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☆ 'Black Twitter' asks 'What if Sam Altman were a Black woman?' in the wake of ouster
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Monica Melton | Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sam Altman's high-profile firing has drawn comparisons to Timnit Gebru's exit from Google. Some tech observers and "Black Twitter" asked: "What if Sam Altman were a Black woman?" Sam Altman's shocking ouster— and reinstatement — to OpenAI drew comparisons to Steve Jobs's exit and eventual return to Apple . But a less obvious comparison has been drawn that asks the question: "What if Sam Altman was a Black Woman?" Advertisement"What If Sam Altman Were A Black Woman?

Persons: Sam Altman's, Sam Altman, —, OpenAI, Steve Jobs's, Timnit, Altman, wasn't, Gebru's, Googlers, Jeff Dean, WVBvXJZwh0 — Daniel, @growing_daniel, Eric Schmidt —, Kimberly Bryant, Bryant, TechCrunch's Dominic, Madori Davis, Greg Brockman, z5Dc1BbhbQ — Taylor Poindexter, @engineering_bae, aren't, Émile Torres, Black, Gebru, Torres Organizations: Google, Service, Apple, Microsoft, Tech, Black Locations: America, OpenAI

☆ Elon Musk laid him off. Now he’s aiming to build a social network that’s better than X
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

They wanted it to be everything most social media struggles to be: positive, safe and inclusive. And as the user base of the platform now known as X splinters, so does Black Twitter, the community of Black users that was a big part of Twitter’s growth and culture. Legacy social media platforms have repeatedly failed to anticipate how their products might be manipulated or misused until something goes wrong. Alphonzo Terrell, co-founder of the social media app Spill, demonstrates how the platform works during an interview with CNN. CNNEven with AI content moderation models, other social media companies often fail to catch harmful content that makes it onto their platforms.

Persons: Alphonzo Terrell, he’d, Terrell – who’d, –, Elon Musk, Terrell, DeVaris Brown, “, ‘, ’ ” Terrell, who’s, Brown, Musk, ”, Maya Umemoto Gorman, …, ” Terrell, Brown —, Kenya Parham, weren’t, Elon, Maya Iman ‘, they’ve, “ That’s, Alphonzo Terrell “, Paul Barrett, they’d, it’s, — don’t, Jalaiah Harmon, Taylor Lorenz, Latoya Lee, ” Lee Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Elon, CNN, Spill, Washington Post, HBO, Showtime, YouTube, Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, NYU Stern Center for Business, Human, Apple, Kapor Center, Social, Mac Venture, Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime, VH1, Pew Research Center, New York Times, California State University Fullerton Locations: New York, Los Angeles, Kenya, Spill, Georgia

☆ The Twitter Watch Party Is Over
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( James Poniewozik | More About James Poniewozik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Like foil-tray frozen meals, which were used by airlines before Swanson branded them as “TV dinners,” Twitter was not initially invented to be an adjunct to the tube. It made the entire world into an improv “Mystery Science Theater.”There were, of course, many Twitters existing in parallel: Politics Twitter, Sports Twitter, Black Twitter, Weird Twitter. But Twitter and TV went together like extreme weather and marine predators. When the first sets were rolled out as curiosities in the 1940s, spectators gathered in bars to watch boxing matches. Twitter made the watch party global.

Persons: ” Organizations: Swanson, Twitter, Science, Sports Twitter

☆ Tired of Elon Musk? Here are the Twitter alternatives you should know about
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —When Elon Musk took over Twitter in October and began upending the platform, there weren’t many viable alternatives for frustrated users. ThreadsThreads is Meta’s long-anticipated answer to Twitter and the biggest threat to the social network Musk bought for $44 billion. And Zuckerberg isn’t just looking to catch up to Twitter; he wants to build a service that’s far larger. Spill has also emerged as a haven for Black Twitter users and marginalized communities seeking a safe space online. BlueskyBluesky, a service backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, looks identical to Twitter, with one key difference.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Mark, ” Sarah Oh, Alphonzo Terrell, Zuckerberg, hasn’t, ” Zuckerberg, Terrell, “, ” Oh, Meta, ”, Jack Dorsey, Bluesky, Dorsey, Mastodon, It’s, Eugen Rochko, Cohost, reposts, don’t, Jae Kaplan, we’re Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Meta, San Francisco Bay Area, Cohost, “, Facebook Locations: San Francisco Bay

☆ Social media managers are blaming Elon Musk for the rise of Threads and other alternatives to Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Social media managers are making memes about new social apps that becoming more popular. Social media workers are now scrambling to stay on top of the new ways people are connecting online. With the launch of Meta's Threads and Black Twitter's migration to the Spill app, social media managers say they're overwhelmed by all the new platforms. For social media managers, this means developing a presence on new apps outside of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. So while it's not certain whether any app will be able to dethrone Twitter, social media managers are say they're doing their best to keep up.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Jack Dorsey, —, Guillaume Huin, Pedro Pascal, Huin Organizations: Meta, Social, Twitter, Facebook Locations: McDonald's

☆ Spill jumped to the top of the App Store this week for its approach to social networking — here's how to use Black Twitter's new favorite site
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With major changes at Twitter, many Black Twitter users are seeking out Spill invite codes. Such a community was created on Twitter by its Black users to share their culture and inside jokes, and the entity is affectionately dubbed "Black Twitter." However, under Musk's reign, Black Twitter has said their days on the app are numbered. You can "sip" or "serve" your Spill networkSpillOnce you begin to follow users on Spill, you're officially "sipping" their content. Although most of the punchlines may seem like inside jokes reserved for those involved in Black Twitter, Terrell said Spill is expanding in the hopes of reaching a wider audience.

Persons: Keke Palmer —, Elon Musk, Alphonzo, Terrell, DeVaris Brown, Questlove, Black Twitter, it's, hasn't, Kerry Washington, Victoria Monet, you've Organizations: Spill, Twitter, Elon, Spill Spill, Wall Street, Apple

☆ Black Tech Twitter, trans users and more marginalized groups flock to Bluesky
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Daysia Tolentino | J.J. Mccorvey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Her first objective was to get her community, Black tech Twitter, onto Bluesky. Once Black Twitter users started moving to Bluesky, Aveta said, others wanted to follow. Some signs indicate a slowdown among Black Twitter users that predates Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter last year. Aveta said she prioritized moving the Black tech community to Bluesky first to combine social appeal with technical knowledge. Pariss Chandler, the organizer of Black Tech Twitter and the founder of the recruitment platform Black Tech Pipeline, said diversity, equity and inclusion should be considered early in a platform's launch.

☆ This Black founder sold her company to P&G—why she says she’s ‘selling up,’ not selling out
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

On Jan. 11, Monique Rodriguez, founder and CEO of multi-million-dollar natural hair care brand Mielle Organics, announced she had sold her company to P&G Beauty, sending Black Twitter into a frenzy. "I don't wanna hear nothing about supporting Black businesses because the second Black companies get all the support they need from the Black dollar they hand everything over to the person with the biggest check," said one Twitter user. Some would consider selling your company — often for millions — to be a major accomplishment, but Black founders are continually scrutinized by their peers and customers for making this choice. However, when Dennis sold the brand to Unilever in for an estimated $1.6 billion, he was called a sellout. "If there were Black conglomerates, and Black, big, private equity firms and partnerships that allowed them to inject capital and allow us to grow, we would go to those Black companies," Rodriguez says.

☆ Former Twitter employees launch Spill, a refuge for 'Black Twitter,' after hate speech soars under Elon Musk's leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The former Twitter employees are catering to "culture drivers," especially Black and queer creators. Terrell told TechCrunch. Since Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October, hate speech and slurs against Black users have skyrocketed and popular users from Black Twitter have used comedy to mourn the loss of their online community. Following the announcement of the app, Terrell tweeted that Spill had received 20,000 reservations for handles within 12 hours. Terrell, Brown, and Spill advisors April Reign, DeRay Mckesson and Dantley Davis did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Black users have long been one of Twitter’s most engaged demographics, flocking to the platform to steer online culture and drive real-world social change. But a month after Elon Musk took over, some Black influencers are eyeing the exits just as he races to shore up the company’s business. And while there is no hard data on how many Black users have either joined or left the platform over that period, some prominent influencers say they’re actively pursuing alternatives. Some signs indicate a slowdown among Black Twitter users that predates Musk. “It’s crippling to the economies of cities when Black folks leave, platforms when Black folks leave, entertainment sites when Black folks leave,” she said.

Her death, first reported by local news outlets in North Carolina and Black-centered blog sites, was heart-wrenching to Black social media users. Now, less than a month later, her family, social media users and experts are acknowledging the power of Black social media support, saying it was crucial keeping attention on her case. Black social media is extremely powerful.”Social media users have also used the #SayHerName hashtag when amplifying Robinson’s story. This isn’t the first time Black social media users have used their platform to draw attention to injustice. The professor, Ijeoma Opara, wanted to support the child’s interest in science, and social media users made it possible.

☆ 'Black Twitter' is turning to humor to mourn Twitter as they know it as the social platform takes on a new form under Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Twitter network known as 'Black Twitter' is finding humor in the potential end of the unofficial community. Black users are sharing laughs and meaningful tributes to their time on Twitter as many mull leaving. Non-Black users are also chiming in to attribute Twitter's success to the Black Twitter network. For the uninitiated, Black Twitter is the unofficial online network of Black Twitter users. Some even promised to follow Black users if they chose to leave Twitter for another platform.

☆ Influencers debate leaving Twitter, but where would they go?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

PHILADELPHIA — Pariss Chandler built a community for Black tech workers on Twitter that eventually became the foundation for her own recruitment company. I have lost hope in that,” said Chandler, 31, founder of Black Tech Pipeline, a jobs board and recruitment website. She now has more than 60,000 followers and her own company connecting Black tech workers with companies large and small. “This is the exact reason that Musk bought Twitter and didn’t just build his own social network,” Donovan said. “I’m personally going to stay on Twitter until there is really not a reason to stay anymore.

☆ How the filmmakers behind ‘Till’ depicted Black trauma without showing violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The problem with ‘Black trauma porn’“Black trauma porn” – much like “disaster porn” or “poverty porn” – generally refers to graphic depictions of violence against Black people that are intended to elicit strong emotional responses. The implication is that these images can be needlessly traumatizing to Black viewers for whom violence is an inescapable fact of life. “There’s a difference between telling a story of Black trauma and telling a story that is ‘Black trauma porn.’”How Till avoids the trap of ‘trauma porn’What, then, is the line between a story of Black trauma and “Black trauma porn?”For Young, the distinguishing factor is context. Put bluntly, is that depiction of Black trauma intended to appeal to the sympathies of White people? It’s notable that many of the recent projects deemed to be “Black trauma porn” have been the work of Black creatives – an obvious reminder that Black people are not a monolith.

☆ Chick-fil-A apologizes after viral tweet from company account sparks accusations of racism
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Chick-fil-A has faced backlash after a tweet from its account sparked accusations of racism. Chick-fil-A has previously faced criticism for its stance on LGBTQ rights. On September 9, the restaurant chain responded to a tweet posted by a Black Twitter user, with the username Don, about the chain's Spicy Chicken Nuggets. The response garnered almost 9,000 retweets, with users accusing the company of using racially insensitive language with the phrase "your community." Chick-fil-A has faced backlash in the past for its stance on LGBTQ issues.

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