Can Elon Musk, Twitter deal begin a new social media paradigm?

Musk has been advocating the subscription route. But if he wants to maintain the public town square idea, he will have to blend advertising with subscriptions. 

Twitter responded to Elon Musk’s “best and final” offer to buy it out with an “yes”. A nearly month-long cat and mouse game neared the climax. And along with it, social media, as we know it, could well enter into a new paradigm.

The acquisition could still fall through. But, if it goes ahead, the deal would be one of the biggest takeovers of a tech company, and alter the direction of social media. Could Musk’s vision of the platform’s future be different from how we have come to experience social platforms?

After building his stake at Twitter to 9.2% earlier in April, Tesla CEO said he invested in the platform as he sees it as an enabler of free speech around the world. And added that since making that investment “I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”

So, once the deal goes through, Musk would take the company private. That single step would take the micro-blogging site off regulatory scrutiny and the need to make public filings about its hits and misses.

Beyond the breather from releasing quarterly reports, Musk can also avoid having to think about fitful shareholders and fickle board members. Consider how quickly the board accepted Musk’s offer after he rebuffed their invitation to take the board seat. It reveals the company’s precarious condition and the board’s fickle nature.

Also, taking the company private will give the micro-blogging site much needed time to tinker and restructure its product. And for a social platform, there are only two ways to make money: sell ads or monetise subscription.

Musk has been advocating the subscription route. But if he wants to maintain the public town square idea, he will have to blend advertising with subscriptions.