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The world’s most expensive vanity project or the protection of free speech?

TwitterOk, so things have calmed down enough for us to take stock about what the heck happened to Twitter last week!

On Monday 25th April, news broke that Twitter’s board of directors had accepted Elon Musk’s offer of $44 BILLION for control of the social media platform. The South African has apparently acquired Twitter to make sure the platform adheres more closely to the principles of free speech.

The board at Twitter at first resisted Musk’s offer, taking the ‘Poison Pill’ defence to shield themselves from a hostile takeover just days before they accepted his offer.

What has been the reaction to this, and why has Elon Musk bought Twitter? Let’s delve in…

The Reaction

Musk’s takeover of Twitter was met with a mixture of shock, fear, and humour by Twitter employee’s. The fact that Twitter is now protecting its source code from potential disgruntled employees kind of says it all. Remember when an employee on their last day closed down Donald Trump’s account? That’s one way to leave your job…

A number of celebrities have left Twitter because of the Musk takeover. They cite various reasons, namely because of opinions he’s shared on the platform ranging from politics to the use of pronouns.

There are those who don’t see the takover as a bad thing. Even the former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey tweeted his support of Musk and his plans to transform it.

According to a recent poll, 58% of marketers aren’t worried. Musk has said that he will eliminate harmful bots by verifying accounts. Marketers like myself are happy that the Edit button might actually be on the horizon now.

Many express they are happy about the potential changes to the platform when it comes Musk’s campaign on free speech. Some think will help broaden the audience.

This leads us nicely on to the next topic of this takeover…

Free Speech

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,”
Elon Musk

The other 42% of marketers from this poll are worried for about the future of Twitter. With Musk’s crusade on free speech (he describes himself as a “free speech absolutist”), some worry that the platform will be flooded with dubious consipiracy theorists and ‘alternative truthers’. They are concerned that the billionaire will “turn a blind eye to harassment, hate speech, disinformation and other vile expressions”. Potentially, this could turn off many big brands who no longer will want to be associated with Twitter.

Some people on the Right see Twitter as being more left-leaning compared to other platforms (this research shows otherwise), as a number of big names on the Right have been banned from Twitter, including a former president of the United States.  Maybe Trump et al will make a comeback now Musk is in charge?

Musk is well-known for blocking “haters” on Twitter when they tweet negative opinions about him, so how can this person really be for free speech?

Some journalists and business owners think it’s not about free speech at all. So what is it all for?

Other factors at play

Amazon founder, and second richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos shared his opinion on Twitter about Musk’s buyout:-

Could China now have an influence on Twitter now that Elon Musk has bought it? It’s certainly an interesting take on the whole thing and one that could absolutely lead this author down a rabbit hole! But I won’t get into this today…

I’ve seen a few jokes on Twitter about this being one of the most expensive mid-life crisis ever. It could well be, but of course, this isn’t the first big company that Musk has splurged out on.

We’ve also got to think about the actual character of the man. A word that is often bandied about is, ‘Narcissist’. Has Musk come to the conclusion that money can really buy you love? Searching through Twitter comments about this subject (aka, the cesspit), you will inevitably come across Elon Musk ‘Fanboys’ who idolise the man as some sort of saviour of the “Deplorables”. All the Likes, Retweets, Replies and Follows are just fuel to Musk. Why not buy a platform that makes him feel like King of the World?

The Future

My initial reaction to the news was, “another rich man spending money on things that he shoudn’t be”, followed by “hmm, it could work, Tesla is doing ok! Hey, an Edit button!” to, “I’ve got a really icky feeling about this”.

I’m on the side of the 42%. I worry about what this white, billionaire, middle-aged man can do to the future of free speech on social media.

The last thing we need right now is for someone of privilege to start polarizing the world even further by allowing the floodgates to open on hate speech, misogyny, and racism.

We’ve all seen what impact Rupert Murdoch has had on the world by purchasing multiple media outlets. I don’t see this as any different, Musk is now effectively a modern-day media tycoon with this purchase. We don’t need another Murdoch, that’s for sure.

Hey, I could be completely wrong and Musk will throw away his toy and move on to something new, and maybe help solve climate change with his billions…

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Brand New Website from F28

We’re very proud to present to you a brand new website that we have created for Cockleshell Endeavour, which went live this weekend.

Cockleshell Endeavour team. Mick and Steve
Cockleshell Endeavour team. Mick and Steve with fellow veterans.

Cockleshell Endeavor is a project to support veterans through water-based adventures. The projects was founded by Mick Dawson and fellow Falklands veteran, Steve Sparkes in 2018. They’ve been doing fantastic work with war heroes throughout the UK ever since.

On April 2nd, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, Mick and Steve started a 650-mile paddle. They started from the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge, Scotland, and they hope to reach the Yomper statue at Southsea on June 14th, the date which marks the end of the war. They hope to do most of this by kayak. Along the way, they’ll be meeting with veterans to gather stories from those personally affected by the 1982 war.

cockleshell website
Cockleshell’s fully mobile responsive website.

Mick and Steve were after a fully responsive website to tell the world about the brilliant work they’ve been doing over the past 4 years, and to keep followers informed about the progress of their fundraising journey, through the website blog and newsletter.

The two are looking to expand the website over time, to keep followers up to date with activities and fundraisers they can be involved with.

We’re very proud here at Function28 to be supporting Mick and Steve at Cockleshell Endeavor on this amazing adventure and we wish them the very best!

If you are able to, you can donate on their website here, and follow them on Facebook to find out more about their charity and progress.

To find out more about our other website projects, please visit our Blog.

Keep up to date with everything going on here at Function28, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

 

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Is TikTok damaging its own USP?

It was announced a few days ago that TikTok will be increasing its video length to a whopping 10 minutes long. Over the past few years, the platform has been steadily increasing the length of videos, with the maximum of 3 minutes being rolled out last July. Is TikTok damaging its own USP by doing this?

What does TikTok say?

A TikTok spokesperson said in an interview, “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. Last year, we introduced longer videos, giving our community more time to create and be entertained on TikTok. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out the ability to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes, which we hope would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world.”

History

TikTok started back in 2018, and thanks to the pandemic, hit stratospheric levels with the amount of times the app was downloaded (it hit a total of 2 BILLION downloads in 2020!). People saw it as a boredom buster, and funny videos took their minds off being stuck indoors. The platform’s USP was its plithy, and short videos which have struck chord with many, leading some to become huge stars off the back of the app.

Imitation is the best form of flattery

So many other platforms have tried to copy TikTok’s success by introducing their own short video option, i.e. Reels on Facebook and Instagram, Shorts on YouTube. If others are copying you, surely you should be secure in the knowledge that you’ve invented a really cool thing?!

F28’s opinion

We’re not entirely sure why TikTok has made this decision. We think they want their users to stay on the platform longer and perhaps feel under pressure from its direct competition, YouTube who have always preferred longer content.

In our opinion, this move will narrow the difference between TikTok and YouTube. With attention spans getting shorter and shorter, even a 5 minute video runs the risk of losing your attention. A 10 minute video will get less engagement than that of a standard 15 second TikTok. Extending the video length may well switch off big creators on the platform, and therefore, could hurt it financially.

It feels like we’ve been here before though. Way back in 2017 with Twitter changing their character limit from 140 to 280, there was a huge uproar at the time but the platform doesn’t seem to have changed significantly as people had thought it would.

If the app did go under because of this decision, it would be a big shame. Whilst some might not ‘get’ TikTok, it has undoubtedly changed the way many businesses around the world connect with, and market to their followers. You can see the huge cultural impact it’s had everwhere you look.

Let’s see how this pans out!

If you have any questions about your social media marketing, please contact Gemma on 01884 308091.

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