One thing Jack never seemed to grasp was how Twitter became a grassroots communication and organizing tool. It’s why users were so frustrated with many of his fixes. But I do think Musty gets what it is, I just think he hates who benefits hence his actions.
— Jason Karsh (@jkarsh) December 11, 2022
I’ve said this before — many people have said this before — but right now, for my purposes, there is no substitute for Twitter. There’s no other easily accessible social-media ‘global village common’ where I can find breaking news, relevant information, and shareable entertainment that works for my particular neurodivergence and tech semi-literacy. This may change in the future (not easy to imagine, given Twitter’s first-mover advantage), but at the moment, if I’m doing multiple front-page posts seven days a week, I’m going to be using Twitter.
Look: We made it through four years of TFG in the Oval Office, almost three years of a global pandemic, and our very own Great DataBase Hijacking Apocalypse. All signs point to Elon losing interest in Twitter (or having it wrested away from him) within a relatively short period of time. It’s also possible that Post (I’ve been approved to join, but haven’t yet done so) or some Mastodon confederation, or Jack Dorsey’s promised Blue Sky project will replace Twitter’s role in the ecosystem. But meanwhile…
I think Musty looks at Twitter and sees data and therefore money, but mostly he misreads people communicating for attention. And he thinks they should be talking about him, paying attention to him. This explains his ham-fisted shit-posting.
It also helps explain his hard turn to the right. If you give the conservative base what it wants (racism, conspiracy theories, etc.) they’ll give you attention. And I’m sure Musty looks at Trump and thinks, ‘First they give you their attention, then money, then loyalty.’
I think this also explains why Musty has people who will help him prop up this hellsite. Because if he turns it into a vehicle to hurt conservative boogeymen, that’s a win for them—and another avenue to control information and organizing by the masses.
Conservatives have made it abundantly clear over the last few years is that they’re done with democracy and ready for complete control. Having someone like Musty own a massive platform for organizing & information dovetails nicely w/those interests. Even if he’s a useful idiot.
I should add, i do think Musty is a smart person—in some areas. But he seems to prioritize manipulation for his own ends above all else and he clearly has massive blind spots. If this were a movie, his road to supervillianism would end poorly. But in the real world, who knows.
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