A new sort of blog for 2024
Last year I started a new side project, Boredable, an idea for a social network I want to explore. I’ve also been kicking around the idea of building a game lately. Sometimes I have ideas that I want to share, but might not be fully thought out, or not long enough for a regular post. I could use Threads or Mastodon for this, but I also like owning my posts. I don’t know if something I write on a social platform is going to be available a year or even 6 months from now. I also like to go back an
The value of X (Twitter) has fallen 71% since Musk's purchase
According to Fidelity, a mutual fund owning a stake in X Holdings, the platform's value has dropped by 71.5% since Musk's $44 billion purchase in October 2022. This valuation places X at approximately $12.5 billion. The platform has seen a 15% drop in monthly users in the first year under Musk's leadership, amidst rising concerns over increased hate speech. Musk's tenure has also been marked by substantial staff cuts, reduced moderation, and a warning from the European Union about the high ratio
X was Down (again)
X experienced yet another significant outage lasting over an hour. During this time, users were unable to refresh their timelines on mobile apps, and the web version displayed a generic welcome message. Netblocks confirmed the outage as significant and international, not related to country-level blocks. While timelines were inaccessible, users could still post, and notifications for new posts were functioning. The outage also affected the visibility of accounts like Elon Musk's and current CEO L
X outage broke all outgoing links (again)
X experienced an outage where all outgoing links stopped functioning, redirecting users to an error page with a quirky message. This issue, which lasted for about an hour, is reminiscent of a similar incident in March when links and images were taken down due to an internal change gone wrong. The March outage was attributed to a mistake by the site's sole remaining site reliability engineer following massive layoffs. The recent outage was resolved without any public acknowledgment from X's supp
Elon Musk tells advertisers to "Go fuck yourself"
At the DealBook Summit in New York, Elon Musk expressed strong disdain for advertisers boycotting the platform due to his amplification of antisemitic posts. He accused the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of trying to "kill X" by urging advertisers to avoid the site and responded to perceived blackmail attempts over advertising with a blunt "Go f— yourself." Musk singled out Disney CEO Bob Iger during his remarks and suggested that his fans might boycott advertisers in retaliation. Despite recent a
X sues Media Matters for America
Elon Musk's X Corp. has sued Media Matters for America, alleging defamation after the nonprofit reported that ads on X were shown next to pro-Nazi content, causing advertisers to pull out. The lawsuit claims Media Matters used deceptive tactics to make such ad pairings appear more common than they were. X CEO Linda Yaccarino defended the platform, asserting that these pairings were not widely seen by users. In response, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into Media M
