Elon Musk may flip the switch to make X -- the social network formerly known as Twitter -- an entirely subscription-based platform.

I’m not sure if this is technically Technology news, but I can remove this post if it’s in the wrong community

Archive link: http://archive.today/3XM6s

Musk brought up the idea of charging all users of X/Twitter during a wide-ranging conversation focused on AI that featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. “[We’re] moving to a small monthly payment for use of the X system,” Musk told Netanyahu, claiming that it is the only way to eliminate the problem of bots, as reported by Bloomberg’s Dave Lee.

Musk didn’t mention timing of his plan to charge X/Twitter users, nor did he say how much it would cost.

Musk, who also is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has said X/Twitter ad sales have plunged 50% since he bought the company. “We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load,” Musk posted on July 15.

    • rgb3x3@beehaw.org
      1·
      10 months ago

      In all seriousness, it’s just called a post now. Elon threw away the incredible brand recognition of “Tweet,” the noun/verb that every tech company wants. It’s like if Google stopped wanting people to use their name as a verb and just go with the generic “search” term.

    • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
      1·
      10 months ago

      I think he should seriously consider buying Meta so that we can watch it crash and burn just like Xitter. Facebook is the cancer of the internet and it deserves to go too.

      • detectivemittens@beehaw.org
        0·
        10 months ago

        Unfortunately, Twitter was only up for sale because it wasn’t able to effectively monetize. On the other hand, Meta has figured out how to make money hand over fist.

        I think the easiest route to get Musk to own Meta is if we goaded him + Zuck into a pay per view fist fight over ownership of Meta.

        • abhibeckert@beehaw.org
          1·
          9 months ago

          Twitter was profitable in the years before covid. They made a net income of $1.2 billion in 2018.

          They made a slight (compared to their revenue) loss during the pandemic, presumably because advertisers generally were willing to spend less, but they were still earning more than enough - simply cut a few costs and they’d be profitable again. Or just wait for the market to improve since from the sounds of it they had more than enough savings to ride it out (that appeared to be their plan).

          They didn’t sell to Musk because they were desperate, they sold to Musk because he signed a contract guaranteeing he would pay far more than the company was worth. If I owned a house that was worth a million dollars, and someone offered me ten million, hell yeah would I sell that house even if I wasn’t really interested in selling.

  • lonewalk@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    So I mean, if this was in lieu of data collection and tracking, this is what more of the software world should actually do. Running platforms isn’t free, and making the user the product is a malicious and unsustainable solution.

    That said, I certainly wouldn’t pay Twitter - I think I’d rather donate to a Mastodon instance, or pay for some other private alternative. Musk is awful for so many reasons, holds way too much power, and deserves no money of mine.

    • Chozo@kbin.social
      1·
      10 months ago

      if this was in lieu of data collection and tracking

      I guarantee this isn’t in lieu of, it’s in conjunction with.

      • dom@lemmy.ca
        1·
        10 months ago

        Yup. You can see this kind of stuff happening with ads in things you buy.

        There was a model of “ad supported” and “pay to own”

        But some exec figured out you could do both and double dip.

        There is no world in which things get more consumer friendly unless it’s forced

  • UrLogicFails@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I know it is a popular sentiment that people should migrate to Mastodon, but I personally think people will migrate wherever the people they follow migrate to.

    With this in mind, I suspect Bluesky will be the platform to usurp Twitter; but with Twitter chasing off all their users in the near future, it may go to whichever platform is readily open at the time.

    I’m very curious to see if Bluesky or Spill open up when Twitter closes the door on its users. If not, Mastodon may have a shot at being the next large platform…

      • Mossy Feathers (They/Them)@pawb.social
        1·
        10 months ago

        Yes, but it’s invite-only. Either you join the wait-list and get lucky, or someone gives you an invite (members get an invite to hand out to friends every 10 days or so). Amusingly this has resulted in a large chunk of blüski being furry and LGBT, due to how tightly knit the communities are. I know a lot of the furry discord servers I’ve been in regularly have people openly offering invites, whereas most of the non-furry servers seem to be completely unaware of how active it is or that it even exists (my experience is that blüski feels way more active than Twitter due to it not giving preferential treatment to Elon shills; you’re far more likely to have random people seeing your posts).

  • 👁️👄👁️@lemm.ee
    English
    1·
    10 months ago

    I really hope this happens. It already was dying, but this would be the final nail in the coffin for the stubborn users who are still on there for some reason. Clearly Twitter Blue has been failing.

  • Nivekk@kbin.social
    1·
    10 months ago

    That would finish off Twitter instantly.

    He’s not THAT dumb. Right guys?

    …right??

  • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
    1·
    10 months ago

    Sounds like a great idea!

    I mean, not for Xitter, but for the internet as a whole it would be amazing!

  • the w@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Moving to a user supported service IS a good way to cut down on spam and wrest control from advertisers…

    …IF you do it before you destroy all value, branding, community and cultural relevance

    As so many others have said, this move at this point sounds like he’s trying to finally end this fiasco.