@danielhep I really dont understand how any journalistic enterprise could remain on Twitter given the editorial hammer Musk is now wielding

@Brklynmind @danielhep And given the WSJ is essentially a Murdoch company I'm rather surprised. I'd have expected it to be rather more Musky in its leanings and sympathetic to his autocratic tendencies than most of the journalism industry.

@pieist @Brklynmind @danielhep one would think, but it's interesting to remember that Murdoch did not kill the WSJ's devastating reporting on Theranos, despite being personally asked to do this by Elizabeth Holmes (and being heavily invested in Theranos itself).

Not saying Murdoch is a good guy, but it does seem like there are certain lines he won't cross regarding journalism, maybe because he recognizes that WSJ still has legitimacy that would be lost if they went full OANN.

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@csilverman @Brklynmind @danielhep

Indeed. in a way I can't help but think of SpaceX: in order to work with NASA, the DoD, their equivalents in Europe and other countries, as well as communications and other aerospace companies, they need absolute compliance with very rigorous processes. Musk-capriciousness would have prevented SpaceX getting where it is and would destroy overnight. So he employs the extremely competent leaders this demands, and he stays out of their way. He's -- astonishingly -- actually intelligent and disciplined enough to do that.

@pieist @Brklynmind @danielhep Yeah, it's weird. My guess is that he recognizes cutting-edge engineering companies like Tesla and SpaceX require actual competence, since he knows what goes into making those projects happen, but with Twitter, it was more "they're just a forum, how hard can it be?"

The fact that he pretty clearly did not go into this with any existing strategy makes me suspect he assumed that running Twitter wouldn't be that different from running his personal Twitter account.

@csilverman @Brklynmind @danielhep
Yeah, there's a similarity with Tesla, in that he relies on carbon trading and Federal subsidies. But those are way easier to get than NASA and aerospace contracts. The former have had the wheels greased by generations of lobbyists: the latter actually require some serious discipline. Which is probably why SpaceX is competent, Tesla is a mixed bag of competence and capricious fuckuppery and (his) Twitter is just the fuckuppery.

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