[arista]

[Elon Musk has suggested that all
users of X, formerly called Twitter,
may have to pay for access
to the platform.
In a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu,
the billionaire said a payment system was
the only way to counter bots.

"We're moving to having a
small monthly payment for use
of the system," the Tesla and SpaceX boss said.

The BBC approached X for further details but
has not yet received a statement from the company.
It is unclear whether this was just an
off-the-cuff comment, or a signal of firmer
plans that have yet to be announced.
Mr Musk has long said that his solution
for getting rid of bots and fake accounts
on the social media platform is charging
for verification.

Since taking over Twitter last year
he has looked to incentivise users to
pay for an enhanced service,
which is now called X Premium.
This has been done by giving paid
subscribers more features,
like longer posts and increased
visibility on the platform.]


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66850821

[Oliver_W]

Are bots that much of an issue?

[arista]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Are bots that much of an issue?

He thinks they are.
I assume it could be $2 a month fee?

[Alf]

£2 a month is nothing. But I won't be paying it.

[bitontheslide]

subscribers will leave in their millions, and advertising revenue will hit the floor

[arista]

Originally Posted by Alf

£2 a month is nothing. But I won't be paying it.

Yes, many will not pay.

Big Gamble
if Elon does it.

[Soldier Boy]

Hmmmm in theory a nominal fee should massively cut the number of bots - even like 20p, 50p etc a month... the issue is 1) the hassle, most just won't bother and 2) it will make it impossible to be anonymous (which would actually be a good thing, but a lot of Twitter goblins rely on it)

People aren't going to want to give up their personal details. Also one more "monthly charge", even a small one, coming out of an account is a pain, when most people these says already have dozens with all of the various subscriptions etc.

Bots ARE a problem though, and it's an increasing problem. It's gotten far worse since Musk took over, in fact .

[LeatherTrumpet]

Bots sure does have a lot to answer for

[Zizu]

Na .. the moment we have to pay for Twitter I will just delete the app instantly.

I’d probably get about an hour a day back of my life


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Soldier Boy]

At least it probably means no one will be able to embed stupid truther tweets into TiBB posts any more.

[MTVN]

Could be a good idea for TiBB to follow suit actually

[The Slim Reaper]

This will be the end of twitter, and it will probably shut down completely within the year, which may have been the intention all along.

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by The Slim Reaper

This will be the end of twitter, and it will probably shut down completely within the year, which may have been the intention all along.

If he really does introduce a charge then I think there's little remaining question about intent. He either bought it specifically to tank it, or realised he couldn't feasibly run it after buying it and made the decision to turn it into a write-off.

Too many of the decisions made have been clearly self-destructive.

[bitontheslide]

the guy has investment partners though, which is what i don't get. They must be saying wtf

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

the guy has investment partners though, which is what i don't get. They must be saying wtf

That's why he has to maintain some element of plausible deniability that it was just "a series of poor business decisions". Otherwise I think he'd just shut it down with a wave of his hand.

[Soldier Boy]

That said - it's also worth pointing out that his track record is 50/50 with these declarations. Some things they end up doing, some things you never hear about again. So who knows if the charge will ever become a reality.

[Oliver_W]

Twitter dying would only be a positive for the world tbh

[Swan]

Are there any serious competitors out there who could capitalise on this?

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Swan

Are there any serious competitors out there who could capitalise on this?

Threads?

[bitontheslide]

i think its time for social media to morph into something else and the demise of twitter would encourage that

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by Swan

Are there any serious competitors out there who could capitalise on this?

Not really. Some Truther guff (that you only hear certain people talk about as if it's something worth mentioning -- "Oh he'll be on Altzoid in no time with a huge following ")

For the actual wider public there's the various "Meta" offerings which aren't and never have really been the same thing.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Twitter dying would only be a positive for the world tbh

Indeed

[bitontheslide]

don't forget the mighty rumble, the youtube alternative

[Niamh.]

Youtube? That's very different though, isn't it? Never heard of Rumble

[bitontheslide]

its all social media at the end of the day