Twitter is Chaos
Mike Schaffer
Executive Vice President, Content & Channel Strategy | Corporate Communications | Builder
I'm exhausted by Twitter.
Since Elon Musk purchased the platform, the roller coaster ride has honestly been nauseating. The staff cuts. The frightening words being said under the blanket of "Free speech." The fundamental functionality changes. The verification circus (blue? gold? gray?). The reversal of banned accounts. The "assassination coordinates." The Twitter Files. A new CEO in 2023.
As I've been talking to clients and colleagues about it, I keep settling on one point - it is not clear what game Musk is playing.
If we don't understand the North Star he is operating under, it's impossible to predict what is coming next and what the strategic implications could be. In fact, the unpredictability may be the only predictable element of Musk's tenure.
Users may feel like Twitter is Elon's plaything, a backyard sandbox where he is scooping the contents into the grass on a whim. And as a (now) private company, that's totally within his right - but that doesn't answer the question of why?
Why would Musk purchase this company only to tear it down? Why would he seem to be leading without a strong plan? Why is he making all of these decisions?
The answers will likely elude us. However, we can take a more academic approach to analyzing the structure.
Without communicating a consistent set of values and guidelines, he is sowing chaos.
Chaos can certainly lead to productivity - which may be his goal? - but it is also destructive - which...may also be his goal? To put a finer point on it, short-term chaos can be an accelerant - but as the clock keeps ticking, it burns people out.
And chaos around a product can be invigorating; chaos around a community is demoralizing.
Long-term success comes when leaders communicate clear values and then reinforce their application over time. A little chaos here and there is natural, but it's just about impossible to thrive in constant uncertainty.
That leaves us with three big questions to address moving forward:
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Innovation Leader | GenAI Expert | HBR Contributor | 40 Under 40 | Host of TomTalks??
1 年This is a great piece, Mike!
Client Services at Tucker-Haskins & Associates
1 年This such an incredibly well thought out and written post.
Advancing Democracy through Diplomacy | Trusted Advisor | Team Leader | Edelman & WRI Alum
1 年Thanks for writing this piece, Mike. Your point on chaos in community being demoralizing got me thinking about the perhaps “old” way of answering the big question from clients - should we be on Twitter? A predictable good comms person’s response was a question - are your audiences there? And we’d go about finding the answer. But now I’m not sure having a “yes” to that question is enough. I think we need to go deeper to learn about what their audiences do there. Are they part of the chaos? Engaged in it or reacting to it? Are they staying in their lane? Minding their own business (literally)? Are they staying the course? Still, at the end of the day, there may be a moral or emotional judgement - do we even want to be here? Each case will be different. With all the chaos, I do think it takes even more thoughtful consideration from the highest levels of an organization to determine the optimal path.