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Twitter Ad revenue down 75%
Advertisers have fled in droves over Musk’s policy changes and erratic behavior on the site, causing advertising revenue to recently drop by as much as 75 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive internal information.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/15/twitter-musk-bid-anniversary/
17 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Overpay for an unprofitable, already overvalued company, alienate advertisers with operational foolishness and coursening of the discourse, have revenues fall by more than the cost-cutting purge saved, and then continuously whine about whose fault it is.
I think it's in most textbooks, just that way.
Link to no paywall archive article (gift from Dalton99a): https://archive.ph/zfHHy
SAN FRANCISCO —
Twitter has been dramatically transformed under Musk and few — even among some in the billionaire’s corner — say the changes have been for the better. In recent weeks, government agencies, news organizations and powerful social media influencers have questioned the usefulness of the platform, with some major players publicly abandoning their accounts or telling users they can’t rely on it for urgent information.
Advertisers have fled in droves over Musk’s policy changes and erratic behavior on the site, causing advertising revenue to recently drop by as much as 75 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive internal information. Rounds of layoffs have left Twitter operating with a skeleton staff of 1,500 — an 80 percent reduction — and so riddled with bugs and glitches that the site goes down for hours at a time. Meanwhile, the company’s valuation has cratered, Musk has said, to less than half the $44 billion he paid when he bought the company roughly six months ago.
- snip -
Recently, some users have noticed bizarre glitches. Some found their timelines were populated with users they did not follow and more recently, some noticed an inability to reply to tweets. Earlier this week, users of Twitter Circle — a feature that limits content shared on Twitter to a smaller groups — found their content was instead being shared across the site, including explicit content. Days later, Twitter users widely reported a new problem: They could no longer reply to tweets in their timelines using a web browser.
Part of the chaos stems from Musk’s decision to shift from a chronological feed to a new “For You” feed that relies on an algorithm to surface content. It fundamentally changes the way the site functions, inundating users with a flood of tweets from people they don’t follow — or necessarily want to see. It relies on signals users send when they interact with other content on the site. Even the old chronological “Following” feed is populated with recommendations for tweets from outside users, a Washington Post analysis found.
Twitter has been dramatically transformed under Musk and few — even among some in the billionaire’s corner — say the changes have been for the better. In recent weeks, government agencies, news organizations and powerful social media influencers have questioned the usefulness of the platform, with some major players publicly abandoning their accounts or telling users they can’t rely on it for urgent information.
Advertisers have fled in droves over Musk’s policy changes and erratic behavior on the site, causing advertising revenue to recently drop by as much as 75 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive internal information. Rounds of layoffs have left Twitter operating with a skeleton staff of 1,500 — an 80 percent reduction — and so riddled with bugs and glitches that the site goes down for hours at a time. Meanwhile, the company’s valuation has cratered, Musk has said, to less than half the $44 billion he paid when he bought the company roughly six months ago.
- snip -
Recently, some users have noticed bizarre glitches. Some found their timelines were populated with users they did not follow and more recently, some noticed an inability to reply to tweets. Earlier this week, users of Twitter Circle — a feature that limits content shared on Twitter to a smaller groups — found their content was instead being shared across the site, including explicit content. Days later, Twitter users widely reported a new problem: They could no longer reply to tweets in their timelines using a web browser.
Part of the chaos stems from Musk’s decision to shift from a chronological feed to a new “For You” feed that relies on an algorithm to surface content. It fundamentally changes the way the site functions, inundating users with a flood of tweets from people they don’t follow — or necessarily want to see. It relies on signals users send when they interact with other content on the site. Even the old chronological “Following” feed is populated with recommendations for tweets from outside users, a Washington Post analysis found.
- more at link -
Not a hitpiece, this is well-reported and referenced from yesterday's WaPo. Thanks for the no paywall link!
