Monday open thread: Twitter will be dead within three months

This piece's title is not hyperbole. It is just how I see it.

Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter has been an unmitigated disaster. He has done absolutely everything wrong, from firing half of his workforce to giving anyone with $8 a month a "verified" account.

This is what happens when a megalomaniac runs into the world's realities. Twitter was a cesspool before Musk took over, but it was a functioning cesspool. Now it's gone off the rails.

But what Musk has exposed is social media's bankruptcy. What began as a way to connect people from around the world has turned into a battlefield of state and corporate actors trying to influence public opinion. It's a pernicious thing. People aren't getting accurate information, but information meant to inflame them. Yes, we can say that people should be more discerning. But that doesn't take into account the need to be on the "winning" side. It doesn't take into account our innate need to belong. That need to belong is behind "ratios" on Twitter. It's behind all the destructive behaviors too many of us exhibit on social media. "He's WRONG! We must pile on!"

I was guilty of this. So guilty. It felt so good to rag on someone who said something stupid on Twitter. But what did it get me? Nothing. A brief hit of dopamine. But I didn't affect anyone for the better. 

What Musk is doing is turning Twitter into a dopamine rush of hate. He didn't buy Twitter to "save humanity." Humanity would do much better without the type of social media Twitter exemplifies. He bought Twitter because he is a self-absorbed fool who has failed upwards, and saw his chance to stamp himself on the world stage. The problem is this: He caught the car, and now has no idea what to do. Remember, he has spent most of this year trying to get out of the purchase deal. He made no preparations to actually run Twitter. He's doing all of this by the seat of his pants, and he's not smart enough to do so. 

Twitter could have been something special. But its founder saw the dollar signs. Rather than a true public forum, with rules and moderation, he turned it into another profit-driven enterprise. And that left it open to raiding by a louche South African with more money than sense, more hubris than humility. And here we are.

I won't mourn Twitter's demise. It has been a net negative for years. Other sites will replace it. Hopefully sites which take user care as their central aim, rather than turning users into products.

This is your open thread.

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