Peter Kafka

Peter Kafka @pkafka

RT @felixgillette: Great read from @SridharPappu on "Yellowstone" in the @TheAtlantic: "'It’s going to cost $90–$100 million,' he says he t… — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@josephflaherty Right and I get the frustration that things don’t move fast enough. Otoh if you think Twitter is Truly Important then you have to acknowledge that moving fast can cause real harm to actual humans. Tough balance. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@josephflaherty Right but 1) products tweaks are one thing. Core stuff he’s ripping up - moving it from ad based to subscription based - is existential. Maybe it can work! If not no more twitter. 2) some of the move fast stuff is just marketing. Eg: the notes thing he announced *already exists*. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@carloshasanax Yeah he compares it to our theoretical latte habit but it’s really asking us whether we want to spend our reading budget on him vs pick-your-favorite publisher. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@josephflaherty “Well he crashed the car but at least he did it with vigor!” — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@josephflaherty I get this kind of perspective, especially in compared to previous regimes’ sclerotic nature. But I don’t get crediting him for picking up the pace if he’s driving into a wall. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

“Musk told workers in the email that he wants to see subscriptions account for half of Twitter’s revenue.” Just going to keep saying it: This site is no longer going to be free. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@alexeheath Thank you for your service — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

I don’t know if Elon is intentionally getting people riled about verification for lolz or because he thinks it’s actually important. In any case it’s not verification, it’s subscription - via a “mild paywall”. If you don’t pay $8 a month your tweets will be nearly invisible. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

No SoundCloud but I do have a newsletter and it’s free and you can have this story sent to your inbox by signing up here: https://t.co/FdeWeXbDBD — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

And 🤞 to my pals working there. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

“Forbes had been seeking at least $800 million in a sale, but the final price will most likely be below that.” Shocked if it’s close but good for Integrated Whale Media Investments (real name) if they can get it. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

*Does the world’s richest man and most powerful Twitter addict seem like someone who’s going to change? — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

*Lots of ad people like Elon. He can be very charming! The ad calls he does are fine? It’s his actions, and his tweets, that freak him out. *Changing that stuff means changing Elon. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

*Twitter doesn’t have Google and Meta’s reach, but it pitches itself to buyers as a way to reach coastal, upscale audiences. The kind more likely to blanch at Elon antics. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

*There’s also a digital ad slump. Ad budgets are under pressure. Buyers don’t need extra reasons to bail. *Unlike Google and Meta, Twitter ads are almost entirely brand ads. You don’t click on them + buy something. They’re supposed to create a halo for stuff you eventually buy. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

*Elon imagines that one day he won’t be dependent on advertisers, bc we will all be paying $8 a month not to be shadowbanned. But right now he really needs them, bc there’s no other $. *Advertisers don’t need Elon. Twitter is a subscale ad platform (which is why he could buy it). — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

Advertisers explain why Elon’s outreach won’t be enough. The Tweet is coming from inside the house. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@goldman $7 a month? — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@goldman AND $8 a month. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

Verification means “someone has to have a phone and a credit card and $8 a month.” — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@danprimack This version is also what he has presented in previous advertiser interactions. They think it’s fine. It’s the other version that worries them. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

This is the closest Elon has come to spelling out his verification plan: He is calling it a “mild paywall” which means that people who don’t pay $8/month will have their posts basically buried. That is: He wants most Twitter content-makers to pay $96 a year. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@omid The host who asked the q is the highest remaining ad exec and is his liaison to advertisers. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

Elon has started his address to advertisers by talking about the mechanics of verification/blue checks, which is not what spooked advertisers care about at all. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@mhudack Something great! — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

Sorry! But you’ll always have this https://t.co/WbFcbDiq7E — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

@JoshMalina congrats on your New Official Status. Always knew you had it in you. — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

“Analysts had widely expected Musk to sell more Tesla shares to finance the Twitter deal even though the world's richest man had asserted several times that he was done selling Tesla stock.” — PolitiTweet.org

Peter Kafka @pkafka

And another $4 billion. https://t.co/5q5vn4W4DJ — PolitiTweet.org