And yet somehow I've not (yet) been banned. Not that my speck of a post would ever be actually read by #MuskVirus given how insignificant I am in terms of followers, revenue for Twitter, etc.

I still think honesty and 'truth to power' are positive things. My 2¢

#DumpsterFire in #Muskville

https://www.platformer.news/p/elon-musk-fires-a-top-twitter-engineer

Key word in describing the current state of #twitter as it leaks #GQP lie juice while Lord #MuskVirus fires his penultimate engineer - for telling him #truth.

Spoiler (?) - Blue/gold/#TrumpVirus bird seems to be heading into a tailspin not seen since... that balloon!

When you tear things up by the roots, generally they don't thrive.
If you demand people love you, and you're a billionaire, #socialmedia is the place to be, er, own....

For #media / #socialmedia / #communications followers -

Here's something I came across, its title promising enlightenment about "how, exactly social media platforms fail".

I thought for sure this would be about the assault on #Twitter users and advertisers by Lord #Muskvirus.

But silly me, Twitter is so old-school! Now the next designated has-been (&/or one to beat) isn't #Muskville, but .. #TikTok

Their title:
"The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok"

"Interesting"
https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/

Take 2 [trying to have the article and preview shown/opened]

#ZuckVirus joins #Muskvirus, spreading the variants of #TrumpVirus hate & lies.

~~

*Meanwhile in #media ...*

https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/trump-meta-facebook-instagram-social-media/

Because...
#MuskVirus #ZuckVirus #Fox

Our new 'town squares' where hate & lies, delusions & conspiracies are welcomed in the name of 'freedom', while #truth & being 'woke' to it, are frowned upon.

A #GQP / #TrumpVirus world of #disinformation, #polarization, & #sedition.

#MakeAmericaSaneAgain

Meanwhile....

https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/trump-meta-facebook-instagram-social-media/

Because...
#MuskVirus #ZuckVirus #Fox

Our new 'town squares' where hate & lies, delusions & conspiracies are welcomed in the name of 'freedom', while #truth & being 'woke' to it, are frowned upon within the #GQP / #TrumpVirus world of #disinformation, #polarization, & #sedition.

#MakeAmericaSaneAgain

Or does the US "People's House" -with cretins like MTG, Gohmert, #GymJordan, Gaetz et al - truly "represent" Constituents. If so...

For #SocialMedia / #media fans &/or followers /observers.

I've been watching (as user & social scientist) closely since the onset of #MuskVirus at #twitter, rocking that ship bigly. Having a you're fired sale today!

Anyway, I put this overview together, posted to diaspora* (a Federated cousin of Mastodon), where I've 'hung out' since the demise of Google+, as friends/contacts dispersed mostly to Facebook, MeWe or Fediverse. My 2023 take, w/high marks for the tusk. :)

https://diasp.org/posts/22410860

"Poor" baby #MuskVirus

"Fire Sale"? As BBC reported, there's only a small workforce

So: @ #twitter there's an auctioning-off of fixtures, espresso makers, & the iconic blue bird itself.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Office-chairs-and-espresso-machines-Here-s-17722888.php

Bloomberg put it succinctly:

"Elon Musk Is Selling Twitter HQ's Office Supplies to Help Pay Rent"

From "Johnny's Guide for San Francisco Cheapskates":

If you ever wanted a 6-foot tall “@” symbol planter, now’s your chance...388 lots of surplus corporate office assets of Twitter

Absolutely, and for the right reasons, 'a lot of people say'...

Good for Elon! Still having fun in his #twitter sandbox.

Which is being overrun by bots "like never before", reminding me of the end days of Google+.

What sort of toga or space captain outfit is he wearing, BTW?

#MuskVirus #Musk

Observation on #Twitter World & its bizarre, last-gasp landscape.

Suddenly I'm getting followers on Twitter (despite lack of posting), with a steady 3 or 4 followers arriving each day, every one a 'model' on one or another adult site. (I do not follow back, but I see many who do! oof)

"Suggestions" are bizarre now too. (NFT's)

I am reminded of the end days/weeks/months of Google+, where the same happened, bots and trolls just taking over what was left of a thriving platform.

#MuskVirus

Posted by #Musk on the blue-bird #Muskvirus sandbox channel...

Exactly the pithy post we'd expect from an icon of industry, the once-richest man on earth....

So profound.

Meanwhile in #Muskville ....

"2022 Was the Year the Overconfidence Man Fell Back to Earth" - Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/2022-the-year-the-overconfidence-man-fell-back-to-earth-2022-12

#billionaires #ego #Musk #narcissism #MuskVirus

Insider article on the spreading #Muskvirus in #Muskville ....

#MuskVirus in #Muskville / #twitter

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-surrounded-yes-men-advisors-risky-situation-twitter-experts-2022-12?utm_source=notification&utm_medium=referral

On the day yet another oligarch learned how dangerous windows and tea can be (if not kissing the tsar's ring sufficiently)

Tough times for fascist billionaires? Or just the rest of us?

More #Muskvirus

Similar to Sir #TrumpVirus taking the advice and “reality” spin from Bannon, Giuliani, Eastman & Hannity.

Musk's latest influencer is someone who adores #Musk suggesting that only people who pay to follow Musk (his cult) should be able to vote in Twitter polls, by which the rules are divined. He instantly agreed.

Soon the polls will be limited to “I like Musk” vs. “I love Musk” vs “I love you & you’re my hero”. Wrong answer might lead to blue bird ✔️revocation or suspension.

Sigh.... sorry to intrude on an otherwise sunny afternoon, on the cusp of Chanukah & Christmas...

But #Musk and his #Muskvirus....

And that's what *he* means by "free speech absolutism" - fascist/extremist control of speech & thought, Ayatollah/Führer/Tzar style.

Nice of him to include Truth Social (direct competition)! 🤮 Bcs Lord StableGenius won't play in Elon's sandbox.

~~

Soundtrack: https://youtu.be/sM9nx3rUdSg

[Mothers of Invention: "Brain Police"]

#censorship #FreeSpeech #media

My oh my!

#Muskomania Cont'd

So - on Twitter! - is a story about Tesla's board rebelling against absentee management.

https://bit.ly/TeslaMusk

Following a story on @pbs NewsHour by a long-time Musk follower describing him as lacking impulse control & not thinking too deeply about concepts like "freeze peach". ;)

So this is on Twitter *now* 20:00 EST. I took a screen shot, & wonder how long 'til it's banned?

Speaking of which, TGIF - Good weekend & Holiday times!

#Karma #MuskVirus

OK, why not? Inspired by all the psychopathology on parade, between #TrumpVirus , #GQP, #Fox & fiends, etc, all "normalized" and super-spreading across the billionaire-owned information bubbles.

I referred moments ago to the #MuskVirus ego and his #twitter sandbox as a big stewpot of hate & disinformation morsels.

Reference: my 1st online paper, decades ago (young!), for my then-popular #psychology resource page. On #ego & our #thinking development (categories etc.)

http://fenichel.com/ego.shtml

Apropos many things, as Europe now faces a familiar confrontation w/ corruption & assaults on #democracy /society, so reminiscent of #TrumpVirus and now #MuskVirus echoes.

What does it all have in common?
Billionaire. bros the world over who own all the big sectors including 'information' and if they have their way, the narrative and an alternative-reality #truth like the #GQP, #Fox & fiends promote.

Article:
2022 in Review - The Year Tech Bro Lunacy Was Exposed

https://rushkoff.medium.com/the-year-tech-bro-lunacy-was-exposed-fe220426397b

And this... from Rolling Stone

> 'The Twitter owner's offline popularity is taking just as much of a hit as his online standing"

# Elon Musk Booed Mercilessly During Appearance With Dave Chappelle

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-booed-dave-chappelle-guest-appearance-1234645788/

Like #TrumpVirus, the #MuskVirus variant operates on the premise that all engagement & attention is good. As longtime users are leaving in droves and plead with others to just let his hate-fest wither on the vine of hate & lies.

#Musk #ElonMusk #media #socialmedia

And this... from Rolling Stone

> "The Twitter owner's offline popularity is taking just as much of a hit as his online standing"

# Elon Musk Booed Mercilessly During Appearance With Dave Chappelle

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-booed-dave-chappelle-guest-appearance-1234645788/

Like #TrumpVirus, the #MuskVirus variant operates on the premise that all engagement & attention is good. As longtime users are leaving in droves and plead with others to just let his hate-fest wither on the vine of hate & lies.

#Musk #ElonMusk #media #socialmedia

Another sampling of what's happening in BlueBird of hate land. (I need to observe, but can save you the visit & smell)

As chief twit #MuskVirus tosses BS and hateful disinformation not befitting a sane, adult human being, much less a "town square" for rational people to hear #truth .

Article by (real) John Pavlovitz :

"The Mortal Sin of Anthony Fauci"

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2021/10/25/the-mortal-sin-of-anthony-fauci/