Erin Conroy
A Jack Dorsey owned protocol or platform will never, *ever* be a safe space for Democratic or progressive organizing, or even a safe gathering space for any marginalized community (which includes women).
It's actually a big deal to throw away this moment - an opening of possibility to meaningfully disrupt the cycle of Enshittification & to build a vastly more democratic social media space.
Erin Conroy
Amid rumors he'd been forced out as Twitter CEO (for the 2nd time), Dorsey reached out to Musk & together they planned his takeover, which Dorsey backed to the tune of $1 billion in shares.
He is one of the biggest owners of Twitter.
They're collaborators, not competitors.
Erin Conroy
If Jack Dorsey & Elon Musk (who are friends) merely wanted to run a MAGA site full of fascists, they could have just bought Parler & saved themselves approx 43.999 billion dollars.
What they wanted was to cripple the sad remnants of investigative journalism, and the political left, which successfully used Twitter for political organizing, activism & messaging throughout the Trump regime.
Why would anyone who cares about either of these things go to Jack's #Bluesky project.
Matt Ivaliotes
@chargrille The major platforms are like the One Ring. Everyone claims to know their dark power, but most cannot bring themselves to give up their Precious - in particular, the content creators. They're addicted to the power they associate with their follower numbers, and they'll do mental triple backflips to rationalize providing unambiguous material support to Musk and Dorsey. That's why allegedly caring people continue to post and read there.
Erin Conroy
I guess we'll just have to disagree, but I absolutely have seen this exact level of collusion in representing businesses in contract disputes & other lawsuits for a big law firm. Once you do document review of internal email communications in the discovery process, you can't go back.
Jack William Bell
I disagree. Your scenario seems very complex to me, that's what I'm saying.
I'm not trying to defend Dorsey and Musk here. I think they are both bad actors. And, in any case, I believe the biggest danger posed to journalism by billionaires is the consolidation of newsmedia into a few oligarch-owned outlets.
Twitter can be replaced. (You are soaking in it.) Independent newsmedia cannot.
Erin Conroy
@jackwilliambell I mean, yes? However I don't think this is particularly complex nor does the goal require much foresight or intelligence to execute. People have been talking about this use of Twitter since the Arab Spring. Musk is doing fine financially. The remaining financing is held by banks and it is they who have the most to lose. I don't see that bankrupting Twitter & selling it at bargain basement rates to the next autocratic billionaire is a major risk for him.
Jack William Bell
The only argument I have against this is simply the fact neither Dorsey nor Musk is that smart. I mean, they are smart enough and they might be evil geniuses in their own heads, but…
Personally I have an ingrained distaste of explanations for anything requiring epicyclic gearing and preternatural foresight. Occam's Razor and all that.
Not to mention (and apropos here) – Hanlon's Razor says Musk is dealing with some *major* Dunning Kruger action and has overestimated himself.
Erin Conroy
Musk won't prevail in any misappropriation claims against #Meta for #Threads because he hasn't tried to enforce against #Bluesky, which directly competes with Twitter, hired Twitter employees & all 3 of its Board members worked at Twitter. BS's clearly been using information acquired at Twitter to accelerate its development. Its attraction to users is b/c it's a copycat clone of Twitter - but Musk has never made a peep about it. And never will.
Tells you something very important about Bluesky
Erin Conroy
Failure to protect against misappropriation is an affirmative defense in CA.
Dorsey had duty to keep Twitter's TSs. "It is misappropriation to disclose or use another’s trade secret, knowing or having reason to know, that...the trade secret was acquired under circumstances giving rise to a duty to maintain its secrecy or limit its use, or was derived from or through a person who owed a duty to maintain its secrecy or limit its use. (Cal. Civ. Code, §§ 3426.1(b)(2)(B)(ii) and (iii).)"
Erin Conroy
Journalists shouldn't be spreading these kinds of unsourced rumors, without seeing all the contracts & incorporation documents from Bluesky entities (there are likely more than just the one PBLLP).
Dieu
@chargrille I heard they made some sort of contract regarding bluesky as a part of the acquisition and it guaranteed them certain rights of this kind. But no idea, don't know whether that was reliable information.
Erin Conroy
Also, people are simultaneously spreading unsourced (& frankly totally BS) rumors that there is ZERO relationship between Musk & Dorsey's Twitter, & Dorsey's Bluesky. So which is it?
Erin Conroy
Really looking forward to all the people who've been spreading unsourced reassurances that there is ABSOLUTELY NO collusive relationship between Dorsey's Bluesky project & Musk's Twitter, suddenly now spreading the opposite rumor that Bluesky & Twitter have contractual agreements & that's why Musk has never treated "totally independent" Bluesky the way he treats every other competitor to Twitter (a company which his buddy & Twitter takeover co-conspirator Jack Dorsey still owns $1 billion of).
Erin Conroy
Anyway, I am truly grateful that Quinn Emanuel got paid by Elon Musk to open up this can of worms and I hope it means some journalists might wake up and do their jobs.
Erin Conroy
@GatekeepKen where did you read that?
GATEKEEPER
@chargrille
I read Musk is a partner of Bluesky
Fiz
@chargrille Dorsey and Musk, along with a bunch of other immensely rich men who are all in the throes of their mid-life crises, have turned to transhumanism/longtermism whackjobbery as a way to deal with the sense of impending doom that comes with the realisation of mortality.
Unlike other generations whose wealthy dealt with mortality and legacy by building libraries and art galleries, or by trying to solve big health problems, we’re stuck with these narcissistic losers hellbent on breaking political, economic and social systems so they can ‘restructure’ humanity to suit their stupid pseudo-philosophy. There are too many politicians and media folk listening to their nonsense.
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