Elon, Twitter Plan B? Gaming Twit and Starlink(ing) Tweets
Elon, nicely played. Twitter, an “offer you couldn’t refuse”? Looks like you ended up swallowing your “poison pill.”
Here’s an idea Elon! Hook up the Twit with Twitch, the interactive livestreaming service. Gamers have long used Twitch. It’s ideal for unscripted engagement.
Think of Twit as a digital “celebrity squares” game where the only ones winning are its founders and shareholders. With Elon as host of games. Ahh, but a very powerful host if he plays his cards right.
Or, you can think of Twit like the metaphor of the horseman holding the reigns of emotion and reason. What better place to see and hear the “heartbeat” of America.
A game to beat your opponent in the greatest game of all, Democracy. A platform for all, businesses, lawmakers and lawbreakers where voters and hackers show up, especially on Election Day.
“Within the bounds of the law” Elon is noted in saying. But who is the law in this Great Public Square (GPS)? A square of many squares. Some special and others not so much.
TWIT Beginnings? In 2012, six years after Twitter launched, I was sitting in my Philosophy of Law class listening to the Professor talk to the class about the 1st Amendment and Social Media, criticizing how these platforms were irresponsible for allowing immoral and unethical tweets.
Raising my hand, I contested his argument saying: First, morals and ethics have nothing to do with the law; and Second, platforms like Twitter are not governed by either.
I added, Twitter reflects society and provides a picture of “the beat of America” and soon the globe. Boys and girls in class who don’t put down their phones on your request find the online platform FUN!
Impact on Society is enormous. Twitter has functioned as a link to television communication. I find that like other forms of communication, power and influence is derived from he/she who controls the lines of communication and data.
Musk, “Obsession with the Truth” or Surveillance?
“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” – René Descartes
Elon, how far are you willing to go? In my October 2019 paper, Blowing the Whistle on CIA, NSA and U.S. President, I refer to 2013, when Edward Snowden “blew the whistle” on CIA and NSA.
Or as Snowden notes, “…the person I used to be-a spy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Agency (NSA), just another young technologist out to build what I was sure would be a better world.” For him it was about “violation of the Constitution.”
Referencing his book, Permanent Record, Snowden states, “The reason you’re reading this book is that I did a dangerous thing for a man in my position: I decided to tell the truth. I collected internal IC documents that gave evidence of the US government’s lawbreaking…” Elon, how much data will you collect and mine?
I point to “The Snowden Effect” or Convenient Truths. But the public did not appear to be interested in Snowden’s “truth.” Users, in the “Twitter Effect”, will you be interested in Elon’s truth?
Elon, recall your October 2019 tweet? It is said to have been sent via your Starlink network.
Sending this tweet through space via Starlink satellite
11:03 PM · Oct 21, 2019·Twitter for iPhone
How does Starlink fit in with the definition of “Net neutrality” protections in the national broadband plan? Right, one man’s tweet is another’s State treasure. A perfect example of “Technique and the State.”
In Exposing Spies, Lies, and Improper Surveillance I noted surveillance is about monitoring just as observing and investigation are about experiments.
“…Freedom is not static but dynamic; not a vested interest, but a prize continually to be won… He is most enslaved when he thinks he is comfortably settled in freedom.” – Jacques Ellul, The Technological Society, 1964
Elon, Ready to “Invent New Pieces”?
Elon, recall your words in May 2011 in Bloomberg Businessweek:
“Business is like a multidimensional probabilistic chessboard. The rules aren’t set, and the same moves don’t always make you win. A lot of people can be really good in a set-piece battle; my biggest differentiating skill is I can invent new pieces.”
What will be the new twitter rules? Google’s YouTube link with avatars or follow Facebook’s game plan of monetization? Sheryl Sandberg: “Marketers have always been looking for that person who’s not just going to buy but spread the word to their friends. What we do on Facebook is enable marketers to find that.”
Elon’s bid for the Twit? You give him too much credit and at the same time underestimate where this credit comes from. Reportedly some $ is from Western soft men from the Valley of Silicon and Eastern strong men from the Valley of Kings.
Some speak of Elon’s fixer. Hell, I want to know who were his for DOE and DOD funding closers. No doubt, he puts his mouth where his money goes and goes and goes. Electric vehicles and space rockets are no easy sell. Or consider my rocket, satellite, and UCCA, prototypes.
NASA 2008 contract of over a billion was followed by a 2009 DOE loan in the hundreds of millions. But there were more contracts to come Elon’s way as the Space Wars continued. And as the Air Force Secretary awaits approval of their budget, more may come.
Beaammmmmmmmmmmm me up Elon! Did you hear that Bezos? Of course, the eCommerce flea market guru continues to await funds fall from space unto his blue company.
Elon, as an influencer with gazillion followers, the new twit should not be hard to sell and monetize.
Let the new Twit Games Begin!