Elon Musk: Always A Douche

[garbon]

I mean it works in Asia. A few different examples of it there.

Though from what I understand the financial system is very different there and this app as a work around is necessary. No chip and pin, crap bank apps, expensive slow person to person transfers, etc...

Sorry I don't question the entire premise of an everything app. I question why we would want that from Musk.

Also, with all the discussions of data privacy and concerns around social media, I wonder if there is much appetite now for an app to appear that does all.

[Jacob]

Sorry I don't question the entire premise of an everything app. I question why we would want that from Musk.

I don't think that question is that relevant to Musk. What's more important is that he wants everyone to use his app. What we might want and why is secondary.

[Sheilbh]

Sorry I don't question the entire premise of an everything app. I question why we would want that from Musk.

I mean even before he took over would you want it to be Twitter? Also from their perspective an everything app probably needs everyone or lots of people to use it and I just don't see Twitter as a route to that?

Also, with all the discussions of data privacy and concerns around social media, I wonder if there is much appetite now for an app to appear that does all.

I was thinking the best candidate - from a Euro perspective - might be something like WhatsApp. But that's owned by Meta and would you really want them to be your everything app?

To flip it as well if you're a business offering a social media app - do you really want to get into regulated markets like consumer credit or financial products (especially if you've just fired loads of people)?

Though from what I understand the financial system is very different there and this app as a work around is necessary. No chip and pin, crap bank apps, expensive slow person to person transfers, etc...

I've mentioned it before but I think there is something to the idea that a lot of what made crypto and the apps supporting that popular in the US was a comparatively poor level of tech from the existing financial institutions. From my unerstanding very few if any US banks offer the sort of features you get on, say, Monzo (which other incumbent banks in the UK are now adopting as standard) plus there are charges for lots of things - transfers, withdrawals etc.

[Jacob]

One explanation for Musk's logic that runs "Twitter --> everything app" is that's how WeChat developed. It was initially just a chat / timeline / tweet app not too different from Twitter, before it evolved into what it is now.

WeChat did have a few advantages Twitter doesn't have, though. It got massive adoption as a social media platform in China because competitors were kept out of the market. I think it also had a few more government backed advantages when it came to driving adoption of their pay systems.

[Josquius]

Remember it's not just wechat in Asia though. A bunch of countries have similar. I recall heading Indonesias version is just as big nationally.

[Sheilbh]

One explanation for Musk's logic that runs "Twitter --> everything app" is that's how WeChat developed. It was initially just a chat / timeline / tweet app not too different from Twitter, before it evolved into what it is now.

WeChat did have a few advantages Twitter doesn't have, though. It got massive adoption as a social media platform in China because competitors were kept out of the market. I think it also had a few more government backed advantages when it came to driving adoption of their pay systems.

Yeah - I think that's probably right.

My thought was that the everything app would be more likely to be a messaging app more generally, which is why I thought WhatsApp because it has (in Europe) been adopted by everyone across generations. Not least because they're used for communication across generations. So many people have family WhatsApp groups - basically the apps that allow sharing of photos of grandkids using data so no SMS costs

While I think social media like Twitter or TikTok or Facebook is slightly different (at least in how its been adopted in the West) - it's broadcasting, it tends to silo a bit generationally. So I feel like it would just be an everything app for journalists and the terminally online, which is probably not enough to be an everything app.

As with Musk's idea of Twitter having some form of subscription model for creators etc. Again it feels like his understanding of what Twitter is is based on his experience as a super-user with millions of followers rather than what Twitter actually is? (Obvious caveat that he's vastly successful, while I have an assortment of plant pots and spend my weekends making preserves...)

[Josquius]

Honestly I think the potential for a everything app in Europe at least (no idea in the US) is a ship that has sailed.
With all the stuff banks are now doing and the massive negative baggage social media companies have built up, I just can't see the need.
I agree WhatsApp would be the most likely vector but why would anyone pay via WhatsApp rather than just their bank card or Google pay?

[mongers]

I give you:

'Paypal The social network'

[Crazy_Ivan80]

I give you:

'Paypal The social network'

I'd like to wake up now

[mongers]

I give you:

'Paypal The social network'

I'd like to wake up now

[Duque de Bragança]

I give you:

'Paypal The social network'

I'd like to wake up now

[Syt]

[Josquius]

I've not had a look myself but hearing mutterings the x rebrand is going terribly due to the obvious well known meaning of x online...

[Syt]

Oh, also the guy who's had the @x handle for 16 years has been assigned a new one:

[HVC]

I'm slightly annoyed that it didn't count down all the way to 1x