Twitter chaos continues...
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This is just a recent update on Twitter (as the writing of this newsletter), for more updates keep an eye on Elon Musk & Twitter topics or get the all latest updates at GadgetBond.com.
The Beginning
Following Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, the chaos has continued. From engineers being asked to work unusually long hours to Musk canceling a Twitter Blue contract with over 300 web publishers.
Musk placed himself as Twitter's absolute dictator by disbanding the original board of directors and replacing it with a single director: himself...
The Background
Musk began quietly purchasing Twitter shares, was offered and accepted a seat on the company's board, changed his mind the next day, and offered to buy the company, Twitter resisted, then accepted before Musk tried to back out, Twitter sued, and it was all going ahead again, leaving Musk's bankers sweating, amid claims that Twitter ordered evidence to be burned, and each side claiming that the other is under federal investigation.
Musk officially took over the platform on October 27, firing key executives immediately. One of his decisions was reportedly to sell Twitter verification for a $19.99/month subscription to Twitter Blue (later he locked in the Twitter verification cost at $7.99/month).
Since then, the good times have continued...
Managers have been urged to work 12-hour days, 7 days a week
According to CNBC, Twitter's new owner Elon Musk is mandating managers to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week in order to meet tight deadlines for changes. He is intimidating employees by threatening them with 50% layoffs.
According to internal communications, “managers at Twitter have instructed some employees to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, in order to hit Musk’s aggressive deadlines.”
According to the cited source, the employees were asked to work extra hours with no discussion of “overtime pay or comp time, or job security.” According to reports, the engineers have been given a deadline of early November, and if they fail to meet the requirements, they may lose their jobs.
“Task completion by the early November deadline is seen as a make-or-break matter for their careers at Twitter,” according to the report. Elon Musk is said to be threatening employees with 50% layoffs in order to force them to comply with the order.
Employees are no longer working together as teams because of fear, with each individual trying to defend their own position. According to reports, Slack channels where teams would help each other have gone silent.
Moderation frozen ahead of midterms
Midterm elections in the United States, like presidential elections, are a prime time for hoaxes and general disinformation. Moderation is required to ensure that voters are not misled by false claims. Nonetheless, Bloomberg reports that moderators have been barred from participating.
"Elon Musk has frozen some employee access to internal tools used for content moderation and other policy enforcement, curbing the staff’s ability to clamp down on misinformation ahead of a major US election."
"Most people who work in Twitter’s Trust and Safety organization are currently unable to alter or penalize accounts that break rules around misleading information, offensive posts and hate speech, except for the most high-impact violations that would involve real-world harm, according to people familiar with the matter. Those posts were prioritized for manual enforcement, they said."
Twitter Blue ad-free articles gone
One of the Twitter Blue benefits was ad-free access to over 300 US publishers via the Ad-Free Articles agreement.
Twitter would pay publishers an amount roughly equivalent to ad revenue per view, in exchange for subscribers being able to read pieces on Twitter Blue Publisher sites without ads.
Twitter has canceled this feature with only one day's notice. The change was announced in an email to publishers.
Subscribers have lost a valuable feature, and publishers have had to go through extensive integration work to support it, only to have it rendered obsolete overnight.
Helpful articles (from newest to older, as Musk officially completes $44 billion deal)
Co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey says, "I apologize for that" after Musk fires half of Twitter's workforce — gadgetbond.com A day after Twitter's new boss Elon Musk laid off roughly half of its workforce, co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey apologized to the company's employees
Elon Musk fires all of Twitter Staff in India — gadgetbond.com Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner and CEO has let go of nearly the entire Twitter staff in India, according to various inputs. In India, the company had nearly
50% of Twitter’s workforce will reportedly be laid off today — gadgetbond.com Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter last week, the company and its employees have had a shocking week. Musk did not waste time and immediately relieved the top
Elon Musk to Twitter employees: Work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, or get fired — gadgetbond.com Elon Musk recently acquired Twitter and made some significant platform changes. However, it appears that this is causing serious employee costs. According to
WSJ: Twitter no longer allows Blue subscribers access to ad-free articles — gadgetbond.com The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Twitter, which was acquired last week by billionaire Elon Musk, will no longer allow subscribers to its Blue
Elon Musk is thinking about bringing back Vine, thanks to his Twitter poll — gadgetbond.com Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner and CEO, is considering reviving Vine, the short-form video app that Twitter purchased and abandoned long before TikTok made
Twitter Blue will cost $20 per month for verified users — gadgetbond.com According to Platformer’s Casey Newton and The Verge, with Elon Musk in charge, Twitter plans to raise the price of its Blue subscription service from $5 to
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is beta testing a new social media app called "Bluesky" — gadgetbond.com Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey announced that his decentralized social app Bluesky is looking for beta testers.
Elon Musk says “Ye’s account was restored by Twitter before the acquisition” — gadgetbond.com Twitter owner Elon Musk said on Friday that he had no involvement in restoring rapper Kanye West's account, which was suspended earlier this month for making
Kanye West has returned to Twitter just one day after Elon Musk took charge of the platform — gadgetbond.com Kanye West, the American rapper who was suspended for making anti-Semitic remarks on Twitter, appeared to be back on the platform a day after billionaire Elon
Elon Musk officially owns Twitter, CEO and two other executives left — gadgetbond.com Elon Musk has completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. According to two people familiar with the decision, Musk fired CEO Parag Agrawal and two other
Bonus
Elon Musk arrived at Twitter HQ, carrying a sink and taking on a new profile bio — gadgetbond.com During a surprise visit to Twitter's San Francisco headquarter on Wednesday ahead of his expected acquisition of the company, billionaire Elon Musk brought an