FIR #294: What Hath Elon Wrought?

It’s not exactly a news flash that Elon Musk now owns Twitter (Chief Twit, he calls himself). Does he know what he’s gotten himself into? It’s doubtful, according to much of the evidence we’ve seen so far, in addition to some stinging commentary. ---- The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, November 21. We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com. Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music. You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s “asides” blog, Outbox, is also available. Links from this report: What Twitter Sells (by Shelly Palmer) Welcome to Hell, Elon (The Verge) Celebrities are starting to leave Twitter. Here’s a running list. Jack Dorsey’s new social media platform sees 30K sign-ups after Musk’s Twitter takeover No, Elon and Jack Are Not Competitors. They’re Collaborating Mastodon’s Microblogging App Saw A Record Number Of Downloads After Musk’s Twitter Takeover Advertisers Should Pause Twitter Ads Amid Elon Musk Mess, Says Mediabrands Elon Musk’s Open Letter to Advertisers Use of N-word on Twitter jumped by almost 500% after Elon Musk’s takeover as trolls test limits on free speech, report says Elon Musk deleted a tweet about Paul Pelosi. Here’s why that matters.