I’ve had this feeling that since there are forces that do not want us to have free speech, and that the destruction of Reddit and Twitter does this effectively, creating a chilling effect, destroying social links and communities. Might it not be an intentional effort to stifle the ability of the downtrodden to organize and fight the power?

There are so many other ways things are engineered to benefit the minority and prevent the majority from gaining power, why not this too?

Just a thought rattling around in my head.

  • Genrawir@kbin.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    I don’t think it’s a conspiracy as much as it is the natural consequences of extreme wealth and narcissism, fueled by the necessity of continual quarterly increases in profit.
    The idiocy of the ultra wealthy creates a feedback loop because they’re convinced that their wealth is proof of their brilliance and so they copy each others terrible ideas.
    It isn’t the forgivable stupidity from lack of education, but from being surrounded by sycophants and profiteers coupled with a profound alienation from the rest of humanity.
    Unfortunately, all of that is harder to fix than prosecuting a conspiracy.

  • Thalestr@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Spez is trying to tie up what he thinks are loose financial ends to make (what he thinks) is an appealing IPO.

    Elon is feeling the pinch as Twitter continues to bleed advertising partners and users and it becomes more apparent it will not make back either his purchase cost or Twitter’s existing debt. He’s the spoiled son of a rich mine boss and has no idea what he is doing. He is used to having far more capable people running his companies for him.

  • Chahk@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I don’t think it’s a conspiracy. “Don’t attribute to malice what could be explained by incompetence.”

    • KidDogDad@beehaw.orgEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      This ^^. It turns out that Elon is just a narcissistic idiot who doesn’t actually have good business sense, at least in the software world. The types of things he’s been trying are better explained as someone who wants Twitter to make more money but doesn’t understand how people actually think and behave and doesn’t realize that these decisions will alienate users and destroy the product. Spez decisions seem similar, although on the whole I think he’s less of a people idiot than Elon, and is probably just under tons of pressure to improve the financials right now and is making bad short-sighted decisions as a result.

  • Dethedrus@beehaw.orgEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    It’s the standard narcissistic downward spiral more likely.

    One of the sadly interchangeable bozos who inherited a lot of money and/or lucked his way into a fortune can keep the spastic ego weasels in their heads in control for a while. Or has a team of people to both manage their companies and public presence.

    But as one starts to bridle under all of this undue control from outside forces, the madness comes to fore. They begin to lash out at the perceived slights, which ironically were always for them and their company’s protection, and it all snowballs from there. Worse, seeing another such oligarch do the mad jig seems to encourage the others that THEY shouldn’t be shackled either!

    Musk was always a giant pile of shit. He was just well managed and in control of his inner demons enough to present a ‘pleasing’ facade. And being forced to buy twitter completely unmoored him from reality.

    Zuckbot is an odd case… he’s an unmitigated monster, but seems to be enough in control that the downward slide hasn’t started. Yet.

    Bezos was fine until Amazon became mega profitable and he got to live out his corrupt CEO dreams. Look at not only the legions of shattered humans left in the wake of Amazon, from drivers all the way to corporate, but what he did to William Shatner. While Shatner has been a weapons grade asshole for much of his life, seeing him humbled to the point of tears from finally going to ‘space’ only for Bezos to frat bro it up to make sure that HE was in the limelight was grotesque.

    Spez has always wanted a seat at the big boy table. And has a long, long, long history of douchebaggery.

    Trump isn’t even worth mentioning. I was an teen when he came to prominence in the 80s and even then it was absolutely fucking obvious that he was large mouth, larger ego all wrapped in an empty suit.

    This isn’t all to say that there isn’t a conspiracy to destroy these services. Only that the more logical takeaway is that these awful men have always wanted to be the garbage fire they’ve become… and it was just a matter of time.