Kurt Wagner: “Musk desires X (Twitter) to be a spot of leisure, so he permits porn content material”

His guide is a really detailed account of the historical past of Twitter. It is superb to know that it began as a really perfect challenge. Jack Dorsey [creador de Twitter] Was he naive?

– He was idealistic, that is for certain. I had that authentic imaginative and prescient that Twitter needs to be some type of public good or some type of public service. I believe that possibly at this stage it was considerably naïve, as a result of if you get cash from traders and you’ve got shareholders you remove the potential for working as a type of group non-profit. This was the primary time I used to be constructing an organization, possibly if I did it once more I’d do it otherwise. But it surely’s additionally laborious to think about Twitter surviving with out investor cash. I do not assume there was a process in that case.

Do you assume Jack Dorsey was a visionary?

– Sure, however I additionally assume that he suffered loads to be in control of Twitter. He was an idealistic man who had little curiosity within the day-to-day administration of the corporate. The corporate suffered due to the way in which it was and that opened the door for Elon Musk to return and the issues they’re doing now. If Dorsey had been a CEO extra related to on a regular basis life, or extra within the enterprise, the present state of affairs could be very completely different.

What function does the media play in Twitter’s success?

– They’ve performed an vital function. Journalists and journalists had been the customers who used the community essentially the most: they revealed daily, contributing to the move of data, and consequently Twitter acquired rather more consideration and protection than many different corporations of their dimension. I believe the corporate benefited from journalists being early adopters of the community, as they had been extra more likely to write about Twitter and make the model enticing to individuals on the skin the media business. A minimum of initially, the media’s obsession with Twitter got here from the truth that they themselves had been utilizing Twitter loads and getting loads out of it.

We discuss loads about Twitter, now X, however there are lots of people who’ve by no means used this community. Are these individuals additionally affected by Twitter?

– I believe so. Talking particularly of the USA, the place I dwell and what I do know, between 2016 and 2020 we had a president who tweeted twelve occasions a day and broke information by way of Twitter. So even for those who weren’t on Twitter, the information you acquired was revealed on Twitter. One of many issues I’ve tried to point out within the guide is that Twitter has at all times had an affect on the skin, even when it was much less economically than different corporations or that it had fewer customers than different platforms. I believe that Twitter has affected many lives outdoors of the individuals who have a picture.

Has it modified or formed public opinion?

– It couldn’t be in any other case. When you’ve such influential individuals utilizing the service for his or her insurance policies or to combat towards their rivals or no matter, it’s inevitable that they’ll affect people who find themselves not even within the high ground

As I stated, Donald Trump was a prolific Twitter consumer. Is that this one of many largest headliners on stage?

– Trump made Twitter take into consideration points it hadn’t thought-about vital till then. They thought “Oh, we’ve a extremely good coverage towards hate speech and bullying“, however the guidelines labored for small or much less seen customers. What Trump did was to show these points into an enormous downside and this made the corporate query whether or not their coverage was pretty much as good as they thought.. Trump represented lots of the issues that they had and, above all, he put stress on them and made them take into consideration issues they hadn’t thought of till then.

Has Twitter added to the polarization we’re experiencing now?

– 100%. One of many issues that makes Twitter attention-grabbing is that it displays right now’s tradition and politics, so when there’s pressure you discover it on-line. It is a type of mirror of society: if it occurs on this planet, it often occurs there too. Whenever you take a look at the polarized second we dwell in, Twitter performs an vital function. It actually has a extra related function now than ever as a result of probably the most polarizing individuals there’s, Elon Musk, on the head of the corporate.

When Musk got here, Twitter grew to become X. What makes X completely different from the previous Twitter?

– The product nonetheless works the identical. In the event you use the platform now and also you used two years in the past, I do not assume you’ll find a lot distinction, when it comes to the end result. One of the best factor about Twitter earlier than it was X was that it was a breaking information place, it was the place the place you knew what was taking place on this planet on the time that. As an alternative, Elon desires to do I’ve additionally discovered many extra discussions and controversies or content material in listing kind, fashion 10 methods to enhance your funds. Twitter was nice at information, and X is at leisure. For me it isn’t as helpful because it was earlier than.

Does Elon Musk have a long-term technique for X?

– He has talked a few long-term technique, to be a whole software, just like the Chinese language WeChat, which lets you make funds, purchases and banking operations. I am a bit skeptical about this technique as a result of I am unsure if X customers might be keen to alter their conduct. X customers already produce other purposes to do all these items. I do not need X to be a financial institution, I would like X to deliver me information.

In June, X up to date its phrases of use to formally enable the distribution of grownup content material. Within the guidelines they speak about defending freedom of expression. Is it actually associated to this?

– For me it’s a matter that’s extra associated to the thought of ​​selling leisure than to freedom of expression. My interpretation is that Elon Musk desires to make X entertaining and he thinks grownup content material or porn would be the most attention-grabbing factor to deliver X. It is a transfer that can throw many individuals off, however many others will finds it enjoyable and strikes away from what different networks like Instagram or TikTok do, which have guidelines towards one of these content material. Musk desires to be dangerous and do issues that make individuals uncomfortable.

Since Elon Musk took the reins, has there been a decline within the variety of customers?

– Twitter used to report the variety of customers however now we’re not getting updates. In my private expertise, I see that many journalists have jumped to Threads, which is from Meta. Elon Musk commonly tweets about supposed consumer data, suggesting that X continues to be rising. It’s tough to know the precise state of affairs.

I perceive from what you say that X shouldn’t be a very seen firm. Is it straightforward to report on the corporate?

– No, no. Now it’s rather more tough to know what is going on. They used to have a big communications workforce, offering info or facilitating interviews. Now nothing is completed about that. One of the simplest ways to search out out what is going on at X is to comply with the official account of Elon Musk or Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of the corporate. Musk talks about transparency, however X is a a lot tougher firm to report on now than earlier than.

Elon Musk additionally talks loads about freedom of expression, however actually defending it?

– There are a number of examples of this within the guide. I believe freedom of speech means one thing completely different to Musk than it does to different individuals. If one thing bothers you personally, you assume it is towards the principles of X. Anybody operating an organization like X has to make choices about what’s and is not allowed, and I believe that is tremendous. I believe the issue is that he presents himself as a whole defender of freedom of expression, however then makes choices that don’t mirror that. If I simply stated “Hey, it will simply present the speech I would like” I would not agree, however at the very least I’d be sincere.

How do you see X’s future?

-Earlier than we talked in regards to the affect of the social community and I believe it’s a vital aspect to maintain the corporate alive. If its affect begins to wane, we are going to see the corporate disappear. Presently it’s run by one of many richest and strongest males on this planet, and lots of political and cultural points are nonetheless influenced by X, particularly in the USA. If all of this begins to vanish, it is going to be an enormous downside, even when Elon Musk has the cash to maintain it going.