good, But… (May 5, 2022)

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⚒️ NEWISH: Digimentors Tools Kit: People are always asking me for recommendations for gadgets, gizmos, websites, etc. So my Digimentors team has created a tools kit we will keep updating. Take a look!

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DIGIMENTORS TECH TIP: Tech’s Endless Summer Heating Up for IFA Berlin 2023

By Robert S. Anthony
Each week, veteran tech journalist Bob Anthony shares a tech tip you don’t want to miss. Follow him @newyorkbob.

This has been a busy spring and summer in tech so far with notable product announcements from companies like Apple, Google and Motorola. The good news is: Summer ain’t over yet. Tech giants such as Microsoft have yet to be heard from and the largest tech show in the world is still to come.

While the annual CES mega-showcase in Las Vegas is the biggest US tech event, the annual IFA show in Berlin, billed as “the world’s largest consumer electronics and home appliances trade show,” is much larger. While more than 115,000 attended CES 2023 in January, about 180,000 are expected to attend IFA Berlin 2023 from September 1 to 5.

At a New York press conference earlier this year, IFA representatives and tech experts noted that while the general outlook for the global tech industry is upbeat, there are soft spots, some of them pandemic-induced. However, since then, the show’s exhibition space sold out, a sign of good things to come.

Mark Vena, CEO and principal analyst at SmartTech Research, noted that while smart home products like voice-activated speakers are popular purchases, some have customer return rates as high as 25 per cent. He also noted that about 26 percent of home TVs are now 7 years old or older, an indication that many owners are satisfied with what they have for now.

On the other hand, IFA Berlin 2023 will have more room for intrepid startups, said Oliver Merlin, managing director of IFA Management, the new operator of the show, which turns 100 next year. Merlin noted that while 137 startups were present at IFA Berlin 2022, more than 500 had signed up for the IFA Next section of this year’s show.

Since IFA is strategically placed in Europe within easy travel distance for much of Asia, many of the new products shown at IFA are aimed for those markets and won’t show up in the US—at least not right away. Nevertheless, there will be plenty for US shoppers to look for.

According to ShowStoppers, which organizes press events at IFA and CES, companies like XGIMI (projectors), Cricut (cutting machines) and Acer (PCs, laptops and more) will be showcasing products for the US market at IFA. An IFA Berlin 2023 pre-show virtual press conference will include previews from global tech giants Miele, Samsung, LG, Haier and Vestel.

No, the sun won’t be setting on tech announcements for 2023 any time soon, so enjoy—and brace your wallet.

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READ SOMETHING: North Carolina Congresswoman switches sides

More proof that while Democrats are playing CHECKERS, Republicans are playing let's-end-civilized-society CHESS. This is the story of Tricia Cotham, who lied her way into a crucial electoral victory, then switched parties to betray her voters. Read the investigation by Kate Kelly and David Perlmutt via this gift link.

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And don’t forget…
🤖 I’m now offering workshops about AI, ChatGPT, etc. They’re 20 minutes to 3 hours long, remote or in-person. No audience is too big or too small. If you know of any opportunities to present these (customized for businesses, nonprofits, schools, etc), LMK: sree@digimentors.group. Here’s the brochure to my non-scary guide to AI: http://bit.ly/sreeai2023