Twitter is finally Muskified! The deal got sealed at $44 billion and the company’s ownership will now be transferred to a private entity fully owned by Elon Musk. That means Musk would be virtually controlling Twitter now, which comes as music to the ears of those supporting ‘free speech and transparency on the microblogging website.
So, we can prophesy a number of changes that Musk will set in motion to make Twitter a better and more engaging platform.
- Centrist approach: Musk recently tweeted that a completely unbiased social media platform is one in which the most extreme 10% on the left and right are equally unhappy. This goes without saying that extremists from either side of the political spectrum would find no place on Muskified Twitter. He will not favor a particular ideology above the other and ensure the platform is managed by a politically neutral administration.
- No arbitrary censorship: Censorship is the biggest impediment to free speech. Once the free speech is ensured, arbitrary censorship and shadow-banning are expected to get eliminated. Instead, Twitter will introduce more transparency in its operations and make its algorithms open-source to shore up trust among the users. All in all, Twitter’s censors are in for rainy days ahead.
- A democratic Timeline: What should you see on your timeline should be decided by you only, and not by some AI-backed machines and programmed algorithms. To realize this ambition would be the top priority for Elon Musk. He will wage a war against vaguely crafted algorithms to give you, the users, more say in making your Twitter timeline more user-friendly and democratic. Musk will also wage a war against millions of bot accounts that parties with vested interests use to influence public opinion.
- Robust monetization mechanism: For a business to thrive and work independently, a robust monetization system needs to be there. For instance, Twitter’s revenue per visitor (RVP) fares far lower than that of Facebook. Facebook’s RVPis $1 per year while Twitter struggles to make even a half dollar from one user in a year. Musk, being the shrewd business that he is, will establish a robust monetization mechanism to make the company more profitable and less pliable from external powers.
- Restoration of banned handles: Accounts that were previously banned citing ambiguous and vague Twitter policies could be brought back to life. For instance, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia claimed that her personal account will be restored after Musk’s Twitter acquisition. Her account was banned on January 2 when she repeatedly shared some information about Covid-19 that Twitter saw as a violation of its community guidelines. Similarly, Donald Trump’s account could also be reinstated once Musk takes up the leadership role. This will also encourage dispirited conservatives, who are tired of rampant censorship by Twitter, to flock back to the site.
- Technical changes: Musk has promised to introduce an edit button and a “verification for all” program. Musk plans to authenticate all human users of Twitter. He could also enable users to post longer videos on the platform and allow longer-form tweets by extending its current 280-character limit on posts.
- Administrative changes: It’s speculated that Elon Musk could engineer a complete make-over of Twitter’s administration. Musk in a securities filing on April 14 had said he did not have confidence in Twitter’s management. So, he may even sack Twitter’s five-month-old CEO Parag Agarwal and replace him with a more credible and trustworthy face.
- Twitter to become a private entity: Twitter has been a listed company since November 2013. That will change with full ownership now being transferred to a Musk-owned entity. What will happen to the existing shareholders, you may ask! Well, whether the shareholders accept the offer or not, they will eventually be paid in cash at the rate of $54.20 per share for their holdings.
You see, Twitter is going to change forever, and that is set to deprive the US elites of the power to steer the narrative in their favor without fail. The bluebird is finally uncaged and the internet has indeed become a better place for free speech advocates now.
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