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Musk’s Twitter

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Clarissa

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People keep complaining about Musk’s Twitter but I don’t get the complaints because it’s become dramatically better.

“Community notes” are an excellent feature.

There is tons less censorship from the platform itself. I can write a lot more freely when before I was constantly banned or moderated for anti-Russian speech.

The algorithm is so much better because it isn’t constantly trying to show me stuff I don’t want and need. Recommendations are relevant for the first time since I started using the platform.

The capacity to watch long video shows on the platform grew in front of our eyes, it was amazing.

I’m using it a lot more now that the platform stopped trying to expand my horizons by sticking woke content into my feed. I can now go for weeks without getting any stuff I don’t want to see.

6 responses to “Musk’s Twitter”

  1. Stringer Bell Avatar
    Stringer Bell

    The shamelessness with which the Biden DOJ has gone after Musk, with one bullshit case after another, tells you how much twitter has improved.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      People no longer can make a distinction between a persona and the service provided under that persona’s label. It’s the same as when I ask people what Trump actually did during his presidency that he didn’t like. Other than “he said…”, they’ve got nothing. Their own, very recent experience counts for nothing because they don’t like the personality.

      I don’t like Musk’s persona either. But my experience on the platform he owns has improved dramatically. To me, that’s much more important than his persona. Apparently, I’m in the minority in that, though, and that’s disturbing.

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      1. methylethyl Avatar
        methylethyl

        Trump:
        -enforced some immigration controls, which made an immediate improvement in the labor market that benefited people I know: Like
        -did something dodgy with the tax code that benefited my family: like
        -tried to reduce our dependence on China: like
        -left the rioting issue up to states, which really highlighted which ones have functional governments and which ones don’t: like
        -got suckered by the lockdown/vax people: dislike
        -allowed pandemic-related subsidies that resulted in the unnecessary deaths of thousands, due to perverse payment incentives to hospitals: dislike
        -but ultimately left pandemic policy up to states, which, like the riot thing, really put into sharp relief who did and did not have functional state governments, which A)I like in theory because yay we have a functional state government, but B)dislike in practice because half the country then moved here, and now real estate is ridiculously inflated and staying that way. This is not really Trump’s fault, but was a downstream effect of the lockdown stuff he signed off on.

        Musk: I don’t like the guy, personally. He makes his $$$ off govt subsidy and contracts, and ultimately, I don’t think that’s a good thing. I compartmentalize him right up there with Boeing, Lockheed, & Co. as “people whose interests are in no way connected with mine, and probably at odds with”.

        Twitter: I don’t use it. I do think Musk made it better, and the community notes feature is kind of great, and sometimes hilarious. I tried twitter a while back, found it noxious and a bad fit for my personal habits/weaknesses, and quit. Tried it again after the Musk takeover, found it had improved in usability, decreased censorship etc just as you say… but it’s still basically a dopamine/ego farm that brings out the worst in everybody, including me, so I deleted my account again, and feel that overall it’s just one of those things my life is better without. FWIW I also don’t have a smartphone, my TV lives in the garage and only plays DVDs, and we do not own any gaming consoles, for much the same reasons. Quality of life, not quality of the device/program/app/whatever.

        Liked by 1 person

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      2. methylethyl Avatar
        methylethyl

        Also concerned by the apparent continuing censorship and shadowbanning issues with the platform, which I am still seeing reports of:

        https://brianniemeier.com/2023/10/burned-book-banned/

        Rules should be transparent. Blacklisting people you don’t like, not admitting it, and for reasons you don’t disclose, isn’t something I’m comfortable with. Too much like IRL.

        Liked by 1 person

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  2. cliff arroyo Avatar
    cliff arroyo

    “Musk’s Twitter …. become dramatically better.”

    Mostly agree though muting of pro-Ukrainian and amping up pro-russian accounts seems to be a thing.

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  3. Demotrash Avatar
    Demotrash

    The algorithm has been terrible for me. It’s constantly trying to shove the most vile racist garbage in my face. I know I’m not the only one, and I feel like it’s having a noticable effect on formerly normal people I follow on there. Almost every time Musk makes a change to the platform, I notice the site becoming worse. And to top it off, my mutuals still seem to be banned just as often as they used to be.

    Community notes is fantastic though. Just yesterday I saw a leftist post a picture of dead Arab children and claim it was done by Israelis. Community notes let us all know that this was actually from Assad’s gas attack that leftists claim never happened.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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