Hi! In case you are new around here, I am Om. If you are new around here, here is something About Me and why you should read my newsletter. In this letter, I share what’s on my mind, my latest writings, articles worth reading from around the web, my recommendations & sometimes my photography. It’s mostly about technology and how it impacts our present future.
In this issue, I address the following:
- What I have been up to
- Twitter is the new Fox news
- Some of my recent pieces
- Three Good Reads
***
What I have been up to:
That took longer than I thought, but having a proper mental reset was a good payoff. I went to Japan and did a lot walking, eating, and reading. It was an opportune time to take a break — we were making some tiny tweaks to the blog and switching my email platform. I have streamlined it into four sections: blog, essays, interviews, and photography content. I expect to increase the pace of blogging!
Regular service is now resuming!
***
What am I thinking about?
“Media power is political power,” author Ben-Hur Haig Bagdikian wrote in his book, The Media Monopoly. So it is hardly surprising that rich guys want to buy newspaper companies. The tech billionaires Jeff Bezos (The Washington Post) and Marc Benioff (Time magazine) are the latest who have called for the lure of access and power. Unlike others, I don’t buy Bezos or Benioff’s comments about being egalitarian stewards of the fourth estate. Most tech barons are as driven by ego and power as those who sling fossil fuels and run casinos.
Media has been a kingmaker for the longest time — but the Internet has upended that reality. Sources go direct on social networks, and it has eroded the importance of media outlets. On social networks or in search results, an article from the vaunted New York Times appears next to an article from a no-name content farm or an ad for some dubious consumer products company. The media premium is gone.
And perhaps that is why even if I had all the money — I don’t — I wouldn’t be buying a television network or a newspaper or magazine company. Instead, I would be betting big on the Internet.
My money would go towards snapping up something that sways, controls, and monopolizes attention with ruthless precision at scale — a social network. And that’s why in hindsight, Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (despite being overpriced and messy) is turning out to be a great strategic acquisition for the space cowboy. Twitter is an unencumbered purchase for Musk as it doesn’t have to kowtow to the conventional rules of organized journalism. And now that Twitter has disbanded its checks-and-balances unit, the platform does not distinguish between news, rumors, opinions, marketing, and innuendo.
When he made a bid for Twitter, I wrote a series of posts, pointing out that, in the end, this is about Elon getting his “bully pulpit.” And what a pulpit he has: whether you want to hear from him or not, you are his tweets on crammed down in your feeds. He has added nearly 40 million more followers, a mission accomplished in many ways.
Twitter isn’t going to return anything in financial terms. However, it is a strategic weapon for Musk and his larger goals. In my latest piece for The Spectator, I point out that with Fox News and Rupert Murdoch waning in power, Musk has positioned himself as the new Murdoch and Twitter as the new Fox. Cable television is at the mercy of cable network owners and the benevolence of cable TV subscribers. Cord cutting is accelerating. Linda Yaccarino, who spent most of the past decade mocking online platforms, is the new CEO of Twitter — is the final proof. It is unsurprising that Tucker Carlson will launch his new show on Twitter and not on some cable platform.
As for Musk, unlike Bezos or Benioff, he has no qualms about using his power and turning his proverbial hose in any direction — as long as it ends with an emoji.
Additional Reading:
Elon Musk has turned Twitter is post TV Fox News. The Spectator.
Bob Lefsetz on Tucker on Twitter.
***
Some of my writings:
- Robots, AI, and the future of fast food: From chatbots to robots, the Fast Food industry is embracing new AI and automation technologies, which will impact those who work for the industry and our physical spaces.
- Substack spam is rising. And so is the annoyance with newsletters.
- India was the shining growth story for global broadband in 2022. The developed world growth, however, has started to slow.
- In case you are interested, here is a compendium of some of my tweets from when I was away.
- What is a good teacher?
Worth Reading:
- Software companies force us to upgrade their software, not to improve our lives but to further their financial goals. At least one creative has had enough. Constant software upgrades disrupted his creative process so much that Damon Krukowski is saying no to upgrades. He is disconnecting his music studio software from the Internet. And he explains why.
- As the name suggests, the confessions of a corporate spy is a great story that leaves you incredulous.
- Why are TV writers so miserable? This is a good piece that explains why there is a writer strike in Hollywood. (Hint: Streaming has something to do with it.)
See you all in two weeks!
May 15, 2023. San Francisco