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Some big changes are in store for Twitter users, as billionaire Elon Musk has officially taken his seat as the app's new owner.
It was all fun and games when the threat of his acquisition was looming, but now, we are seeing the changes in real-time and Twitter users are torn apart. But what’s actually happening and what do all these changes actually mean?
The buzz all started in January when the billionaire began investing in the app. In April, Musk was ready to strike a deal with the Twitter team and offered a whopping $44 billion for the app.
When May came, Musk was officially the biggest shareholder in the company. With a 9.2% stake that surmounted to $2.89 billion, he officially joined the board of directors but sought to remove his offer of $44 billion to become the sole shareholder of the app.
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In July, Musk moved to end his acquisition of the app and was sued by Twitter, which said his complaints were invalid and attempted to force the billionaire to finalise one of the biggest financial purchases in history. This fight proved to be quite tiresome for Musk, who proposed the completion of the deal and was officially made Twitter’s owner on October 28 2022.
Musk's first order of business
Generally speaking, when one takes the reins in a new company, it is not advisable for them to fire half of the entire staff, but Musk seems to be a risk-taker. His first order of business was firing 3 700 Twitter employees, a number representing half of the entire staff.
Some of the teams that were let go included the accessibility team whose job it was to make the app more accessible to people with disabilities and the team that created the algorithm that made Twitter as personalised as it was.
Elon Musk has fired Twitter's entire accessibility division. Those people whose job it is to think about how blind, deaf and visually impaired people use and experience the product across platforms have been fired.The man is an embarrassment.
— Owen Williams ?????????????? (@OwsWills) November 4, 2022
Elon Musk has fired Twitter's entire accessibility division. Those people whose job it is to think about how blind, deaf and visually impaired people use and experience the product across platforms have been fired.The man is an embarrassment.
— Owen Williams ?????????????? (@OwsWills) November 4, 2022
Twitter users are in for a long road of changes as Musk and his new team devise new ways to stabilise and grow the app, especially since Musk needs to make the money he lost in the purchase back.
Free speech
Musk seems to be a big fan of free speech. In his early days of fantasising about buying the app, he said he would be the first to unban former US president Donald Trump after permanent suspension and official ban from the app, following Trump's alleged endorsement of the Capitol storming that happened in the US in January 2021.
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Once his purchase became official, Musk took to Twitter to say that they would "be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints". This panel will ensure that all viewpoints, politics and ways of life have a platform on the app.
On October 28, the billionaire tweeted:
Comedy is now legal on Twitter
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Implying that the app would finally be a platform where everyone could have an equal say.
Musk's ownership of Twitter has created growing concerns for liberals, who believe that because of his radical right-wing politics, Musk will be giving right-wingers a platform for bigotry, racism, homophobia and hate speech.
Everyone can be a celebrity
This is perhaps Musk’s most bold move in his new business venture. After purchasing the company, Musk took no time to introduce a new initiative called Twitter Blue, a monthly subscription costing its users between $3 and $8 (US Dollars) for exclusive and premium features on the app.
Some of these features include:
Bookmark folders
Custom app icons
Themes
Custom navigation
Top articles
Reader
Undo Tweet
For many Twitter users, these features seemed futile, needless to say, no one actually needs their Twitter app to be purple, so what is really in it for a Twitter user with a monthly subscription?
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For just $8 a month, Musk says everyone can be as important as their favourite celebrities. This subscription became Musk’s game-changer, as it would allow anyone who is subscribed to Twitter Blue to receive a blue checkmark on their account. Something historically reserved for public figures who are at the biggest risk of being impersonated.
Twitter Blue raised the most eyebrows as the change meant that the spread of disinformation, scams and imposters would become more prevalent on the app. While the success of Twitter Blue will only be revealed in the coming months, it's clear that Musk is looking at changing the entire app. Has Musk bitten off more than he could chew, or are we just watching the dismal downfall of Twitter in real-time?
