What it lacked in profits it more than made up for in influence. Frequently, the platform set the news agenda and transformed nobodies into Main Characters. Twitter rode this momentum to become one of the most important companies in tech: an all-consuming obsession for those working or merely interested in politics, sports, and journalism around the world. That moment, which coincided with the rise of Facebook and YouTube, inspired utopian visions of how social networks could promote democracy and human rights around the world. In its early days, when Twitter was at its most Twittery, circa 2012, executives called the company “the free-speech wing of the free-speech party.” That was the era when the platform was credited for amplifying the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Arab Spring, when it seemed like giving everyone a microphone might actually bring down dictatorships and right the wrongs of neoliberal capitalism. To Simon and those like him, it was hard to see Twitter as anything other than wasted potential. When he spoke about Twitter, it was often as if someone else were running the company. Dorsey, who was known for going on long meditation retreats, fasting 22 hours a day, and walking five miles to the office, acted as an absentee landlord, leaving Twitter’s strategy and daily operations to a handful of trusted deputies. Twitter had been defined by the catatonic leadership of Jack Dorsey, a co-founder who simultaneously served as CEO of the payments business Block (formerly Square). “Elon Musk is a brilliant engineer and scientist, and he has a track record of having a Midas touch, when it comes to growing the companies he’s helped lead,” he wrote in Slack. Luke Simon, a senior engineering director at Twitter, was ecstatic. Help me build a more sustainable, replicable model for independent journalists working to hold power to account.In April 2022, Elon Musk acquired a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, making him the company’s largest shareholder, and was offered a seat on the board. Your subscription to Platformer helps chart a path forward for journalism outside the ad-supported, what-time-is-the-Super-Bowl web. In some cases, employees learned of their own layoffs from our reporting. More recently, Platformer broke a series of major stories about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Casey produced a series of investigative reports about content moderation in America that became a finalist for the 2020 National Magazine Award for reporting, and helped lead to a $52 million settlement with Facebook moderators who developed PTSD on the job. Expect plenty of criticism - but also an open mind, too, as well as regular updates on what I've been wrong about. Platformer is written for an audience that understands that inventing the future is complicated. Expertly curated links catch you up on what you missed during the workday, with the relevant data highlighted for you. Who's up, who's down, and what will it cost them? Amid a global reckoning over the impact of technology on society, Platformer helps you keep score.ġ00 percent signal. As a member, you’ll be able to meet like-minded people in text chat, discuss the news of the day, and listen in on live interviews with leading industry CEOs and newsmakers. Platformer is part of Sidechannel, a Discord server shared among some of the best independent journalists working today. On weekdays at 5PM PT, thousands of top tech executives, journalists, academics and civil society workers read my reporting on - and analysis of - the day's biggest events at the intersection of technology and democracy. īut first, here are some reasons to consider subscribing. We also invite you to read our ethics policy and the Platformer posting schedule. In addition to the below, Casey wrote a more extensive guide to what Platformer covers, how we do our work, and how he sees the world - you can find it here. Zoë wrote groundbreaking scoops about Away, Apple, Netflix, and Twitter for The Verge before joining in 2022. Casey spent 10 years covering Silicon Valley for The Verge, CNET, and the San Francisco Chronicle before founding Platformer. It’s written by Casey Newton and Zoë Schiffer. New issues arrive at 5PM PT on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and on particularly newsy Wednesdays and Fridays. It's the best way to keep up on the events that mattered at Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter, Snap, and TikTok - with regular guest appearances from Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and the upstart platforms that are challenging them. Platformer is your daily guide to understanding social networks and their relationships with the world. “Casey Newton opinions hold sway among social media executives.” - New York Times “Widely read in Silicon Valley.” - NBC News “Platformer gets big tech scoops.” - Slate
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