this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2024
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Summary

Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) is experiencing a sharp decline in users and value.

Post-election backlash, misinformation, and toxic content have accelerated user departures, with alternatives like Bluesky gaining traction.

While X saw a temporary spike in traffic on election day, its U.S. daily active users fell 8.4% in October.

Analysts project X will lose 7 million monthly users in the U.S. by 2025. Additionally, X's brand value has plummeted from $5.7 billion to $673 million since Musk's 2022 takeover, with revenue dropping 40% year-over-year.

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[–] mtdyson_01@lemmynsfw.com 61 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Why would he care at this point? He will make far more money from all his new government contracts than he ever would from Twitter. The purchase served it's purpose and that was to get him a seat at the big table.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 44 points 6 days ago (2 children)

It wasn't just that, Twitter was being used by the people to organize across demographics.

Musk didn't buy it to use, he bought it to break it.

[–] slumlordthanatos@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Musk bought it because he's a dumbass.

Because he thinks he's clever and wants everybody to think he's clever (also because he was mad that Twitter kept banning his buddies for being fascists), he hatched a plan to send Twitter a formal offer to buy it for way more than it was worth. Musk thought that Twitter was owned by a bunch of left-wing ideologues and were using the site as their own personal microphone (sound familiar?), so when they inevitably turn down his offer, he could go "Aha! Gotcha, you fuckin' Marxists!" and everyone would clap and call him smart.

But Twitter was not owned by a bunch of left-wingers. It was owned by businessmen. Musk's buddies were getting banned because it's not good business to have an advert for Disneyland next to a racist/anti-Semetic tweet, not because of ideology. And when those businessmen saw that Musk was offering to buy Twitter for several times what it was worth, they jumped on the offer, then sued Musk when he tried to back out.

Hilariously, Musk agreed to buy Twitter as soon as the discovery process started. I'd bet money that his phone was a black hole of cringe/illegal activity and he wanted to keep it from going public.

Musk didn't want to buy Twitter, and he doesn't want to destroy Twitter; it's just a side effect of using it to stroke his ego.

[–] mtdyson_01@lemmynsfw.com 12 points 6 days ago

I can't argue with that statement at all.

[–] WeUnite@lemm.ee 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Because it's still his propaganda and spy machine. He serves you the content he wants you to see and he collects your data. He wants to influence other elections, his thirst for power and wealth is unlimited.

[–] Sine_Fine_Belli@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Because we must make sure he keeps getting Ls

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 33 points 6 days ago (4 children)

X is worse than truth social.

If you're still on it, I judge you for that. No matter your reason.

[–] ThomasCrappersGhost@feddit.uk 3 points 6 days ago

I wonder if Truth Social will shut down?

[–] Sine_Fine_Belli@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

If BlueSky gets 100 Million users, I’ll stop using Twitter completely

[–] Ragdoll_X@lemmy.world 0 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

Eh, I'll continue enjoying my yiff there. Once most of the artists & content creators I follow move to Bluesky I probably won't have any reason to stick to Twitter though.

[–] shininghero@pawb.social 16 points 6 days ago

Most of the furry artists are moving to Bluesky anyways, so it'll be worth your fapping time to start checking there as well.
But for the artists that haven't moved? Yeah, go ahead. As long as you also archive it locally to cut down on revisits.

[–] Free_Opinions@feddit.uk 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm there for the porn. That's the only thing I've ever used it for.

[–] WeUnite@lemm.ee 1 points 5 days ago

I don't know what Musk thinks of porn but I do know that one part of project 2025 is a ban on porn. Maybe Musk will get on that. I'd recommend trying to contact your favorite content creators and friends on Twitter and ask them to move to Bluesky.

[–] WeUnite@lemm.ee 1 points 5 days ago

You can play an active role in helping your favorite creators move to Bluesky. Leave a comment on their posts and send DMs urging them to stop using Twitter. Urge other people to do likewise.

[–] Drunemeton@lemmy.world 25 points 6 days ago (4 children)

I’m quite enjoying the “Early Twitter” vibe on Bluesky these days! Lots of engagement and actual conversations with strangers.

Plus their Nuclear Block option is fantastic for keeping your experience free from toxic people and organizations.

[–] Zementid@feddit.nl 6 points 6 days ago

It's like this wonderland here .. it feels like reddit From more than 10 years ago. The content is slower, better discussed and longer "in the pipeline".

[–] Sine_Fine_Belli@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago

Same here, I really like BlueSky,

[–] Quill7513 4 points 6 days ago

it feels to me like middle age twitter. like circa 2012-2018

[–] Sine_Fine_Belli@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Same here, I like BlueSky, I’ll try to use it more

[–] JiveTurkey@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Nothing would make me happier than watching Elon lose everything.

[–] WeUnite@lemm.ee 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Let's work together and make it happen for real. I've worked on some ideas on what we can do to stop Musk's radical agenda: https://lemm.ee/post/49991492

Basically get people off of Twitter to cut off the propaganda machine and then boycott his products, get advertisers to stop advertising on Twitter and encourage the workers in his companies to strike/quit.

[–] itsAsin@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

i honestly think we won't have to try. the musk bubble will pop someday. when it does, it'll deflate rather quickly.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago

That will only happen if Trump turns on him.

[–] Rapidcreek@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Bluesky is now generating more out going traffic than X.

well that and with trumps win truth social becomes more a thing. really its like musk is trying to fail.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 14 points 6 days ago

Wait until it becomes the official government platform and every American is issued an account.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

My absolute loathing of Elmo as parent of a former toddler has been mitigated since I've discovered the appropriateness of this gif.

Edit: I guess my ambivalence about Twitter failing has angered some Twitter users. To whom I say, “see the above gif.”

[–] Skiluros@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I initially read Elmo as Elon Musk, I was confused why you hate Musk specifically as someone who's kid used to be a toddler.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

Nope, actual Sesame Street Elmo. At some point between my childhood and my kid's, he took over half the fucking show. Literally. Half the show is Elmo walking around in his room, talking at things. I say at because they don't generally respond since they're things like a fish and a baby. And he never says anything new. He just says hi to the fish and hi to the baby and hi to Mr./Ms. Noodle, who is a miming person. Actually, Mr. Noodle was the only part I occasionally liked and only because he's sometimes played by Bill Irwin, who is incredibly good in even the worst things he is in.

I eventually just started showing my daughter old Sesame Street sketches on YouTube because there's just no comparison in the quality of the way the show used to be and what it's become. She was much more attentive to the sketches too. Why the hell Sesame Street now thinks a toddler has the attention span to watch Elmo fuck around for 20 minutes is beyond me.

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] Quill7513 7 points 6 days ago
[–] xc2215x@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Why then instead of now ?

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

They need more room for bots