Social Media Discussion

[Max Peck]

I don't think Threads needs to be particularly good in the long term, as long as it provides an easy out for now so that ordinary people can migrate somewhere as Twitter/X (hopefully) continues to crumble. Blue Sky and Mastodon are all well and good, but they aren't well known to the mainstream population. I believe that the long term solution is a collection of different Twitter-like social media platforms that can interact via a federated protocol like ActivePub or the @ Protocol.

[Smoove_B]

He's a thin-skinned goon. Champion of "free speech", indeed:

X—the recently rebranded version of Twitter—removed a fact-check from a Tuesday post by company owner Elon Musk that linked the cardiac arrest suffered by college basketball player Bronny James to the Covid-19 vaccine—the latest assertion from the billionaire who’s increasingly promoting conspiracy theories and fringe ideas.

Musk replied to the news of James’ cardiac arrest, saying, “We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing,” adding that “Myocarditis is a known side-effect” of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Musk’s post was met with a since-removed fact-check that noted the risk of myocarditis, a rare condition involving the inflammation of a layer of the heart’s wall, is significantly higher after a Covid infection than after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, citing articles from CBS News and the Yale School of Medicine.

The fact-check also noted that in adolescent boys, the risk of myocarditis following a Covid infection was approximately twice that of the risk that follows a second vaccine dose.

It’s not clear why the fact-check, which appeared through the platform’s “Community Notes” feature, was removed.

[Carpet_pissr]

“It’s not clear why the fact-check, which appeared through the platform’s “Community Notes” feature, was removed.“

It’s not??? Ffffffuuuuuck I hate when writers employ that stupid game/turn of phrase/wink, whatever you want to call it.

Insert confused Travolta gif here.

[LordMortis]

He's a thin-skinned, 4chan bro, white supremacist, government leeching, intentionally uninformed, conspiracy theorist, hypocrite, attention seeking, cry baby goon billionaire child successful version of Donald Trump

And even as I'm leaving a ton of descriptors, the billionaire is the important part

[Rumpy]

Oh, I'd forgotten he took it private. It still isn't a great sign. He's really running it into the ground.

[Zaxxon]

Translation from hostage to English of the CEO's recent message.

[gilraen]

Translation from hostage to English of the CEO's recent message.

OMG, that's awesome!

[Zaxxon]

Insightful post by 'conference room sleeper ' lady.

[malchior]

I don't find it particularly insightful. A lot of what she talks about has been talked about to death since before Elon stepped in. IMO this is someone borderline rationalizing an abusive workplace. She talks about how the boss was an unpredictable, mercurial madman but also talks up risking quasi-burn out to meet his random whims. And then get fired by the man anyway despite her performative social media posturing at the time. And then rationalizes that outcome.

Sprinkle in her praising her own work ethic and being a "freethinker"...it's something. I've known many people like this in that world and I've never been impressed by it. To be fair, she does talk about the need for balance towards the end but it feels like an afterthought instead of something that should be an integral part of a healthy work environment.

Edit: I would have also given her a lot more credit if she didn't gloss over her role in the Twitter blue rollout. Her description of the 'sleeping bag' incident is summed up by her as meeting a deadline instead of what actually happened. Which was a chaotic Twitter blue rollout that led to a collapse in brand safety. Pushing the 'green button' to meet an arbitrary deadline that invites disaster is hardly something to pat yourself on your back about. But that's part of this culture. It's more about propping up how hard you worked and "results" in a fake way while minimizing failure under the guise of "risk taking".

[Zaxxon]

All true.

[LordMortis]

Insightful post by 'conference room sleeper ' lady.

TLDR

[Max Peck]

Wait a minute... If you can write something that long in a single tweet, why are we still seeing much shorter texts being broken up into a thread of old school 240-character tweets? Is this one weird trick that only Twitter/X insiders know about?

Edit: OK, apparently if you are X Blue you can have up to 10k characters per tweet. So anyone whose words I actually want to read is still dealing with 240 characters at a time.

[Max Peck]

Insightful post by 'conference room sleeper ' lady.

TLDR

She's very eloquent and a good story teller, even if that whole novella is in service of rehabilitating her reputation as that lady who made a big deal about sleeping in the office for Elon. Not to be confused with anyone who is known for sleeping in the office with Elon.

I don't regret the minutes spent reading it.

[Rumpy]

Speaking of Twitter, my Dad has an account and uses it to tweet about what to see in the night sky, and we've had that displayed on two websites both of which are running wordpress, and ever since Musk rebranded it, the tweets aren't showing up in the widget. I suspect this has something to do with the logged off behavior that was changed, as I can see the full thread posted above just fine, but when I try to even look at my Dad's profile, it boots me to the login screen.

[Max Peck]

The behavior I'm currently seeing as an anonymous viewer on Twitter/X is that I can access an individual tweet if I have the URL for it, but I can't see any replies to that tweet. If I try to view someone's feed, I get redirected to the login page.

Nitter is fully functional again, so I'm just using that to access Twitter/X for anything other than clicking through links to specific tweets.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, the behavior you describe is on the money. Likely related to the API changes, which sucks because it breaks any widgets anywhere.

[malchior]

Insightful post by 'conference room sleeper ' lady.

TLDR

She's very eloquent and a good story teller, even if that whole novella is in service of rehabilitating her reputation as that lady who made a big deal about sleeping in the office for Elon. Not to be confused with anyone who is known for sleeping in the office with Elon.

I don't regret the minutes spent reading it.

Yeah. It is just a bit sad what is valued in that culture. It's very fake.

[Carpet_pissr]

Insightful post by 'conference room sleeper ' lady.

TLDR

She's very eloquent and a good story teller, even if that whole novella is in service of rehabilitating her reputation as that lady who made a big deal about sleeping in the office for Elon. Not to be confused with anyone who is known for sleeping in the office with Elon.

I don't regret the minutes spent reading it.

Yeah. It is just a bit sad what is valued in that culture. It's very fake.

Which culture, specifically? A devlopment environment? Silicon Valley?

I see a LOT of the same buzzwords and mentality at my current large company which has nothing to do with the industry she's in. I think this might be "large, white collar company" culture. All the "business jargon" which changes quickly (new buzzwords form and are latched onto very quickly, that usually have the same meaning as something it replaced..."synergy" anyone?? ) The funny thing is, once I experienced it for the first time (through no fault of my own, or seeking it out, my company was bought out), I specifically tried to avoid it in my follow-up job, only to also have the exact same thing happen - tiny company gets bought out by 10K+ employee company, and while the slogans are slightly different "BECAUSE WE CARE." the behavior is VERY much the same (and it's not even remotely in the same industry as previous job).

"Business jargon" and trendy catchphrases and words is one of my pet peeves. I could probably riff for 20 minutes, mocking the culture, using nothing but silly jargon and BS double speak that you will hear almost every modern CEO and upper management of any large company using these days.

I have to say though, this lady didn't seem particularly superficial or fake (maybe because I've seen SO much worse), but I do agree with many of your points about her post, Malchior.

[Smoove_B]

If you're wondering why your app hasn't changed on your iPhone:

Turns out, Apple's App Store can't accept the new name for Twitter's iOS app because of minimum character requirements.

[Rumpy]

This is why one would check into things before making actual changes. You know, like changing signs and workplace culture, but I guess when you're Musk, you do it regardless.

[malchior]

Insightful post by 'conference room sleeper ' lady.

TLDR

She's very eloquent and a good story teller, even if that whole novella is in service of rehabilitating her reputation as that lady who made a big deal about sleeping in the office for Elon. Not to be confused with anyone who is known for sleeping in the office with Elon.

I don't regret the minutes spent reading it.

Yeah. It is just a bit sad what is valued in that culture. It's very fake.

Which culture, specifically? A devlopment environment? Silicon Valley?

Tech bro/startup culture. I'm soaking in it but recently my tech bro startup has become way more mature. We are 90% remote, have shrunk our office space, and now have half-day Fridays and "unlimited PTO". The tacit agreement is that we will stretch ourselves a bit if we absolutely need it but we avoid it by managing the business properly. I expect this relative "utopia" will implode once we go IPO.

I see a LOT of the same buzzwords and mentality at my current large company which has nothing to do with the industry she's in. I think this might be "large, white collar company" culture. All the "business jargon" which changes quickly (new buzzwords form and are latched onto very quickly, that usually have the same meaning as something it replaced..."synergy" anyone?? ) The funny thing is, once I experienced it for the first time (through no fault of my own, or seeking it out, my company was bought out), I specifically tried to avoid it in my follow-up job, only to also have the exact same thing happen - tiny company gets bought out by 10K+ employee company, and while the slogans are slightly different "BECAUSE WE CARE." the behavior is VERY much the same (and it's not even remotely in the same industry as previous job).

Yeah some of this is "US-style" corporate culture but her "I slept on a conference room floor and here is a picture of me doing it" routine!? That's the WORST SIDE of tech bro culture IMO. It's sort of hilarious that she got kicked to the curb shortly thereafter.

"Business jargon" and trendy catchphrases and words is one of my pet peeves. I could probably riff for 20 minutes, mocking the culture, using nothing but silly jargon and BS double speak that you will hear almost every modern CEO and upper management of any large company using these days.

Same. Part of my job is briefing C-suite/boards at my clients about cybersecurity. It's always the same nonsense that wants to make me roll my eyes.

I have to say though, this lady didn't seem particularly superficial or fake (maybe because I've seen SO much worse), but I do agree with many of your points about her post, Malchior.

Yeah - don't take my comments as me thinking she is insincere. I meant the whole culture is fake. Heck she probably believes all that bullshit but it is still that...a whole lot of bullshit.

[malchior]

NY Times

Elon Musk has over the last year threatened legal action against tech competitors, employees and people who use Twitter, which he owns. Now he is also taking aim at an organization that studies hate speech and misinformation on social media.

X Corp., the parent company of the social media company, sent a letter on July 20 to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that conducts research on social media, accusing the organization of making “a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically” and threatening to sue.

The letter cited research published by the Center for Countering Digital Hate in June examining hate speech on Twitter, which Mr. Musk has renamed X.com. The research consisted of eight papers, including one that found that Twitter had taken no action against 99 percent of the 100 Twitter Blue accounts the center reported for “tweeting hate.” The letter called the research “false, misleading or both” and said the organization had used improper methodology.

The letter added that the center was funded by Twitter’s competitors or foreign governments “in support of an ulterior agenda.”

[Max Peck]

I hope that they call his bluff. They would probably have no shortage of pro bono legal assistance in defending against that sort of lawsuit, assuming X actually follows through on it.

Also, nothing says radical free speech like threatening to sue someone if they don't shut up and take it back.

[malchior]

It's just a letter. Words are cheap. It's just...silly? Pathetic? Gutless? All of the above...

[Smoove_B]

I wasn't even sure where to put it - it's not really a social media discussion, but more of an extension of all things Musk (who is the personification of a social media platform).

Late last week he unveiled a giant flashing X on top of the Twitter building (as part of his rebranding) and of course no permits or inspections were performed.

City officials say replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one, requires a permit for design and safety reasons.

The X appeared after San Francisco police stopped workers on Monday from removing the brand's iconic bird and logo from the side of the building, saying they hadn't taped off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell.

Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure "consistency with the historic nature of the building" and to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign, Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection said earlier this week.

Erecting a sign on top of a building also requires a permit, Hannan said Friday.

"Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation," he said in an email.

I can't imagine there's a punishment they could come up with that will impact him in any way. But I'm sure he's going to complain about it.

[Zaxxon]

I can't imagine there's a punishment they could come up with that will impact him in any way. But I'm sure he's going to complain about it.

I can't vouch for accuracy, but the scuttlebutt over the weekend was that the fine is $1k/day. So basically the cost of one mid-level Twitter employee, or something that Musk is likely to just ignore until/unless it escalates.

[Smoove_B]

Exactly. My experience with these things is imposing a monetary fine. For most people, it's an issue. But I'm sure someone told him what the possible consequences were for doing this and he shrugged. Worth more in exposure to have a strobing "X" on top of your building, across from an apartment complex.

[Rumpy]

Ulterior agendas, yeah... right. The only one that feels like they have an agenda is Musk. He doesn't like being fact-checked, which is why he dismantled his fact-checking system, a step backwards IMHO, and prefers to let misinformation go unchecked. That's his version of free-speech. Free-speech even when it's wrong, and doesn't like to be reminded he is. He's a contrarian and doesn't like doing things the way they're supposed to be done.

[stessier]

I can't imagine there's a punishment they could come up with that will impact him in any way. But I'm sure he's going to complain about it.

I can't vouch for accuracy, but the scuttlebutt over the weekend was that the fine is $1k/day. So basically the cost of one mid-level Twitter employee, or something that Musk is likely to just ignore until/unless it escalates.

Given that Twitter was offering advertising deals of "spend $250k, get $250k free" in February and are now offering "spend $1k, get $1k free", it might be felt more than you'd think.

[LawBeefaroni]

Exactly. My experience with these things is imposing a monetary fine. For most people, it's an issue. But I'm sure someone told him what the possible consequences were for doing this and he shrugged. Worth more in exposure to have a strobing "X" on top of your building, across from an apartment complex.

Until a stiff breeze tips it over and kills someone on the sidewalk below. But then I guess it's an information-yielding rooftop sign beta test.


What an absolute ass of a human being.

[Max Peck]

Until a stiff breeze tips it over and kills someone on the sidewalk below.

That will never happen -- it's anchored in place with the finest sandbags.

[Blackhawk]

Until a stiff breeze tips it over and kills someone on the sidewalk below.

That will never happen -- it's anchored in place with the finest sandbags.

Wait... is that an Erector set?

[Isgrimnur]

Elon Musk’s extravagant ‘X’ sign atop the former Twitter HQ has been dismantled

According to the city’s complaint, Twitter repeatedly denied access to inspectors seeking access to the roof, explaining to them that the X logo was a “temporary lighted sign for an event.”

Patrick Hannan, communications director for the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection and City Planning, confirmed to The Verge in an email that a notice of violation was issued to the owner of the building that houses Twitter’s headquarters and that “over the weekend, the Department of Building Inspection and City Planning received 24 complaints about the unpermitted structure, including concerns about its structural safety and illumination.”

He added that no permit was sought for the logo’s dismantlement this morning but that “due to safety concerns, the permit can be secured after the structure is taken down.”

Hannan said the department would fine the building’s owner for “building permits for the installation and removal of the structure” and to cover the department’s inspection and investigation costs.

[Alefroth]

Twitter looking like it's shit the bed right now.

On a side note, I've been enjoying Twitter ad free for quite a while, but just today started seeing ads in my feed.

[Smoove_B]

Twitter looking like it's shit the bed right now.

Related in any way to the call for everyone not to use Twitter X today?

[Alefroth]

Oh maybe, I hadn't heard that. Mine just wouldn't display correctly at all for about 1/2 hour. Coincidentally around the time the indictment news broke.

[LordMortis]

Twitter X

CNBC and local radio must have said that a dozen times yesterday. Getting as sick hearing that as I do their master's name.

[malchior]

It's just a letter. Words are cheap. It's just...silly? Pathetic? Gutless? All of the above...

Suit filed in California. Which has a very strong anti-SLAPP statute. I wonder if this is going to go the way Musk thinks it will...

X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is suing a research group that investigated hate speech on the social media platform, alleging that researchers violated its terms of service in a “scare campaign to drive away advertisers.”

In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, X alleged that the American and British operations of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) “engaged in a series of unlawful acts designed to improperly gain access to protected X Corp. data.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, with interest, for allegations that include breach of contract, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, intentional interference with contractual relations and inducing breach of contract. It also asks that the CCDH and its agents be barred from accessing materials licensed to a tool that X’s attorneys alleged the group used to obtain data.

In a statement Tuesday, CCDH founder and chief executive Imran Ahmed said the legal threat shows that X owner Elon Musk “will stop at nothing to silence anyone who criticizes him for his own decisions and actions.”

The CCDH’s “research shows that hate and disinformation is spreading like wildfire on the platform under Musk’s ownership” and that the billionaire “is trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ who highlights the toxic content on his platform rather than deal with the toxic environment he’s created,” Ahmed said. “The CCDH’s independent research won’t stop — Musk will not bully us into silence.”

Musk has called himself a “free-speech absolutist” and taken aim at “woke” language.

X also alleged, without offering evidence for its claims, that the CCDH operations were “activist organizations masquerading as research agencies, funded and supported by unknown organizations, individuals and potentially even foreign governments with ties to legacy media companies.”

The filing also said that X “currently lacks sufficient information to include the identities [of] these entities, organizations, and persons,” but that “when their true names and capacities are confirmed through discovery,” it would amend the lawsuit to name the CCDH’s alleged backers.

[Rumpy]

Free-speech unless it's something he doesn't agree with. In other words, he wants his ability to spread whatever he wants, but won't give the same freedom to his opposition. That's not free-speech. Free-speech would be realizing that there are different areguments and letting those other sides speak freely as well.

[Sudy]

I've seen these "social media platforms not paying for news" stories for years. Broadly speaking, I understand they're not paying newspapers/sites, etc. for their content. But can someone explain to me how Facebook and Twitter etc. have been using/displaying news that publishers are irate about? Like I remember years ago when Facebook had a "news" section in the upper right of the page. But I can't remember the last time I browsed social media (before the ban in Canada, anyway) and saw a news story from a major organization. And when I do, it's on the pages/accounts run by those organizations.

So where was it being featured/reposted? Or is this in response to regular users (i.e. individuals) sharing linked news stories? (You'd think the publisher would enjoy the traffic this brings though, as well being able to potentially monetize through paywalls, etc.)