TWEET & SHOUT

And while you're at it -- get a horse!

 Seeing that I'm the guy who, many years ago, confidently predicted that nobody
would want to walk down the street while yakking on something called a cellphone, maybe I'm not the best person to consult when it comes to technology.

Still, I have to ask: Is Twitter worth the $45-billion that Elon Musk paid for it?

Let's back that up just a bit. Why would anybody drop that kind of dough on something that doesn't produce anything of value? It's not like there are assembly lines turning out Twitter cars (cars being the things that Musk churns out in his day job) or Twitter mousetraps (even if Twitter does capture its share of rodent-like users). 

Would you lend this guy $12,500,000,000?

And it's not like, despite being worth close to a quarter of a trillion dollars, Musk has $45-billion of it to just toss around on a whim. He had to find people crazy enough to lend him $12.5-billion to complete the deal. I had no idea how easy it was to get your hands on 11 figures worth of money. Where have I been all these years?

As usual, it all comes down to advertisers, who make up 90% of Twitter's revenue. While I don't have a Twitter account, I occasionally browse the pages of a few smart, interesting folks. I have never noticed advertising on their pages. 

I wouldn't be surprised if you found this on
Twitter.

Have I the ability to mentally fast-forward through them the way I physically do TV commercials? Or are these particular folks I like not popular enough to attract the companies hawking corn flakes, canned tuna, or tires? Why have I never noticed advertising on Twitter?

A question to hardcore Twitter users: if there are indeed ads on the pages you frequent, have you ever stopped reading your favorite journalist, celebrity, or politician because you felt like clicking on a link for, say, a Ford pick-up truck? If so, to quote the '60s song of the same name, Mister, you're a better man than I!

Quick: Koppleman
or Olin?

Twitter users are aghast that Musk has bought the business, and not for the obvious monetary reason. The King of E-cars has semi-promised to allow Donald Trump to return to his Tweeting porcelain throne. This, in turn, has started a slew of celebrities to quit the site in protest. None of the "celebrities" could be considered household names -- do you wait breathlessly for the next Tweet by Ken Olin or Brian Koppleman? -- so they're not likely to be missed by anybody but their hardcore followers (or what used to be called people with too much time on their hands). 

 More fascinating are the advertisers promising to walk away from Twitter if Trump is allowed back. While that might hurt Musk's ability to repay those jumbo loans in a timely manner, it just might attract advert-adverse people to sign up -- the same people who pay $17.99 a month for streaming platforms that don't have commercials! I think where I see Elon Musk going with this Twitter thing after all. 

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