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Let Insanity Roam Free

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Published in Wiener Zeitung
(Austria) on 28 October 2022
by Gregor Kucera (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Mallory Matsumoto. Edited by Lisa Attanasio.
“The bird is freed.” With these cryptic words, Elon Musk announced the acquisition of Twitter on the platform itself. Shortly afterward, he is said to have fired all the company’s executives and then immediately presented the new, fitting, and best CEO for Twitter: himself. But Mr. Musk only has to justify Elon Musk’s decisions to himself, anyway. There is no need for further comment on the $44 billion price that he paid. The reasons behind the decision are, however, worth considering.

Elon Musk wants to “save” Twitter and freedom of expression along with it. He says that the absence of former U.S. President Donald Trump is a huge loss for Twitter. Musk is a prominent defender of the attention economy. Constant attention, constant PR, constant profit. What is in store for Twitter now?

We had just gotten used to more rational discussions, with less screaming and fewer insults — is that all coming back now? Will users leave en masse for alternative platforms like Mastodon? There are alternatives, but few people know about them.

Major shifts in social networks have been the exception so far. Even users’ departures from WhatsApp to Signal or Telegram were not major rejections.

Thus remains the big question: Is the bird really freed, or are the reasonable people on the platform now on the run?


Dem Wahnsinn freien Lauf lassen

Der Vogel ist frei. Mit diesen kryptischen Worten kündigte Elon Musk den Kauf von Twitter auf ebendieser Plattform an. Wenig später dürfte er die gesamte alte Führungsriege des Unternehmens entlassen haben und hat auch gleich den neuen, richtigen und besten Chef für Twitter präsentiert - sich selbst. Aber gut, Elon Musks Entscheidungen muss der Herr Musk eh nur vor sich selbst rechtfertigen, auch den Kaufpreis von 44 Milliarden Dollar sollte man nicht näher kommentieren. Wohl aber die Hintergründe der Entscheidung.

Elon Musk will Twitter "retten" und die Meinungsfreiheit gleich mit. Er meint, dass das Fehlen des ehemaligen US-Präsidenten Donald Trump ein massiver Schaden für Twitter sei. Musk ist ein großer Verfechter der Aufmerksamkeitsökonomie. Immer Aufsehen, immer PR und immer weiter Geld verdienen. Was kommt nun auf Twitter zu?
Kaum hat man sich wieder an vernünftigere Diskussionen gewöhnt mit weniger Aufschrei und Beleidigungen, kommt nun alles wieder zurück? Werden die Nutzer massenhaft zu Alternativen auswandern - wie etwa Mastodon? Alternativen gibt es, nur kennen sie die Wenigsten.
Große Verschiebungen in den sozialen Netzwerken blieben bislang die Ausnahme. Selbst die Abwanderungen von WhatsApp zu Signal oder Telegram waren keine groben Verwerfungen.
Somit bleibt die große Frage: Ist der Vogel wirklich frei oder sind die Vernünftigen auf der Plattform nun vogelfrei?
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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