DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Inside Twitter's first-ever company retreat: Jack Dorsey's parents posed for selfies, Elon Musk was a no-show, and employees meditated with the billionaire founder
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Kurt Wagner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Jack Dorsey once led a Twitter company retreat to boost employee morale and set a vision for the company. Had Dorsey opened his eyes, he would have seen nearly all of Twitter's 3,500 employees facing him in their own noiseless trance. From the convention center floor where they all sat looking up at the stage, Dorsey was just a silhouette, like a statue of a skinny Buddha. It was July 31, 2018, the first day of #OneTeam, Twitter's first-ever company-wide retreat. "BATTLE FOR THE BIRD: Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and the $44 Billion Fight for Twitter's Soul" by Kurt Wagner.

Persons: Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, Kurt Wagner, —, Dorsey, Twitter's, Marcia, Louis, Jay Rock, Getty Dorsey, Twitter, Leslie Berland, She'd, coaxing Dorsey, unapproachable, wasn't, humanize Dorsey, Tim, Bruce Falck, Ned Segal, JP Maheu, Del Harvey, I'm, Elon, hadn't, Lucy Nicholson, Musk, Simon Organizations: Service, Moscone Center, Twitter, Employees, American Express, Trust, Safety, Simon & Schuster, Bloomberg Locations: San Francisco's, San Francisco, St, @Twitter

☆ Elon Musk denied a report that Tesla planned to build a factory in Saudi Arabia. It's the latest development in his complicated history with the nation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk has denied a report suggesting Tesla has plans to set up a factory in Saudi Arabia. It marks the latest twist in a long and complex history between Musk and Saudi Arabia. "Obviously, the Saudi sovereign fund has more than enough capital needed to execute on such a transaction." Funding secured. Funding secured."

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, — Elon, Yasir al, hadn't, Jty05oJUTk, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Yasir Organizations: Street Journal, Service, Wall, Journal, Democratic, Saudi, Public Investment Fund, Tesla, New York Times, Lucid Motors, JPMorgan, Financial Times, Lucid, @elonmusk, Twitter, Kingdom Holding Co, Reuters, Bloomberg Locations: Saudi Arabia, Wall, Silicon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saudi, Here's, Tesla, Saudi Prince, San Francisco

Social network Twitter, recently rebranded as X, has commandeered the handle "@music" from open-source software developer Jeremy Vaught, who told CNBC he created the account in 2007, and had built a community of around half a million followers there. The move on the part of the social media company raises questions about the worth of a handle on its platform. The threat of losing a handle may make it hard for creators to trust the platform enough to build there long-term Vaught told CNBC. It's not clear what X plans to do with the "@music" account now. Vaught told CNBC he is still using X, though he did set up a new account on Meta's text-based competitor Threads, and another on Mastodon.

Persons: Jeremy Vaught, Elon, X, Vaught, Musk, Ed Sheeran, Sheeran, Tesla Organizations: Twitter, CNBC, Services

☆ An X user with 455,000 followers had his handle 'ripped' away by Elon Musk's company as part of its rebrand from Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

X has found its latest handle victim as it took away the handle "@music" from a user. It comes after the company suddenly removed the "X" handle from user Gene X Hwang. The page , which was formerly labeled Twitter Music, now has Vaught's old handle and is labeled as an affiliate of X. Just now, Twitter / X just ripped it away," Vaught tweeted. The removal of @music comes a week after the company took away the @x user handle from user Gene X Hwang without asking him.

Persons: Jeremy Vaught, Gene X Hwang, Vaught, Kwang, didn't Organizations: X Corp, Twitter, X HQ

☆ Twitter abruptly took the @x username from the guy who originally had it. Read the email he was sent offering an 'exclusive visit' to Elon Musk's rebranded X HQ.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Pete Syme | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The owner of the handle, Gene X Hwang, said he'd been willing to trade it. In its rebranding efforts, X — formerly known as Twitter — abruptly took over one of its user accounts with the handle @x on Tuesday night. He'd owned the @x handle since 2007 and has since generated over 53,000 followers on the social media site. X emailed Gene X Hwang that they had taken his handle during their rebranding process. What's more, taking over the @x handle appears to be the least of the social media's rebranding woes.

Persons: Gene X Hwang, he'd, X, Twitter —, He'd, Hwang, that's, he's, Elon Musk, Gizmodo Organizations: Twitter, Tesla, SpaceX, X, Telegraph, Meta, San Francisco Police Department Locations: San Francisco

☆ We tested it and Elon Musk is right: Twitter no longer responds to our emails with a poop emoji
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter has responded to all press inquiries with a single poop emoji since March. Elon Musk tweeted that going forward, Twitter would instead respond with a "We'll get back to you soon" infinite loop. It's the end of an era: Twitter no longer auto-replies to press emails with a single poop emoji. Twitter started the poop emoji auto-reply in March, months after Musk took over the company and executed widespread layoffs that included nearly the entire communications department. Musk tweeted that the new response would be played on an "infinite loop."

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Linda Yaccarino, It's, NBCUniversal, Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg, Kylie Kirschner Organizations: Twitter, Morning, Bloomberg, San Francisco Locations: San

☆ Mark Cuban says Joe Rogan and Elon Musk have become everything they say is wrong with the mainstream media
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cuban also slammed Rogan and Elon Musk for becoming everything they say is wrong with the media. Billionaire Mark Cuban has slammed Joe Rogan and Elon Musk on Twitter for becoming "everything" that they claim is wrong with the mainstream media. Cuban also said that Musk and Rogan have become exactly what they've said they hate about the mainstream media. "Joe, you and @elonmusk's @twitter are the mainstream online media and your platforms have become everything supposedly wrong with MSM. Hotez, for his part, has agreed to go on Rogan's show to talk about vaccines, but not to debate Kennedy.

Persons: Joe Rogan's, Rogan, Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, Joe Rogan, Peter Hotez, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Hotez's, Kennedy, Elon, tweeting, Hotez, Rogan's, Cuban, Dr Hotez, Musk, they've, Joe, Bill Ackman chimed Organizations: Cuban, RFK, Twitter, Morning Locations: Cuban

☆ Former NBCU exec Linda Yaccarino prepares to take over Twitter CEO role from Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal marketing executive, is preparing to take over the CEO role at Twitter from Elon Musk, weeks after the billionaire announced hiring her for the top spot at the social media company. The New York Times and The Information reported that Yaccarino is expected to officially start as Twitter CEO on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Musk is likely betting on Yaccarino’s ad industry chops to restore Twitter’s flagging advertising business. Even without the CEO title, Musk will retain significant control over Twitter as its owner. Following the DeSantis event, Yaccarino tweeted: “We just heard a rare and unscripted conversation, on a range of important topics, with a Presidential candidate — all launched on Twitter.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, Elon Musk, Yaccarino, Twitter, Joe Benarroch, Benarroch, “ Let’s, ” Yaccarino, she’d, Musk, Twitter’s, Ella Irwin, “, ”, Yaccarino’s, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, Ron DeSantis, — Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Elon, The New York Times, New York Times, CNN, CNBC, Democratic, Florida Locations: New York, York, “ Bay, San Francisco

☆ Mark Cuban says Elon Musk's AI company could create a 'virtual Elon' and calls it 'pretty scary'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Cuban says Elon Musk's Twitter purchase could give him a leg up in the AI arms race. The "Shark Tank" investor said Musk could even use it to create a "virtual Elon." Mark Cuban thinks Elon Musk's Twitter purchase could help his AI venture compete with OpenAI and other companies. "He can weigh his own tweets and those of the sources he likes and end up with a consumer-facing AI that can be a virtual Elon," Cuban wrote. In an emailed comment to Insider, Cuban said it will be "interesting to see what Elon does with it all."

☆ Here are 9 Twitter promises that Elon Musk has failed to deliver on as ‘chief Twit’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s record on delivering on the deluge of pledges he has made as “chief Twit” is less than ideal. Since then, Musk has made a number of wild changes and promises pertaining to Twitter. ► Maximal free speech: Musk repeatedly talked about Twitter being a home for free speech. When I reached out to Musk on Wednesday morning with questions about his failed promises, he didn’t respond. But I did receive an auto-reply poop emoji from the press@twitter.com email address, a feature Musk recently said he would implement.

☆ Twitter breaks after 'internal change' had 'unintended consequences'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter showed an error code when users attempted to click external links and images. ET, the external links appeared to be working again for some Twitter users. Twitter showed users an error code when they tried to access outside websites on Monday. ET, the external links appeared to be working for some Twitter users. Downdetector showed a spike in people reporting problems with the app and "Twitter API" was trending on Monday afternoon.

☆ Elon Musk allowed Michael Flynn — one of the most notorious 2020 election deniers — back on Twitter on the 2nd anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk reinstated Michael Flynn on Twitter on Friday — two years after the deadly Jan. 6 attack. The former national security advisor was one of the most vocal 2020 election deniers. Flynn thanked Musk directly in a Friday tweet for allowing him back on the platform. Prior to his suspension, Flynn frequently shared falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results with his more than 1 million followers. Roger Stone, a staunch Trump ally soon took up Flynn's cause, tweeting directly at Twitter CEO Elon Musk asking the billionaire to reinstate Flynn.

☆ Twitter Plans to Remove Tweets Promoting Rival Social Media Platforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Alexa Corse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Twitter said it could temporarily lock or permanently suspend accounts that violate the new policy. Twitter Inc. said it would no longer allow “free promotion of certain social media platforms” on its sites, the latest change to its content-moderation rules under billionaire owner Elon Musk. “Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook , Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post,” Twitter said Sunday, in a series of tweets from company account @TwitterSupport.

☆ A Tesla investor slammed Elon Musk and said he is 'killing the company with his antics' at Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Tesla investor slammed Elon Musk in a tweet Friday for "killing the company with his antics." Joe Cirincione told Musk to "get off Twitter" as the value of his shares has been "cut in half." Major Tesla shareholder KoGuan Leo said Wednesday that Musk "abandoned" his commitment to Tesla. He said since Musk announced he would buy Twitter, the value of his shares has sliced in half. "Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO.

On Thursday, Twitter accounts for at least nine journalists and one left-leaning political pundit were suspended. That is the real problem here.”According to Musk, Thursday’s suspensions were related to new rules around sharing real-time location information, which he tied to an alleged stalking incident. Musk said, “Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. On Wednesday, Musk tweeted that legal action would be taken against Sweeney. Andrew Torba, founder of the far-right social platform Gab, also criticized Musk and touted his company as an alternative to Twitter.

☆ Germany heavily criticizes Elon Musk's Twitter for suspending journalists, saying the free press 'must not be switched on and off at will'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The German Foreign Office has warned Twitter about suspending journalists' accounts. Multiple journalists who reported on Elon Musk have been unable to post on the platform. On Thursday, Twitter suspended the accounts of multiple journalists that reported on the platform's new owner, Elon Musk. Wolfgang Buechner, the country's deputy government spokesperson, said in a separate tweet: "Arbitrary locking of journalists' accounts is unacceptable. On Friday, a top European Union official warned Elon Musk about possible Twitter sanctions, following what it described as the platform's "arbitrary suspension of journalists."

☆ European Union threatens sanctions over Twitter's ban of journalists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Elon Musk’s decision to suddenly ban prominent tech journalists from Twitter is fanning a fierce backlash in Europe. Germany warned of the impact on press freedom, while a senior EU official said Twitter must comply with the bloc’s rules or face possible sanctions. “The EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. European leaders previously said they were watching how Musk’s takeover of Twitter would affect the platform. Thierry Breton, a top EU official, warned Musk in late November that the social media platform must take significant steps to comply with the bloc’s content moderation laws.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File PhotoBERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The German Foreign Office tweeted screenshots on Friday of the accounts of journalists suspended by Twitter, warning the platform that the ministry had a problem with moves that jeapordised press freedom. Twitter suspended the accounts of several prominent journalists who had posted about its new owner Elon Musk, prompting protests from their media organisations. German regulators are already pushing government institutions to stop posting announcements exclusively to privately-held platforms, touting alternatives like the fledgling decentralised social media network Mastodon. Twitter also suspended the Mastodon network's account and attempts to link to Mastodon accounts in tweets frequently triggered error messages on Friday. But with some 8.5 million registered users, Mastodon is still a minnow compared to Twitter with half a billion users.

☆ Twitter Blue is set to relaunch Monday at $3 more for iPhone app users after Elon Musk complained about Apple's App Store fee
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The relaunch of Twitter Blue was suspended in November after a wave of impersonations. It was suspended again as Elon Musk tried to avoid the Apple App Store's 30% fee. The latest version of Twitter Blue, which allowed users to pay for a blue-check verification, was initially launched in November shortly after Elon Musk's takeover. Twitter said the new Twitter Blue would include the ability to edit tweets and upload 1080p video, as well as a color-coded checkmark system: blue for paid users, gold for businesses, and grey for "government and multilateral accounts." Twitter Blue subscribers will also be able to edit their display name or profile photo, but will temporarily lose the blue check until their account can be reviewed, the company said.

☆ Laid-off Twitter staff posted goodbye messages with #LoveWhereYouWork, a hashtag started by a colleague when she was given just a few weeks to live
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lucy Mosley, a UK-based Twitter employee, started the hashtag after a cancer diagnosis in 2013. It has since been used by dozens of Twitter staff who were laid off in recent weeks to say farewell. One sent an email to the whole UK office asking if anyone could knit. The next day she tweeted an image of herself wearing the blanket with a caption saying "keeping cozy with my @TwitterUK @Twitter blanket," alongside the hashtags #LoveWhereYouWork and #Family. As Twitter started opening more offices around the world, other staff members said they also wanted to do the same.

☆ Elon Musk puts an end to some Twitter perks, limits expenses due to company's 'challenging' financial situation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The email also addressed new policies on free food at Twitter, vacation time and other processes. "The future of Twitter is super bright if we can work together to be wise stewards of the company's resources." In addition to these and other changes detailed in the email, Twitter employees are expected to work in the office everyday as of Monday, the day the email was sent. "Allowances will be reevaluated over time and may be added back when the company's financial situation improves," the email noted. Meaning Twitter employees will now have to pay for much of the food the company will offer, where before everything was free.

☆ Leaked email shows that Twitter employees must send Elon Musk weekly updates of everything they've worked on to 'innovate rapidly'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter CEO and billionaire Elon Musk directly oversees its engineering department. Everyone doing technical work is now expected to send a weekly update on what they've accomplished. This will help Twitter "innovate rapidly on software," according to a leaked email. Twitter's remaining employees are now expected to keep its CEO Elon Musk up to date on everything they work on each week. "In order to innovate rapidly on software, it is critical to understand what everyone is working on and who is coding what," the email said.

☆ The sad, beautiful story behind 'Love Where You Work' – the hashtag being used by laid-off Twitter staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It has since been used by dozens of Twitter staff who were laid off in recent weeks to say farewell. One sent an email to the whole UK office asking if anyone could knit. The next day she tweeted an image of herself wearing the blanket with a caption saying "keeping cozy with my @TwitterUK @Twitter blanket," alongside the hashtags #LoveWhereYouWork and #Family. The UK office wanted to commemorate Mosley so decided to put up a sign that read "Love Where You Work." As Twitter started opening more offices around the world, other staff members said they also wanted to do the same.

☆ SpaceX just bought a big ad campaign on Twitter for Starlink
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

SpaceX founder Elon Musk during a T-Mobile and SpaceX joint event on August 25, 2022 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The ad campaign SpaceX is buying to promote Starlink is called a Twitter "takeover." Users should see Starlink brand messaging for the first three times that they open the Twitter app on the day or days of the planned takeover campaign in Australia and in Spain. Pressure on Twitter ad salesMusk is also the CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla , in addition to his responsibilities at SpaceX and Twitter. Instead, Tesla garners headlines from fan blogs, news sites, and creates buzz through motor clubs, fan or shareholder events and social media engagement.

☆ Elon Musk's takeover was so poorly planned the company got locked out of its own Twitter account, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's first weeks as owner of Twitter have been mired in controversy and changes to the site. During the chaotic handoff, login details for the official @Twitter account weren't shared, Platformer reported. Twitter staff were locked out of the company's own social account for 12 days, according to Platformer. Sources told Platformer, a newsletter run Casey Newton, former editor of The Verge, the login details for the official @Twitter social account were among the details lost in the fray. The Twitter team finally accessed its account on Wednesday, after about 12 days, Platformer reported, though the account has not posted since October 13.

Search resuls for: "@Twitter"

25 mentions found