TWITTER: What Elon Musk’s Acquisition Means for the Future of Social Media

The Next Big Idea

Next Big Idea Club

Education, Social Sciences, Science, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why did Elon Musk buy Twitter? What does he plan to do with it? Is this the end of big social or a chance to reinvent it? This week, we’re interrupting our regularly scheduled programming to answer those questions with two of the smartest internet commentators we know: Eli Pariser, co-founder of Upworthy and author of “The Filter Bubble”; and Steven Johnson, writer, podcaster, and TV host. RECOMMENDED: Subscribe to Steven’s newsletter, Adjacent Possible: adjacentpossible.substack.com Follow Eli on Twitter: @elipariser Listen to our interview with Jill Lepore about Elon Musk’s sci-fi fantasies. GET IN TOUCH: What did you think of this episode? Send us your thoughts: podcast@nextbigideaclub.com NEXT BIG IDEA APP: You know what’s better than mindlessly scrolling through Twitter? Reading an entire book in just 12 minutes. Impossible, you say? Well, clearly you haven’t downloaded the Next Big Idea app, the only place in the world where you can hear book summaries read by leading authors themselves. Download it today: nextbigideaclub.com/app

Transcript

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0:00.0	LinkedIn presents.
0:06.6	I'm Rufus Griskem, and this is the next big idea.
0:11.3	Today, Elon Musk, Twitter, and the future of social media.
0:30.9	On January 31st, Elon Musk, already the CEO of four companies, started buying shares in a fifth, Twitter.
0:43.0	Within two months, the world's richest man snapped up more than 5% of the social media platform.
0:48.7	And Bolden, perhaps by his growing ownership stake, he began voicing his concerns about Twitter on, where else, Twitter.
0:56.6	On March 24th, he tweeted, worried about the fact that he'll buy us in the Twitter algorithm, having a major effect on public.
1:03.7	The next day, he queried his followers, free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
1:09.1	Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
1:12.5	And then after that, he wondered aloud, is a new platform needed?
1:17.0	On April 14th, he came up with a surprising answer to that question.
1:20.4	The world didn't need a new platform.
1:22.5	Twitter needed a new owner.
1:25.2	So, Elon, a few hours ago, you made an offer to buy Twitter.
1:35.4	Why?
1:36.7	That's Chris Anderson speaking with Musk at the TED conference in Vancouver.
1:41.6	I do know.
1:44.1	Little bird tweeted in my air or something.
1:46.6	I don't know.
1:47.8	By the way, have you seen the movie Ted about the bear?
1:50.2	I have.
1:51.9	I have.
	...

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