As the founder of Tesla worth more than 100 billion US dollars, Elon Musk is not only a unique "workaholic", but also often seen on social media.
▲ Image courtesy of Daily Sabah
Musk on Twitter, promoting his own products and projects, making suggestions for Twitter... Publish your own ideas with great frequency. When he expresses his thoughts, there will always be netizen comments: Just buy it.
▲Image from: Twitter
So, he actually did. Not long ago, Musk, who owns 9.2% of Twitter, became the majority shareholder of the company, but Twitter's CEO announced that Musk decided not to join the board, whether he is on the board or not, the company will consider the opinions of Musk as a shareholder.
▲Image from: Twitter
As soon as this news came out, some netizens speculated that Musk's power would be limited after joining the board, such as the purchase of shares can not exceed 14.9%, not the director's words, there is no similar concern.
Originally, Twitter was going to arrange an internal company meeting, invite Musk to question and answer with employees, and set up an "AMA" (you can ask any questions) session to interact, but no specific date or other details have been determined.
▲Image from: WIRED
Of course, the real reason why Musk didn't join the board is unknown, but for Twitter employees, this should be "good news". Since Musk's previous purchase of shares could go to the board, many Twitter employees have expressed dissatisfaction with it, fearing that he will take some moves that will have a negative impact on the company.
It's also reasonable for Twitter employees to have such concerns, after all, before Musk became a major shareholder, he had already begun to propose various product modifications for Twitter. After the official announcement became a shareholder, it was as if he had become a "product manager".
▲Image from: Twitter
For example, Musk has previously launched a poll on his Twitter account to ask netizens if they want to have the function of "editing" (tweeting), and finally 73.6% of the people in the 4406764 vote voted "yes".
Twitter recently confirmed that it will start testing the "Edit" feature with "Twitter Blue" users in the coming months, but said it had nothing to do with Musk's polls.
▲Image from: Twitter
At stake is Twitter Blue, a paid member of Twitter that can preview tweets before posting them, customize app icons, and in-app color themes. And this is also a function that Musk wants to change.
In Musk's proposal, he argues that a subscription to Twitter Blue should cost around $2 a month, but pay 12 months in advance (subscriptions to the service currently vary by region, but are generally around $3).
In addition to being cheaper, Musk also believes that Twitter Blue users should be free of ads when using them, and should also be given the option to pay in cryptocurrency. If Twitter relies on advertising money to survive, the company's power to make policies is greatly enhanced.
▲Image from: Twitter
Not only did he come up with his own ideas for Twitter's features, Musk had his own insights into Twitter's current user ecology. He listed the top 10 accounts that currently have the most followers on Twitter, and then pointed out that most of these "head accounts" rarely post.
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For example, singer Taylor Swift's account "@taylorswft13" has not posted anything for 3 months, while Justin Bieber's account "@justinbieber" has only posted once this year.
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Finally, I asked my own question— "Is Twitter dying?" (Is Twitter dying?) Not only that, but he has also launched a poll to see if users think Twitter is not "democratic" enough.
▲Image from: Twitter
Although Musk is more high-profile than before he became a Twitter board, some ideas are actually considered from the perspective of an ordinary user, and some people may agree with these suggestions, but also have voices of opposition and dissatisfaction.
But one thing is certain: When Musk becomes a major shareholder, Twitter will be different from before.