Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

Goodbye Mr. Musk

by Frank Schnittger Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 06:31:02 PM EST

I have just deactivated my Twitter account. I wish I could delete it completely. I don't want to be part of the Musk rat shit show.  Perhaps I will join Mastodon or similar platform, but for the moment I don't feel a pressing need to do so. I hope I don't have to leave Facebook as well. It all depends on how they treat their employees. Firing 50% of your employees, including entire human rights and content curation teams, is not a good look. Doing so by email and shutting off employees' access to their accounts and desks overnight should just be plain illegal. I will not be part of such abusive behaviour. Goodbye Elon. I won't be buying a Tesla either!

Display:
Goodbye Mr. Musk | 81 comments (81 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 2)
Bravo Frank! 💪🏽

.. should just be plain illegal ...

HQ located in California it is. State law requires 60 day notice. Will cost him a few hundred million ... that is no problem.

Appeared a few dozen were fired in haste by error ... let the bird fly to Mars trailing his junk Tesla.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 08:03:54 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 5)
I have two good friends that were in the Twitter purge; one was high up in the security group...and he got one of the infamous "oops our bad, we actually need you, wanna come back?" groveling messages. ... He told them to GFY, and in his text thread to the college friend group chat we're in, he's said that everyone he's talked(*) to is basically of the form: "Elon can go fuck himself, and since he's such a fucking genius, let's see him do it."

... * - Current count he's got is that there were about 60-75 people who were asked back, and it's a lot of what we would expect: security, systems integrations, and devops folk...you know, the folks that actually keep the lights on and can't accurately be judged by LOC

They're not crawling back at Twitter

He can afford to buy a 44 billion dollar toy and break it. The state of it... Monkeys on the Maslow pyramid.

Schengen is toast!

by epochepoque on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 01:45:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 4)
Elon Musk is the embodiment of late-stage crapitalism.  And this whole Twitshow is the morality play version of why our civilization is spinning in at Mach 3.
by rifek on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 06:40:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It's that time of the month again. (none / 0)
Economics Is not a Morality Play
by Cat on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 01:15:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Warning About Elon Musk (4.00 / 3)
Just received an e-mail out of nowhere from Bob Fertik of democrats.com urging us to vote Blue tomorrow.

Specifically because of this Musk tweet ...

Elon Musk the child billionaire

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 08:48:21 PM EST
"urging us to vote" (none / 0)
In which state are you registered?
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 08:57:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "urging us to vote" (none / 0)
Show Me State ... way too red ... useless.

The Germans Save St. Louis for the Union

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 09:30:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 2)
I've been using nitter, basically mirrors that block all the ads and popups and let you read accounts' timelines like the blogs of yore for years.

Like this for example:
https://nitter.cutelab.space/JWMason1

Of course it doesn't let you post, which is more upside than downside, really.

by generic on Mon Nov 7th, 2022 at 09:11:47 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
Good show, Frank.  I can't quit it because I've never been on it.  Be interesting to see where all the "influencers" scurry off to.
by rifek on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 12:01:06 AM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 3)
Tiktok?

by fjallstrom on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 09:35:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 3)
Or Tumblr, which would be even more absurd.
by rifek on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 03:47:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 4)
I'm currently experimenting with a EuroTrib mastodon instance.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 11:39:33 AM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 4)
If anyone wants to play with it: it's here.

Consider it experimental though: I haven't yet committed to keeping it, I'm just trying to understand what's involved and what the opportunities are.

I'll probably keep it though, and if I decide not to I'll give ample notice for people to migrate to another server.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 11:50:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
When did mastadon.social go live?
by Cat on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 09:16:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
2016 for the software, not sure about that instance but it's quite old - I registered an account on it in 2017.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 10:47:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
hmmm, I couldn't tell by dates of sample #tag returns. A lot of posts idling from '21 or later.
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 12:34:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
Lots of people signed up, like I did, looked around, saw it didn't have critical mass and didn't bother, I suspect.

Critical mass may now have appeared.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 01:07:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
heh. (none / 0)
My tag sample was far from exhaustive. But dialogue, or lack thereof, was strangely academic. Except for the emoji punctuation.
by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 05:21:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
OK I'm in, so the party can start.
by rifek on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 05:23:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Tesla Taking a Hit (4.00 / 3)


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 12:36:41 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
I had a thousand followers on a political account (i.e. not in my own name) but "lost" the password (I was burned out politically)

I have a personal acount but forgot the password (I have a computer that remembers it...) but I'm only an occasional voyeur, not a participant (posting on Twitter is not good for me, it brings out my troll-trolling tendencies : futility squared)

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Tue Nov 8th, 2022 at 03:27:42 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
Did you know 2021 TWTR 10K reported Monetizable Daily Active Usage (mDAU)? When I check Q3 8-K filing, the numbers hadn't changed, because they weren't reported.

   US 2021: 38M

Int'l 2021: 179M

by Cat on Wed Nov 9th, 2022 at 12:50:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Musk's Twitter Collapse In Real-Time (none / 1)
Exodus continues at Twitter as Elon Musk hints at possible bankruptcy | The Guardian |

Departures of top figures handling safety, security, privacy and compliance come amid warnings from Federal Trade Commission

Messages seeking comment were left with Twitter, but it is unlikely someone will respond as the communications department has been laid off.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 04:22:10 AM EST
Re: Musk's Twitter Collapse In Real-Time (none / 1)
but it is unlikely someone will respond as the communications department has been laid off.

Clever...

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 12:27:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Musk's Twitter Collapse In Real-Time (none / 0)
Not bad for someone to ship his Tesla into outer space 💸 🚀

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 01:01:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
too clever by half (none / 1)
The world will be a "safer" one without TWTR and compliance with the 2011 FTC consent decree (d/b/a "enhanced privacy protection program" for the NSA and FBI). By 4Q2023 TWTR quitters will have restored headcount at META subsidiaries, possibly GOOGL.

by Cat on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 02:18:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Meanwhile... (4.00 / 2)
by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 06:49:18 PM EST
Re: Meanwhile... (none / 0)
Used to play free for all and king of the hill on the school yard ... a lot of fun.

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 at 09:27:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Meanwhile... (none / 1)

Heh...

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 08:49:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Meanwhile... (4.00 / 2)
I was thinking the same thing... the Twitter implosion is a sort of speeded-up version of what's happening to the Novorossiya project.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Sat Nov 12th, 2022 at 10:33:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
by Bernard (bernard) on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 09:08:09 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
That consent decree is eleven (11) years old. Well before cheeto entered the circus. Musk only took control of that "media operator" 3 weeks ago. A sane observer would question not only why Musk bought it in order to delist TWTR, but why FTC never released TWTR's officers from the  decree in that period.
by Cat on Mon Nov 14th, 2022 at 11:13:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 2)
The consent decree is still alive and kicking, though, and when Muskrat shot his mouth off about buying Twitter without disclosing his extant 9% stake, he had to choose between proceeding with the purchase or being found to have committed yet another insider stock pump in violation of the decree.  So he put on a dog and pony show while trying his best to tank the deal, but the company held him to it.  Now here he is, Twitter's brand new post turtle CEO.
by rifek on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 11:02:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"without disclosing" (none / 1)
mmm, disclose to whom?

Certainly, TWTR officers knew at the time of the offer (14 April) the composition of voting shareholders ("beneficial owners"). The SEC was informed of the PIPE (TSLA ->X I-> X II) filing, and the bidness press made quite a lot of hay out "leverage" in order to rationalize the strike price @ $54.20/share, or 18% more than closing p/s $45.08 outstanding.

Which is to say, TWTR stock was underperforming in its "peer group" well ahead of Musk's offer for reasons that should be obvious from historical SEC filings. Which would explain why TWTR officers were eager to sell marketable and option values. This offer was not a hostile LBO until Musk excerised his right ~1 mo. later to audit the books (You know Goldman among other IBs underwrote "the deal", right?)

As is the custom for all M&A notices, p/s outstanding dropped. Why?  For one, as is the custom proceeding all M&A notices, contract restricts shareholders' sales and redemption value until settlement. This, too, is in the SEC filing. (You might want to look that up.) Second, despite louche publicity surrounding TWTR countersuit to quash an audit, volatility in average p/s stabilized over the summer. Twitter shares surge 22% after Elon Musk revives deal to buy company at original strike price, 4 Oct, to $52. Hardly a "pump and dump" scenario, since no one dumped.

"committed yet another insider stock pump"
TWTR FTC settlement and consent decree have nothing to do with SEC's investigation into TSLA "market disruption". Musk settled that suit 29 Sep 2018. lo and behold, peak TSLA appeared $407/share 5 Nov 2021...before the whole fed.gov CHIP 4 America "market disruption."

moral of the story
Capital has always been at war with labor. No one is indispensable. Gov, not you, picks winners and losers. And don't believe everything ya read in headlines. By then, it's too late either to sell or buy.

by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 02:54:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "without disclosing" (none / 0)
  1. He made a public buy offer while holding a >5% stake and complied with none of the regulatory requirements for such an offer.
  2. I never said he did a pump and dump.
  3. The FTC consent decree has the standard "violate no laws" clause, so yes he was vulnerable to being called on it.
  4. I'm fully aware that by the time you read about it, it's too late.
by rifek on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 01:15:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "without disclosing" (none / 0)
EDGAR is the SEC's public database. Recorded changes to beneficial ownership prior to TWTR sale announcement are found here

more detail disclosed in FORM 8-K, Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 27, 2022, specifically Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits., of which
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated April 25, 2022, by and among Twitter, Inc., X Holdings I, Inc., X Holdings II, Inc., and, solely for the purposes of certain sections, Elon R. Musk (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Twitter on April 26, 2022).

by Cat on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 01:01:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "without disclosing" (none / 1)
Yes, I know how to use EDGAR.  I've read the 25 April agreement, which was in litigation all summer.  I've also read his 13D/13G trail leading up to the 25 April agreement, which has some interesting versions of reality on it.  I haven't read his Schedule TO because he apparently never filed one.  I also haven't read his Form 4 because he apparently hasn't filed that yet either.
by rifek on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 10:41:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "without disclosing" (none / 1)
Investors Business Daily | DWAC Stock Falls Ahead Of Merger Vote, After Musk Reinstates Trump On Twitter, 21 Nov SPAC'n'PIPE hijinks
Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) stock fell early Monday after Elon Musk reinstated former President Donald Trump's Twitter account Sunday. The special acquisition company [SPAC], which is aiming to take Trump's own social media platform public, is also set to have a another shareholders vote Tuesday, in an attempt to extend the deadline to complete the merger.

DWAC stock fell about 3% Monday ahead of market trading. The shares advanced 7.2% on Friday....The Twitter poll appeared to have more than 15 million responses with 51.8% of votes in favor of Trump returning to Twitter.... However, Trump has said he will not return to Twitter.

"market disruption"
DWAC is a special purpose acquisition company attempting to take the former president's tech and social-media platform public in the sort of reverse merger that was popular several years ago. The company reported last week it has continued to hemorrhage money. The SPAC said it lost roughly $3.4 million in the latest quarter ending on Sept. 30, according to SEC filings. The group has lost $9.6 million so far in 2022.
[...]
In early November, DWAC stock shot up after the SPAC delayed a shareholder vote -- for the sixth time -- on whether to approve a year extension to complete its merger with Trump Media.

The shareholders meeting is now set for Nov. 22, but the ["]shot clock["] is ticking. DWAC's deadline to complete its merger with Trump's company had originally been in early September. However, the SPAC has claimed a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of the deal delayed the proceedings....

archived ["]blank-check companies["]
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 04:30:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)

MEANWHILE ...
former-employee reveals: "Amazon is planning to lay off approximately 10,000 employees within its technology and corporate departments this week"
by Cat on Tue Nov 15th, 2022 at 08:09:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
Seems like bringing people back to the office is a pretty dumb idea then?
by generic on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 12:08:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
AP, knowledge center of OBSCURE federral laws, is just lying. again.
oh.
Except for this bit.
Amazon will likely sustain [sic] its workforce and investments in profitable areas such as the cloud computing unit AWS
btw, wtaf is "non-strategic" supposed to mean? Accidental?
by Cat on Thu Nov 17th, 2022 at 03:14:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Musk On A High As Twitter Engineers Fly (none / 0)


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 08:01:21 AM EST
Beyond Tesla ... Burning $44 Billion (none / 0)
🔥🔥🔥

`Tis peanuts in comparison to FTX Crypto

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 08:51:37 AM EST
This is America, my millennial guys. (none / 0)
No one is indispensible.
by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 12:29:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (4.00 / 3)
Ah, but that's a failure of generalization right there. No one is indispensable, but you can't just dispense with everyone.
by generic on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 01:19:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (none / 1)
ah, everyone all at once would be wut 29 U.S. Code § 2102 calls a "plant closing" and CA calls a "termination," notwithstanding all the exceptions to the rules. Always read the exceptions.

wut FAANG is running is traditional, slow-mo labor cost-cutting, "off-set" with price adjustments. 10% this year, 13% next year, annuder 8% put option, when NBER finally calls recession, then BAM! Operatin' margins are back on track. And the company's looking like a buy.

Tech layoffs are disproportionately hitting HR and DEI teams. That could spell trouble for companies
not really. Corporate America is already infested by automation. In fact, tech folk automated themselves out of "human capital" a long time ago.

by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 03:45:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (none / 0)
No they didn't.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 04:58:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
This is America, my millennial guys. (none / 1)
oh, yes. First, the "internet of everything" came for ERP, and you said nothing. It came agricultural machinery and factory assembly, and you said nothing. It came for SLAs and passenger vehicles, and you said nothing. It came by the back door for PC app licenses. Then, retail transactions at banks and brick'n'mortar, and you said .... Behold! I am a non-essential worker.
by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 05:38:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (4.00 / 2)
Funny how, for all the automation, there are more tech workers than ever before...

Index of Frank's Diaries
by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 07:29:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (none / 0)
Where is this?
by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 08:15:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (4.00 / 3)
In the European Union, in any case
(your kilometrage may vary)


It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 at 11:01:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (none / 1)
Wait for AI to join forces with robots and decision to lay off workers 🤣

Understanding the impact of automation on workers, jobs, and wages

In general, automation also shifts compensation from workers to business owners, who enjoy higher profits with less need for labor.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 08:15:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (4.00 / 4)
Coincidentally I'm reading Spinrad's Little Heroes at the moment that ran hard with the idea that computer touchers were turning themselves redundant thanks to automation. Also the first book I'm aware of that came up with CGI music stars.

On the main thesis I'll disagree. We're looking at different phenomenons. There's automation, increasing surplus extraction/concentration through DRM/surveillance and stock manipulation. And it's the last part that I think has the most explanatory power. Why is your company worth a trillion dollars? Because you're employing a large number of geniuses (as can be seen on the pay-slip) to come up with a thingamajing that's going to revolutionize everything. In Facebook's case that appears to be an inferior clone of VRChat with real-estate speculation. In Uber's case it's cars that drive themselves. Now, on the one hand all those are obviously failing. But on the other hand, the Fed is trying to induce a recession to break labor again so the infinite money has tapered off a bit. And without infinite money the valuation was always going to go down. So I wonder if we're just officially noticing that all those whiz ideas were garbage, because the bubble started to deflate and not the other way around.

With the Musk expanded universe it's kind of different. They put all their eggs into hard selling their genius boy CEO instead of anything in particular. New face, appearances in comic book movies. Even Star Trek. Yet together with the tech bubble, the Musk bubble too is deflating.

But there's still a long way down

by generic on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 at 09:23:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This is America, my millennial guys. (none / 1)

Amazon, Meta, Netflix: Why Big Tech Is Facing Massive Layoffs | WSJ
FORM 10-K, For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
[...]
2021 Compared to 2020. In 2021, general and administrative expenses increased by $21.9 million compared to 2020. The increase was attributable to a $205.7 million increase primarily from a combination of personnel-related costs due to growth in employee headcount and higher professional service fees, offset by the non-recurrence of a $150.0 million expense related to an ongoing FTC matter recorded in 2020 and a net decrease of $33.8 million in facilities costs and other administrative expenses.
[...]
Litigation Settlement, Net
In September 2021, we entered into a binding agreement to settle a shareholder class action lawsuit. The proposed settlement resolves all claims asserted against us and the other named defendants in the shareholder class action lawsuit without any liability or wrongdoing attributed to them personally or to us. In the third quarter of 2021, we recorded a charge of $809.5 million for the settlement in the consolidated statement of operations, partially offset by the recognition of an insurance recovery of $5.8 million. In addition, in the third quarter of 2021, we recorded a benefit for insurance proceeds of $38.0 million related to the settlement of separate shareholder derivative lawsuits. We paid the settlement amount of $809.5 million from cash on hand in the fourth quarter of 2021.
[...]
10-K risk: Musk employee system lock-outs Q4
[...]
Our security measures may also be breached due to employee error, malfeasance or otherwise. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, people on Twitter, or advertisers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data, data of people on Twitter or advertisers' data, or may otherwise obtain access to such data or accounts. Since people on Twitter and our advertisers may use Twitter to establish and maintain online identities, unauthorized communications from Twitter accounts that have been compromised may damage their personal security, reputations and brands as well as our reputation and brand. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures.

For example, in July 2020, we became aware of what we believe to be a coordinated social engineering attack by people who successfully targeted one or more of our employees with access to internal systems and tools. The attackers used this access to target a small group of accounts (130) and to gain control of a subset of these accounts and send Tweets from those accounts and access non-public information relating to at least some of those accounts.
[...]

10-K risk: Musk Q4 revenue warning, $4M/day!
[...]
We have incurred significant operating losses in the past, and we may not be able to maintain profitability or accurately predict fluctuations in our operating results from quarter to quarter. While we have been profitable on a generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP) basis at times, our quarterly operating results have fluctuated in the past and will fluctuate in the future. As a result, our past quarterly operating results are not necessarily indicators of future performance. Our operating results in any given quarter have been and can be influenced by numerous factors, many of which we are unable to predict or are outside of our control
[18 pt list]
We rely on assumptions and estimates to calculate certain of our key metrics, and real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business.

We calculate our mDAU using internal company data that has not been independently verified. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable calculations for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring mDAU and mDAU engagement. For example, there are a number of false or spam accounts in existence on our platform. We estimate that the average of false or spam accounts during the fourth quarter of 2021 continued to represent fewer than 5% of our mDAU during the quarter.

notable post-pandemic network losses: FB, DIS, NFLX 3Q2022 "ad-supported" channel launch
[...]
To better reflect our business opportunities, including the sale of MoPub and the launch of Twitter Blue in 2022, we will update the name of "Data Licensing and Other Revenue" to " Subscription and Other Revenue" starting in the first quarter of 2022. This revenue line will include subscription revenue from the Twitter Development Platform, Twitter Blue, and other subscription-related offerings.
[...]
WARN. Always read the exceptions.
by Cat on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 12:46:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Please Archive Your Tweets -- Instructions (none / 1)
Users urged to archive tweets amid rumors of Twitter implosion | The Guardian |



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 07:09:25 PM EST
Re: Please Archive Your Tweets -- Instructions (none / 1)
uh oh. The grape vine is growing a Build Back Better TWTR branch of canned tomatoes. All rhey need is some capital to COMPETE for "verified" registered users.

Or a modified mastadon.social instance.

by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 08:19:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The tweet that Musk couldn't or wouldn't (4.00 / 2)
serialize, after he SEIZED TWTR HQ.


FTX: New Ex-Enron [BWAH!] CEO Finds "Complete Absence of Trustworthy Financial Information," $3.3 Billion Loans to SBF, Customer Deposits Not Recorded on Balance Sheets; Confirms Software Backdoors, Auto-Deleted Communications

[...]
Let us look at the things FTX did not have:

• Balance sheets that showed crypto customer funds as liabilities1. The only customer holding on the consolidated balance sheets are fiat currencies!
• Digital asset controls: "The FTX Group did not keep appropriate books and records, or security controls, with respect to its digital assets."
• An accounting department
• Audited financials for all businesses. Only one "silo" used a recognized audit firm. The biggest customer-facing silo had its books prepared by a no-name flake (office in the Metaverse, you cannot make this up), two had no audited statements2
• Record of bank accounts and signers on those accounts
• Centralized cash management
Record of employees and their employment terms
• Meaningful disbursement controls
• Board meetings and/or "audited by flaky auditor" financials for many FTX entities
• Records of most decisions
[...]

by Cat on Fri Nov 18th, 2022 at 08:36:29 PM EST
Record of employees and their employment terms (none / 1)
oops
by Cat on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 10:09:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
NEW! script. Places, everyone! (none / 0)
Politico | Twitter stops enforcing Covid-19 misinformation policy, 29 Nov
Twitter's Covid-19 misinformation page was updated with a note saying that as of Nov. 23, the platform would no longer enforce its policies against spreading misleading information on the virus and vaccines -- which had led to more than 11,[230] account suspensions since 2020.
[...]
Since his takeover [27 Oct], Musk has fired YUGE SWATHS of the company, including thousands of contract and full-time employees who were responsible for content moderation.
[...]
On Capitol Hill, Democrats blasted the decision.
[15 Nov 2022], the U.S. Senate passed a resolution offered by U.S. Senator Roger Marshall[,] M.D. to end the COVID-19 national state of emergency currently in effect under the National Emergencies Act (NEA)....
ROLL CALL
"Nowhere near enough was being done to stamp out medical misinformation on social media previously; but this step, along with re-platforming voices who wish to sow CONFUSION and increase mistrust in medicine, will do more harm," said Jack Resneck Jr., the president of the American Medical Association, in a statement. He also urged patients to seek out accurate medical information, including from their own physician.
[...]
Politico.eu.com | COVID is back, says French PM, 29 Nov
Borne called for social distancing, wearing masks in crowded areas, particularly in public transport, and flu [?!] vaccinations.
by Cat on Tue Nov 29th, 2022 at 08:58:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
finTECH "worker" epic continues ... (none / 0)
by Cat on Mon Nov 28th, 2022 at 02:30:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Moody (4.00 / 2)
GT | Moody's vows to maintain strong presence in China after reports of downsizing and layoffs, 18 Nov 18%
[...]
The move was first announced internally on Monday, according to the Reuters report, impacting more than 100 people across Moody's Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen offices. Total headcount for the analytical arm was not ascertained.

Moody's has been covering and serving Chinese markets for 25 years, with local presence in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen[,] and Taipei, according to the company's website. It has more than 550 employees in China.

by Cat on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 at 12:39:14 AM EST
As Europe wakes up, the balance is shifting... (4.00 / 2)

It was running 60/40, currently 53/47. Wir schaffen das.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 at 09:16:18 AM EST
Re: As Europe wakes up, the balance is shifting... (4.00 / 2)
It looks like Pontius Pilate washing his hands and appealing to the mob.
by de Gondi (publiobestia aaaatttthotmaildaughtusual) on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 at 08:10:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: As Europe wakes up, the balance is shifting... (4.00 / 2)
by generic on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 at 11:21:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Nov 20th, 2022 at 07:18:37 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
Is there any evidence he would do a better job of running Russia than he is running Twitter? Perhaps he would if he could buys Russia's Oil and gas assets, while stripping it of its people.

Index of Frank's Diaries
by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 06:51:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
I think the original tweeter might not have Russia's best interest in heart.
by generic on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 08:34:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
Does Russia have Russians' best interests at heart?
by Bernard (bernard) on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 09:34:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
Can you find me a capitalist country that honestly has its people's best interest in mind?
by generic on Tue Nov 22nd, 2022 at 03:19:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
Excellent thread at MoA on everything you want to know about crypto, or how to make energy even more expensive to the laymen.
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/11/behind-the-crypto-scam-complete-absence-of-trustworthy-financi al-information-.html
by Tom2 on Tue Nov 22nd, 2022 at 03:00:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Lettuce chalenge redux? (none / 0)
by Bernard (bernard) on Mon Nov 21st, 2022 at 09:33:15 PM EST
Try to act surprised. (none / 0)
TSLA "media operators" vs Balenciaga "media operators" vs unverified TWTR "media operators" vs META "media operators"
tesmanian.com | Elon Musk Is Addressing Issue of Child Sexual Exploitation Content on Twitter After Years of Inactivity Under Platform's Past Management, 20 Nov
"a classic Russian technique"
by Cat on Wed Nov 23rd, 2022 at 01:07:03 PM EST
Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 2)
Hello, Call of Duty

Politico | Feds likely to challenge Microsoft's $69 billion Activision takeover, 23 Nov antitrust farce

The Federal Trade Commission [FTC] is likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft's $69 billion takeover of video game giant Activision Blizzard, maker of the hit games Call of Duty[, Guitar Hero, Warcraft, Starcraft, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Crash Bandicoot,] and Candy Crush, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

A lawsuit would be the FTC's biggest move yet under Chair Lina Khan to rein in the power of the world's largest technology companies. It would also be a major black mark [!] for Microsoft, which has positioned itself as a white knight [!] of sorts on antitrust issues in the tech sector after going through its own grueling regulatory antitrust battles around the world more than two decades ago.

"tech" versus US 1999, "tech" versus EC 2007
Central to the FTC's concerns is whether acquiring Activision would give Microsoft an unfair ["]boost["] in the video game market. Microsoft's Xbox is number three to the industry-leading Sony Interactive Entertainment and its PlayStation console. Sony, however, has emerged as the deal's primary opponent, telling the FTC and regulators in other countries that if Microsoft made hit games like Call of Duty exclusive to its platforms Sony would be significantly disadvantaged.

The FTC declined to comment.

In an October statement to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority outlining Sony's position, and published Wednesday, Sony says the deal will not only harm its ability to compete but will also leave consumers with less choice for gaming and developers with less choice for where to publish games. Microsoft is a "Tech Titan buying up irreplaceable content at incontestable prices ($68.7 billion) to tip competition to itself," Sony said.
[...]

mintpressnews* | Call of Duty is a Government PsyOp, 18 Nov "information specialists"
The Call of Duty franchise is an entertainment juggernaut, having sold close to half a billion games since it was launched in 2003.
[...]
Yet a closer inspection of Activision Blizzard's key staff and their connections to state power, as well as details gleaned from documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA], reveal that Call of Duty is not a neutral first-person shooter, but a carefully constructed piece of military propaganda, designed to advance the interests of the U.S. national security state.

It has long been a matter of public record that American spies have targeted and penetrated Activision Blizzard games. Documents released by Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA, CIA, FBI[,] and Department of Defense infiltrated the vast online realms such as World of Warcraft, creating make-believe characters to monitor potential illegal activity and recruit informers. Indeed, at one point, there were so many U.S. spies in one video game that they had to create a "deconfliction" group as they were wasting time unwittingly surveilling each other. Virtual games, the NSA wrote, were an "opportunity" and a "target-rich communication network".

However, documents obtained legally under the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] by journalist and researcher Tom Secker and shared with MintPress News show that the connections between the national security state and the video game industry go far beyond this, and into active collaboration.
[...]

archived JEDI saga, Areas and Indicators of the Media Pluralism Monitor

reference
* Propornot victim, 30 Nov 2016
WaPoo | Russian propaganda effort helped spread 'fake news' during election, 24 Nov 2016
UK Government Communications Service, "RESIST Counter-disinformation toolkit", 2019

by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 02:44:28 AM EST
DICTION CORNER (none / 0)
neutral | first-person | shooter
( adjective | gramatical case | subject )

first-person shooter
One (first-person singular) player's  point view of a combat game environment.
wikiwtf: tabulated first-person shooter combat games by manufacturer, computer OS, and release date.

third-person (third-person plural) shooter simulates one player's omniscient view of a game environment which may or may not incorporate a multiplayer communication network.

neutral first-person shooter (contradiction in terms, oxymoron, antimony)
wikiwtf: Social interaction and first-person shooters / "Third Place"

The metaphor of "the Third Place" references an idea invented by Ray Oldenburg in 1989. He described "the Third Place" as a distinct arena other than one's home and workplace, which is conductive to socializing.[2] As Oldenburg described it: "Third places exist on neutral ground and serve to level their guests to a condition of social equality. Within these places, conversation is the primary activity and a major vehicle for the display and appreciation of human personality and individuality. Third places are taken for granted and most have a low-profile. The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood."
Brookings.edu: a "de-politicized" combat game player
The Pentagon certainly views gamers as a high-value target for outreach and has spent 20 years using video games for recruitment. The most famous of these efforts, America's Army, was a free-to-play military ["first-person shooter"] FPS game launched in 2002 to persuade young players to enlist. Its portrayal of army service was neutral and de-politicized and avoided portraying the hardships of basic training or graphic bloodshed during combat sequences. It instead focused on exacting detail in weaponry, uniforms, and mission design....
by Cat on Fri Nov 25th, 2022 at 04:25:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 2)
Politico.eu.com | Twitter VP in Ireland gets temporary court injunction against firing, 25 Nov c-suite free-agent contract dispute, unexpectedly
Sinead McSweeney, Twitter's global vice president for public policy, was granted the interim injunction on Friday by Ireland's High Court, local media @courtsnewsIRL reported. The court order temporarily prevents Twitter from terminating McSweeney's employment contract.
no-click confirmation
Even if she didn't explicitly accept an exit package that was proposed to her everyone, McSweeney said she had been locked out of Twitter's Dublin office and of the company's IT system, the Irish Examiner reported.
She was also unable to attend a scheduled meeting at the Dublin office, as she was unable to access the building, leaving her embarrassed, humiliated, and upset...The injunction, which was granted on an ex-parte [?!] basis, also restrains Twitter from applying the terms of an email sent to her on November 16 last by Elon Musk, to her contract or condition of employment....She further secured an order restraining Twitter from communicating to any third party or publishing any information [!] to convey that her employment with the company has been in any way altered since November 15 last. The orders are to remain in place until further order of the court....The judge said that he was not satisfied at this stage of the proceedings [?] to make an order directing Twitter to re-instate her to her ["]role["] so she could get access to Twitter's offices and IT systems, as such an order [would be] mandatory in nature.... Due to the lack of clarity over several issues concerning her contract of employment, which were of concern to her and other workers, Ms McSweeney said that she did not click "Yes."

She said that the ["generic"] exit package did not meet her contractual entitlements, and for those who wished to remain with Twitter the terms and conditions in relation to what Mr Musk expected of them was not set out in the document....

Twitter lawyers however reassured her in an e-mail that they knew she didn't want to resign and that her access to the IT system would be restored, according to the Examiner report. But McSweeney told the court that she was still concretely unable to work, the outlet said.
[...]
The court injunction states that that email has no effect on McSweeney's contract, but it doesn't go as far as re-instating her in her job, as judges still have to take a final decision on her case, according to the reports.
archived not those "platform workers" the other ones, dependent on the platforms, Ryanair pilots and cabin crew, Irish Nurses and Midwives labor unions
by Cat on Sat Nov 26th, 2022 at 02:45:52 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (4.00 / 2)
Politico.eu.com | Brussels' Twitter headache -- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko -- EU 'Superstate', 24 Nov podcast (EN), run time 00:33:00 presented by CPK Poland
Listen on
[CHANNEL LOGOTYPE ADVERT: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Acast]
This week, we debate how Europe is grappling with Twitter since Elon Musk took the helm. We hear from Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and discuss a new book about the EU's "Superstate" status.

Sarah WHEATON, author of POLITICO's EU Influence ["]newsletter["], hosts this episode. She's joined by Technology and Competition Editor Aoife WHITE and Editor at Large Nick VINOCUR to chew over the Brussels bubble's reliance on Twitter -- as questions swirl about the social media platform's future. They also discuss how EU officials are grappling with legal questions surrounding Musk's recent decisions on personnel and content.
----------------------------

[60 sec ADVERT 1]
[15 sec ADVERT 2]
WHEATON: When there were these rumors that Musk was going to buy Twitter, I  personally was, like, yes, please let him buy Twitter, and, please, let him destroy it, because I think it's been pretty bad for at least my mental health, for my work-life balance, but now that the end of Twitter seems like a possibility, I'm, like, oh my god, how am I going to do my job?
UNIDENTIFIED: You're not the only one.
WHEATON: Ahhh, Twitter. It's safe to say, it's the prefered virtual meeting space within the EU corridor--among officials, political actors, and, yeah, definitely journalists. But is that going to last? Will Brussels bubble-dwellers have to face a world without Twitter?
[SFX: AGONIZING SCREAM MIX]
I'm Sara Wheaton, Politico's chief policy correspondent filling in for Suzanne this week, and, yes, I'm being a bit dramatic about the current state of Twitter and how it impacts the EU bubble operates. Or am I?...
by Cat on Sat Nov 26th, 2022 at 04:04:05 PM EST
Re: Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 0)
euractiv | Twitter's Brussels office empties at crucial regulatory moment, 24 Nov
voluntary separations
According to reporting by the Financial Times, however, the last two remaining staff members working at Twitter's Brussels headquarters have also left their positions, following the earlier departure of the team's other four members, marking the complete closure of the office.
[...]
A significant number of staffers throughout the company have also chosen to leave their roles in response to developments, which also included an email from Musk explaining that employees would need to be "extremely hardcore" for Twitter to succeed, necessitating that they up their performance by "working long hours at high intensity".
"trusted flaggers"
The [Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online*] was adopted in 2016 in agreement with many major ["]platforms ["], including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Microsoft, and has since gained other high-profile signatories including messaging service Viber and live streaming platform Twitch.

Over the past year, 64.4% of notifications about online hate speech were reviewed by companies within 24 hours of receipt, a decrease from 81% in 2021 to 90.4% in 2020. Just one platform, TikTok, increased its individual performance. While the over all removal rate remained close to last year's, rising from 62.5% in 2021 to 63.6% in 2022, only YouTube increased its rate on an individual level.

An average of 69.6% of content calling for murder or violence towards specific groups [and] a 59.3% removal rate for content containing defamatory wording or imagery about particular groups were removed.
[...]


* 3 pp Framework Decision and 1st - 7th Code of Conduct monitoring reports, inclusive
by Cat on Sat Nov 26th, 2022 at 08:39:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Globe Is cracking, Free Speech Absolutists (none / 1)

Not just social media, any large business enterprise employing hundreds of people have a responsibility towards the community they are part of.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Nov 28th, 2022 at 08:36:16 AM EST
archived (none / 1)
Why do people incorporate?
by Cat on Mon Nov 28th, 2022 at 02:48:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Nina Jankowicz acquires FARA registration num (none / 1)
efile.fara.gov | Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 11/18/2022
[...]
4. Name ofForeign Principal
Centre for Information Resilience
5. Address ofForeign Principal
International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct
London, United Kingdom
UNITED KINGDOM ECIA 2BN
6. Country/Region Represented
UNITED KINGDOM
[...]
10. If the foreign principal is not a foreign government or a foreign political party:
a) State the nature of the business or activity of this foreign principal.
Non-profit social enterprise focused on countering disinformation, documenting human rights abuses, and combating online harms against ["]women and minorities["]
[...]
archived Thu Apr 28th, 2022, Sat Apr 30th, 2022
by Cat on Tue Nov 29th, 2022 at 02:48:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Goodbye Mr. Musk (none / 1)
"more [hidden] details" @EC_Commissioner_Breton@social.network.europa.eu!

reference
Digital Services Act, 310 pp

by Cat on Thu Dec 1st, 2022 at 12:57:11 AM EST
Goodbye Mr. Musk | 81 comments (81 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


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