Juliet BOn Twitter, that's all we talk about. Moreover, the media are also making headlines. You couldn't escape unless you lived in a cave.
In the space of a few days, Elon Musk was the largest shareholder of Twitter. Since then, its board of directors has managed to keep its reins in check. The fact remains that the founder of Tesla should have enormous influence on the social network. His investment will inevitably lead to big changes on the platform. He didn't hide it. This explains why he wanted to be the main shareholder.
Without wanting to make too many projections into the future, here we goxplore the various announcements that Musk has made on the future of Twitter.
Above all, we will wonder how this would impact the crypto sphere on the one hand and wonder if this does not open the way to the use of alternatives to Twitter, which would be decentralized…
Elon Musk and Twitter… a “tough” love story
To put things in context, we need to go back a little further than April 4. This is in fact the date on which serial entrepreneur Elon Musk (and incidentally one of the richest men in the world) made a substantial investment in Twitter.
To be more precise, Musk captured about 9,2% of Twitter shares then in circulation, briefly becoming its main shareholder. A takeover bid which was not very appreciated by its board of directors. The latter has in fact implemented what we call a “poison pill”. Or a device preventing Musk from going above the 15% shareholding mark.
Knowing the character, it was to be expected that this announcement would have the opposite effect. Musk actually outbid by declaring his desire to buy ALL the shares from Twitter. And even privatize the company.
Beyond its investment, Elon Musk has always had a special relationship with Twitter. On the platform, we even talk about the “Musk Effect”. His tweets making promoting cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, but also Bitcoin, have in fact had a considerable impact on their value.
Another emblematic scandal of the Typical Elon Musk shockvertising: his tweet in which he plans to take Tesla private at $420. The latter still led to a charge of fraud and a $40 million fine from the SEC.
A history that prompts reflection on influence on social networks, and the contours of freedom of expression in the digital age.
How does Elon Musk plan to transform Twitter?
A few hours after tweeting his offer to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), Musk gave a TED Talk interview. The opportunity for the new shareholder of Twitter to share the motivations behind your purchase offer. But also his plans for the platform.
Elon Musk, for example, declared thathe considered Twitter to be the main place in the digital world. Recalling his passionate relationship with the social network, he also affirmed that his investment had no financial motivation. But rather he wanted to improve the platform, and in particular its algorithm and business model.
Elon Musk's ambition matches his entrepreneurial history... Make Twitter the world leader in digital conversations! And to achieve his goals, he will have several major projects to work on...
➡️ Relax content rules to promote freedom of expression
It has not escaped anyone's attention that Elon Musk is a great aficionado of freedom of expression. He also readily describes himself as an absolutist in this area. And he has not held back from repeatedly criticizing what he considers to be excessive moderation of content on social networks.
Recalling that freedom of expression is the foundation of a functioning democracy, Musk wants to make Twitter an agora where vital questions for the future of humanity will be debated.
He therefore explained that he wanted prohibit deletion of comments which, although offensive, are nonetheless legal. In his interview, he states that " If it is in a gray area, the tweet has the right to exist"
The first criticisms obviously did not take long to appear. Many believe that this relaxation of the rules would be the door open to trolls and other cyberharassment raids. The measures desired by Musk could also encourage the spread of fake news.
➡️ Create an edit option to allow editing of old tweets
Musk also plans to respond to a very popular request among Twitter users. A savoir the creation of an edit button that would allow the content to be modified after it has been published. Even if this option already exists on other social networks (like Facebook or Instagram), this proposal has also sparked a heated debate. According to some, it could be misused. And allow certain users to hide their abuse or manipulate their audience.
Imagine for a second...All people could change their words depending on the situation...
➡️ Make Twitter's algorithm and code more transparent
Musk also said he wants to make Twitter's algorithm more open. It would thus potentially be available on Github. This would allow influencers to better understand how it works and crack Twitter Juice.
Here again, Elon Musk's plans for Twitter are far from unanimous. While many have welcomed these transparency efforts, others believe that sharing such a dense and complex algorithm with the general public would have very little impact. Without the underlying user data, which would not be made public, the algorithm would provide too few clues about how Twitter works. And the factors of virality would remain as obscure to ordinary mortals as they are today.
In the wrong hands, this information could also turn against users of the social network. Spammers of all kinds could indeed exploit the system to manipulate their audience.
➡️Tackling army bot
Elon Musk also plans to tackle the proliferation of bots on Twitter. It wants to attack fake accounts programmed to respond or retweet publications on certain subjects. An announcement that does not lack cheek. L'Musk's empire was partly built on the use of these bots, in particular to counter attacks against Tesla...
If he does not go so far as to announce that he wants to delete this type of bot, he suggested a crackdown on fraudulent bots. And especially those promoting the “Hustle” culture in the cryptosphere.
➡️ Ads on Twitter would be abandoned
Nowadays, nearly 90% of Twitter's revenue comes from advertising. The social network is nevertheless struggling to attract advertisers. The latter fear that their campaign will turn into a real digital quagmire.
If Elon Musk succeeds in taking the company private, it's clear that it wouldn't have the same kind of pressure. He actually announced want to move to a subscription model. Basically, in this case, Twitter would become paid. For many people, this is inconceivable.
Knowing that Twitter has already moved in this direction by introducing its premium service last year: TwitterBlue. Accessible for $2,99 per month, the latter offers users additional features. And in particular a cancel button which allows you to delete your tweets before they are published.
Twitter, the Musk effect and cryptography
If Musk's entry into Twitter's board of directors left no one indifferent. It was especially within the crypto sphere that the announcement made the most noise. Indeed, Twitter is one of the favorite platforms (along with Reddit and Discord) for crypto-enthusiasts. We also know that the entrepreneur has a special relationship with cryptocurrency. Et that his comments on the subject often have a considerable impact on the value of assets.
Researchers so they had fun analyze the 67 tweets published by Elon Musk related to blockchain. The assets mentioned by the new shareholder of Twitter thus include the Dogecoin (66%), Bitcoin (30%) or even Ethereum (1,5%). Each mention had a huge impact on their performance.
The results show an increase in prices following Elon Musk's tweets. Most often, this lasts 45 minutes on average after publication before stabilizing.
Could Musk take advantage of his insider position to manipulate the cryptocurrency market?
Precisely because of This “Musk effect” has been proven in the cryptocurrency market, some fear its influence. Twitter's new investor could have fun manipulate the crypto market. A hypothesis that we have the right to doubt given the functioning of cryptographic markets.
We must still remember that it literally exploded the price of dogecoin even though it was a cryptocurrency that had never been taken seriously before him! He still achieved a feat with this story…Such Wao, is not it?
So traditional markets are vulnerable to manipulation and stock prices can rise due to external factors. Its parameters secured by blockchain technology itself should prevent (or at least penalize) to a large extent the action of “bad actors” on the network.
Always according to Blockchain Research Lab, Musk's tweets feature " a conflict between the ideals of free speech, morality and investor protection". However, the Musk effect has been put into perspective, given the particular context in which these tweets were shared. We note for example that Musk usually tweets about Bitcoin when markets are down.
Furthermore, if he were to tweet more frequently about cryptocurrencies, it's a safe bet that his positions have much less impact. After the surprise effect, or the shock value of his statements, investors should be much less reactive to Musk's positions.
So, should we be happy or worried about this takeover of Twitter?
Another important step Musk could take in the coming months is to push Twitter to buy Bitcoin as a treasury asset. What he has already done at Tesla and SpaceX. Given Twitter's visibility in American politics and culture, the company's acquisition of Bitcoin could pose a problem, and in particular have a huge impact on its value.
Other observers also consider it highly likely that Musk will somehow integrate crypto payments on Twitter. Late last year, Twitter unveiled a tipping feature that allowed users to send Bitcoin to creators. For its part, Tesla has started accepting dogecoin for purchases on its website. Dogecoin holders are certainly hoping that Musk's Twitter follows suit.
More broadly, the crypto community is carefully observing how Twitter, under the influence of Musk, could play a role in the generalization of decentralization. Eyes are turned in particular towards Bluesky, an internal project which focuses on creatinga decentralized standard for social networks. Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, another crypto advocate, sits on its board of directors.
In general, the crypto community is quite optimistic of Musk's arrival on the Twitter board. For them, this will push for wider adoption of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies as well as DeFi in general. For his part, Elon Musk has everything to gain from cryptography becoming mainstream. Remember that last March, he declared that he owned Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin. And above all, he had no plans to sell…
Casually, he is a guru for many crypto enthusiasts... His tweets and his actions have a huge impact on thesocial engagement of a crypto...
In short, we cannot neglect its power. Knowing how he's going to use it is another debate... Indeed, Musk is rich, of course, which already gives him a lot of power in itself. If we add soft power (which the media and social networks represent), then it can be explosive…
To be continued...
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