Would Twitter Change with Elon Musk or Go Bust Without Him?
There’s no doubt that Twitter has seen better days. The social media platform has been struggling to attract new users and keep existing ones engaged, and it hasn’t been helped by a series of high-profile gaffes.
Twitter has struggled to get its user base up and engaged on the network for years falling behind Facebook until Facebook lost users last year for the 1st time.
But there’s one person who could turn Twitter around: Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO.
Musk has hinted several times that he’s interested in buying Twitter, and given his track record of disrupting industries, it’s not hard to imagine him doing the same with social media.
Elon Says Deal is OFF Now — WAIT It’s Back On!
On October 4, 2022, Elon agreed to buy Twitter at the original price. What changed? Critics say he would have lost the court case against Twitter and would have had to spend billions in fines. So, why not purchase it?
Since this announcement may have seen a drop in Twitter followers. Hence, this leads many to believe something is going on with the bots.
Are the Twitter Bots Real?
What is a bot? According to Wikipedia:
A Twitter bot is a type of bot software that controls a Twitter account via the Twitter API.[1] The social bot software may autonomously perform actions such as tweeting, re-tweeting, liking, following, unfollowing, or direct messaging other accounts. The automation of Twitter accounts is governed by a set of automation rules that outline proper and improper uses of automation
Twitter claims the bots are around 5% of total users. However, according to Earth Web and other calculations, it is closer to over 15% of the total users. Elon himself says it is closer to 20% of all accounts that are bots on Twitter.
Where is the Twitter Deal Now?
It’s in a lawsuit. Neither side is saying much as it’s in a lawsuit. The original deal was that if he backed out, Twitter could charge him $1 billion.
Others say that Elon could reduce the price of the deal with the bots and other areas not being as they were announced originally. Time will tell if he will end up purchasing it for less or if the deal will not go through.
It could take years for the lawsuit to come to a conclusion. Can Twitter handle that loss of money from a lawsuit? Twitter shares have been dropping and dropped even more once the lost deal was announced.
According to one Wall Street analyst:
“Monday, this is a $25 stock,” Ives said. “The company has been in pure chaos — people have left in droves, and now competitors are going to seize on the ad dollars. With the employee turnover, it’s going to be viewed as damaged goods from another potential buyer.”
What If He Were To Take Over Twitter, Still?
If Musk were to take over Twitter, it’s possible that he would make some radical changes to the platform. For example, he could introduce features that would make it more addictive, or move away from its censorship policies.
Of course, it’s also possible that Musk would simply use Twitter to promote his other businesses, like Tesla and SpaceX. But even that could be a good thing for the platform, as it would give Twitter a much-needed boost in terms of users and engagement.
However, since he does own other companies would he put someone else in charge at Twitter or would he move away from his other businesses?
Save Twitter $3 Million a Year in Salary
Elon Musk said he would NOT take an income from running Twitter as the CEO. The current CEO makes 3 million dollars a year. Now, that’s a huge saving for the company.
That is something the Twitter shareholders could smile about.
No More Censorship
The big change of course would be no more censorship on the Twitter network. It used to be a place where people could discuss things that they disagreed about.
Sometimes, Twitter was a place to come together and find a common ground to agree at!
It’s a reason many users fled to go over to alternative social media networks like Minds, Gab and MeWe to name a few. They were tired of being called out for misinformation. Now, we learn some of these tweets were the truth.
With less censorship, the users can decide what they believe or not.
Many prominent users of Twitter were banned from the network over the past 2 years. Some temporarily and some permanent. I can see them weekly in my Tweetsmap report of inactive unfollowers.
Many Twitter folks can no longer follow if their Twitter account has been suspended!
However, what will they do with bots and scammers on the network?
Dogecoin Payments on Twitter
Elon Musk has suggested that Twitter Blue users could pay for their service with Dogecoin.
That would be a welcoming option for many Twitter users who are younger. The biggest age group of Twitter today is the 25–34 years olds.
Many in this particular age group love using Cryptocurrency. (The majority of cryptocurrency users are 18–44 years old).
Twitter Blue Price Cut
Elon also talked about a price cut of their premium service for users. The price for this Twitter Blue service in the United States is $2.99 per month and comes with a few perks. He tweeted the price should be $2.00 per month and prepaid upfront. (Not a bad idea!)
These Twitter premium users can now“undo” a tweet which is not the same as an edit button wanted by many for years on the network. It comes with a few other perks as well.
Naturally, Elon did tweet about having an edit button and over 70% of users agreed they wanted one. Twitter announced afterward it was launching one to its Twitter Blue users as a test.
I wonder if subscriptions went up for Twitter Blue after that announcement?
No More Twitter Ads
Another suggestion Elon has made is to ban ads on the Twitter network. Why, an adless Twitter feed? Who could argue with that one? Except for some advertisers who are profiting from them.
While promoted tweets cost $0.50 to $2 per action, like a retweet, follow, or like, promoted accounts cost $2 to $4 per follow. However, a promoted trend can cost $200,000 per day!
Would Elon ban the promoted tweets or just the big ads in the center Twitter feed? Would big businesses or small businesses be hurt by this ad ban on Twitter?
Users can, of course, tell Twitter they don’t want to see particular ads on their feeds — just like you can over on Facebook. Click the hamburg menu on the right side of the ad and you’ll see the drop-down menu to choose from.
No More Spam Bots
Elon Musk recently tweeted out that he would get rid of the spambots or die trying to get rid of them. You know those nasty bots that send out crazy tweets or get Twitter accounts suspended for no reason? Yes, those same spambots.
Final Thoughts of Upcoming Possible Twitter Changes
So while Twitter may be down at the moment, there’s still hope that it could be turned around by someone with the vision and ambition of Elon Musk. He has the money to do it and the know-how.
Of course, there is a lawsuit now for allegedly failing to disclose he had bought a significant stake in the social media company in the right timeframe. Top that with the latest lawsuit and it may be years before any resolution comes about.
Will that make a difference in his ability to possibly take over the company? Time will tell!
It will be a few interesting months and years (if it survives) ahead for Twitter and its users.
What changes would YOU like to see over on Twitter?
