Stratechery Back to the Future of Twitter
Apr 18, 2022
Discover the ambitious vision to transform Twitter into a bastion of free speech under Elon Musk's leadership. The discussion dives into the challenges of the platform's current architecture and how it might boost monetization and user experience. Additionally, the podcast presents a bold proposal to split Twitter into two distinct entities, aiming to address advertising woes and enhance competition, paving the way for better user experiences and refined moderation practices.
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Twitter's Architecture
- Twitter isn't just a website or an app; it's a complex service with various interconnected parts.
- These include user services, graph services, posting services, and more, all working together.
Early Twitter Innovation
- In Twitter's early days, third-party clients like Twitterific innovated features like the "tweet" and the Twitter bird.
- However, Twitter later restricted its API, limiting third-party client growth to control monetization and user experience.
Twitter's Financial Struggles
- Despite raising $4.4B and having a $30B valuation, Twitter has lost $861M as a public company.
- They've only reported profit in 14 out of 33 earnings calls, raising questions about its financial viability.