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David Graf's avatar

On a separate subject, do the choices made by Trump for his cabinet give you any grounds for concern?

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Peter Venetoklis's avatar

Yep, totally separate subject. I've raised eyebrows at a couple of them, and I believe that Gaetz will not be confirmed by the Senate, but I'm trying not to project too much, and instead am trying to wait and see what they do.

There is a flip side, that I don't see acknowledged enough. Some choices - and I'd argue if I were to scorecard this all - that more of his picks give me hope than concern. I am bullish on more than I am bearish by a good margin.

Before you ask, no, I'm not going to list them :).

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David Graf's avatar

I hope you're right. Regarding Twitter, I can understand why advertisers have left the platform in large numbers. You don't want your company's ads associated with comments which might offend your target audience for your goods.

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Dr Mantis Toboggan's avatar

And yet they hung on during the echo chamber era. It’s pretty clear there was a lot of messaging that was a lot offensive to a lot of people, and the silencing of any rebuttal was über offensive. Yet they were happy to carry on, and offend what turned out to be solidly half (a bit more than half) of the electorate.

Of course Twitter was silencing the opposition, so their advertising was careening around an echo chamber, pinball-like. Not such a docile audience today, I guess.

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David Graf's avatar

I wouldn't want my company's ads posted next to racist comments and so forth.

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Peter Venetoklis's avatar

You keep harping on the "racist comments" bit. How much of what goes on on X now is "racist comments?" It feels like a straw man.

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David Graf's avatar

Considering that I have nothing to do with Twitter and I suspect that there would be disagreement over what constituted s racist comment, I can't provide you with statistics. It's sufficient for most advertisers to not take the chance of damaging their products.

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Peter Venetoklis's avatar

I believe most companies are craven cowards in that regard, and I believe that many of them advertised there because they feared the cancel mob if they did not.

Just as you had to be actively "anti-racist" to please the loons, you had to be an active participant in their lunacy in other ways. Opting out wasn't an option.

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David Graf's avatar

You don't do your business any favors by associating it with comments which torque off your customers. That may be craven but it makes good sense.

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Peter Venetoklis's avatar

But, also consider that it's OK to offend *some* parts of the audience, and it's *their* fault for being offended. The Bud Light fiasco reflects that.

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David Graf's avatar

The left can be condescending. Bud Light is a textbook example of how things backfire when you torque off your customers. That's why advertisers are skittish of Twitter. Twitter may or may not be a good thing but it's now a minefield for advertisers.

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Cheryl H's avatar

Target has never recovered from their lgbtq spectacle. Their shares fell 20% yesterday after their quarterly reports were posted. We find a way to speak our values with our pocketbooks. On the other hand, X is thriving while Facebook's reputation and user engagement are falling down 9%-10% per year.

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David Graf's avatar

Twitter isn't doing that well especially when it comes to revenue.

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David Graf's avatar

According to the article, they're returning out of fear now that Trump will be entering the White House. That's hardly a stellar recommendation.

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Peter Venetoklis's avatar

How would that be any different from their previous fear of the Woke Mob?

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David Graf's avatar

Was it really fear of the "Woke Mob" or concern that their ads would appear next to comments which would turn off their customers? And, if it is fear of retaliation drawing them back to Twitter, doesn't that concern you?

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Daniel Anderson's avatar

Liz & I are also bingeing Elementary. Lucy Liu sizzles with her boots and short skirts 😍

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Peter Venetoklis's avatar

Yeah, she had a ton of style. In fact, there was an episode where someone complimentarily asked her "who dresses you?" She abashedly said "I do."

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Daniel Anderson's avatar

For some reason, Yogi springs to mind: *You can observe a lot just by watching* 😂🤣

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chad's avatar

If you like Elementary, check out Sherlock (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) when you have a chance. He plays the role incredibly well (though my favorite will always be Jeremy Brett in the Simon & Schuster making of the Sherlock Holmes tales from the actual Doyle stories). Martin Freeman also makes an excellent Watson to Cumberbatch's Holmes.

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Peter Venetoklis's avatar

I'm all caught up on Sherlock. My wife and I have a thing for UK procedurals, and we've watched a lot of them.

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chad's avatar

Cool. I'm just catching up on your posts over the past couple of weeks. Haven't had a lot of time to read lately.

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