There are so many strategies being tossed around: what do you think? Add an edit button (product strategy)? Remove ads and charge everyone to use it (pricing strategy)? Push the limits of free expression (growth strategy)?
Hello George. Thanks for starting the discussion. I think it's probably less about what are essentially smaller iterations on the product (edits and suchlike), but instead some fundamental shifts in the medium-term.
I think those smaller product iterations will still come (ie. preventing death by 1000 cuts for users) but the bets will be placed in some bigger fundamental step changes. Given Musk's interest in crypto I can imagine an attempt at leveraging Web3 tech — with Twitter's scale and network there's a real opp to establish it as a leader in this space. I think algorithm openness would be on the cards — as long as the gravity of the network effect remains and it keeps more people / creates more value within the Twitter ecosystem.
I think ads will stay to endeavour to sure up Twitter's advantage in scale and network, but I'd expect to see more customer value monetised throughout the app. I might be wrong, but can't see the classic 'small/med/large' subscription model working so well with the bite-sized nature of Twitter.
Anyway, just a few thoughts from someone who generally avoids using Twitter to maintain their own sanity 😀
Hi Matt. Thank you for the thoughtful response. Regarding product strategy, agreed that the edit button example is small change - open sourcing the algorithm is much more substantive. I was more musing about whether the new owner would put product first (he is on record not to care so much about making $$ from Twitter (which I find hard to believe)). As for crypto, some speculate that Dorsey is part of all this, which would lend credibility to the idea. And as for the business model, this has been the bane of Twitter's existence - they don't make big gobs of $$ like the others do, apparently to nurture what makes Twitter uniquely compelling to users. Maybe the new owner has something novel to contribute here, beyond the ad-based versus tiered-subscription tradeoff. If so, he hasn't said anything publicly yet.
As for sanity, I only dip into Twitter occasionally, to minimise exposure to the toxic soup of content...
Even if Elon doesn't care about making $$ from Twitter, I expect the other institutions providing finance for the purchase may want to see some improved returns for the business to give them some peace of mind for their billions. It'll be fascinating to see it play out (let's hope not at the expense of any more humanity...)
Prove that bottom-up democracy works through social media with users as co-creators and co-owners! Transparency, openness and respect for the other shall be key drivers, which need to be reflected not only in the business and service model, but especially in the governance and organisational model. It will be about power-sharing in its most radical form with each user not only having a voice, but a stake!
Absolutely! If we are real about power sharing, then the process forms part of it, which in this case is the algorithm. Otherwise, Twitter was already dangerous as listed company and would be even more in the hands of one man. Make it open and democratic or close it down!
Yesterday Andrew Ng (via DeepLearning.ai) argued for open standards across all social media companies, similar to that underlying all email companies...
Hi George! He should add an edit button. He should charge a fee for writing threads. As for the free expression/speech aspect, I would let it self regulate. Keep it easy to Mute, Block, and Report offensive people/posts.
I don't mind ads, as long as it's still free to use. The reason it's free, is because the users are the product.
Definitely open source. I’d like to see a way to update your header to show ‘live’ content (like sports scores, new users, stock prices...whatever). What do you want to see?
I'd like the ability to tune the filter beyond just individual accounts to screen out content or topics. It's boring to read the same thing over and over again.
I also want the default feed to be "Recent Tweets" not "Top Tweets". The latter is just "pay to play".
Hello George. Thanks for starting the discussion. I think it's probably less about what are essentially smaller iterations on the product (edits and suchlike), but instead some fundamental shifts in the medium-term.
I think those smaller product iterations will still come (ie. preventing death by 1000 cuts for users) but the bets will be placed in some bigger fundamental step changes. Given Musk's interest in crypto I can imagine an attempt at leveraging Web3 tech — with Twitter's scale and network there's a real opp to establish it as a leader in this space. I think algorithm openness would be on the cards — as long as the gravity of the network effect remains and it keeps more people / creates more value within the Twitter ecosystem.
I think ads will stay to endeavour to sure up Twitter's advantage in scale and network, but I'd expect to see more customer value monetised throughout the app. I might be wrong, but can't see the classic 'small/med/large' subscription model working so well with the bite-sized nature of Twitter.
Anyway, just a few thoughts from someone who generally avoids using Twitter to maintain their own sanity 😀
Hi Matt. Thank you for the thoughtful response. Regarding product strategy, agreed that the edit button example is small change - open sourcing the algorithm is much more substantive. I was more musing about whether the new owner would put product first (he is on record not to care so much about making $$ from Twitter (which I find hard to believe)). As for crypto, some speculate that Dorsey is part of all this, which would lend credibility to the idea. And as for the business model, this has been the bane of Twitter's existence - they don't make big gobs of $$ like the others do, apparently to nurture what makes Twitter uniquely compelling to users. Maybe the new owner has something novel to contribute here, beyond the ad-based versus tiered-subscription tradeoff. If so, he hasn't said anything publicly yet.
As for sanity, I only dip into Twitter occasionally, to minimise exposure to the toxic soup of content...
Even if Elon doesn't care about making $$ from Twitter, I expect the other institutions providing finance for the purchase may want to see some improved returns for the business to give them some peace of mind for their billions. It'll be fascinating to see it play out (let's hope not at the expense of any more humanity...)
Prove that bottom-up democracy works through social media with users as co-creators and co-owners! Transparency, openness and respect for the other shall be key drivers, which need to be reflected not only in the business and service model, but especially in the governance and organisational model. It will be about power-sharing in its most radical form with each user not only having a voice, but a stake!
Would you extend openness to open sourcing the algorithm?
Absolutely! If we are real about power sharing, then the process forms part of it, which in this case is the algorithm. Otherwise, Twitter was already dangerous as listed company and would be even more in the hands of one man. Make it open and democratic or close it down!
This just in, on opensourcing Twitter: https://thenewstack.io/challenges-of-creating-a-decentralized-open-source-twitter/
Yesterday Andrew Ng (via DeepLearning.ai) argued for open standards across all social media companies, similar to that underlying all email companies...
Hi George! He should add an edit button. He should charge a fee for writing threads. As for the free expression/speech aspect, I would let it self regulate. Keep it easy to Mute, Block, and Report offensive people/posts.
I don't mind ads, as long as it's still free to use. The reason it's free, is because the users are the product.
Another product strategy "hot" item is open-sourcing the algorithm. Pro or con?
Definitely open source. I’d like to see a way to update your header to show ‘live’ content (like sports scores, new users, stock prices...whatever). What do you want to see?
That's interesting, Paul, like a ticker.
I'd like the ability to tune the filter beyond just individual accounts to screen out content or topics. It's boring to read the same thing over and over again.
I also want the default feed to be "Recent Tweets" not "Top Tweets". The latter is just "pay to play".
Try this: https://www.labnol.org/internet/twitter-search-tricks/13693/
I use lists to hone in on various topics: https://twitter.com/paulmacko/lists
Very interesting, thanks, Paul!
This just in, from The New Stack, on opensourcing Twitter: https://thenewstack.io/challenges-of-creating-a-decentralized-open-source-twitter/
Good article. From what I hear, Mastadon may be the best alternative (https://www.wired.co.uk/article/mastodon-social-network-what-how-create-account). But something I do know, is that Elon will do what Elon wants, regardless if it is profitable, just to enable free speech.