from the benefits-of-exercising-due-diligence dept.
Elon Musk Isn't the First: Disney 'Almost' Bought Twitter Until Bob Iger Noticed These Red Flags:
Back in 2016 when the board of the Walt Disney Company was convinced of the rationale for buying Twitter, meticulous examination showed that a "substantial portion—not a majority" of the users were not real, former CEO Bob Iger said at the 2022 Code Conference, Vox reported.
[...] Iger's initial interest in the platform stemmed from his belief that Twitter would be an ideal global distribution channel for Disney, serving as a social network where news, sports, and entertainment could be disseminated to consumers.
Iger reportedly stated that Disney, which is not a technology firm, thought it could benefit from a technology solution for getting its intellectual property in front of consumers. He said that at the time building a platform would have cost them $500 million and taken five years. He added that the world was changing quickly. So, money wasn't the issue, it was the time.
[...] Following the revelation regarding the bot accounts, Disney discounted the value heavily and the deal was "pretty cheap," Iger said. Additionally, the former executive was concerned about the hate speech on Twitter and the potential to do "as much as good," he said. "We're in the business of manufacturing fun at Disney—of doing nothing but good."
If you aren't a fan of Twitter now, imagine Twitter as a platform for getting the Disney intellectual property in front of you.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Opportunist on Thursday September 15 2022, @06:59AM (2 children)
I mean, how inapt do you have to be if even Iger is better at smelling a rat than you?
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2022, @09:30AM (1 child)
I bet at least he can write inept.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Opportunist on Thursday September 15 2022, @10:30AM
I can do that too, but then, I couldn't show someone up who doesn't know that both exist.
(Score: 4, Flamebait) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday September 15 2022, @08:22AM (6 children)
More worryingly, do you want Disney controlling the public and political discourse in this country?
(Score: 3, Informative) by MIRV888 on Thursday September 15 2022, @11:54AM (4 children)
Twitter doesn't constitute the public and political discourse of this country.
280 characters doesn't allow for expressing complex ideas, arguments, or issues
A couple sentences won't do it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by crotherm on Thursday September 15 2022, @02:52PM
Twitter shouldn't be used for political discourse because of its all its limitations and issues. The fact that it does, I think most here would agree, is horrifying.
Wonder what twitter would look like if Disney did but them?
(Score: 5, Touché) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday September 15 2022, @03:16PM (1 child)
Yes it does. Elected officials and political leaders use it ALL THE TIME to feed simplistic one-liners, lies and piss-poor propagada to their credulous, social-media-addicted constituency - most notably the previous POTUS. Like it or hate it, Twitter is a major force that shapes opinions and events.
(Score: 2) by SomeRandomGeek on Thursday September 15 2022, @05:50PM
I do not now and never have used Twitter. And yet I too was subjected to all of that guys tweets. Because the media that I do read re-posted them. So, I think you overestimate the impact of Twitter. Elected officials and political leaders will find a way to feed simplistic one-liners, lies and piss-poor propaganda to their credulous, social-media-addicted constituency, regardless of what happens to Twitter.
(Score: 4, Touché) by tangomargarine on Thursday September 15 2022, @04:13PM
You clearly haven't seen some weirdo do an 11-part post on Twitter instead of using a proper blog before, then :P
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Informative) by Gaaark on Thursday September 15 2022, @04:55PM
My first thought was "I don't care; i don't use Twitter". But then, so many others do AND so many are entirely influenced by 'influencers' (aka, losers) and then the whole thing gets scary.
Disney controls SOOOooo much nowadays that all they touch gets scary.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2022, @08:46AM (2 children)
Disney has mutated far beyond what I fell in love with as a kid.
They rank with me now about the same as those TV "thousand dollar seed" preachers.
Even a day at a Disney park is remembered as a day spent waiting in line while everyone else with special privileges goes first. Way overpriced food and expensive memorabilia priced for the one-percenters.
Not a place I would want to take kids unless I want to show them what we can't afford.
I can definitely see Disney taking their marketing directly to kids, as I don't think the parents can be counted on to continue the Mickey Mouse club anymore.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 15 2022, @02:22PM (1 child)
I'm with you there. When Disney started monkeying with copyright extensions i banned them from my life. My kids don't know Disney at all. They have never pestered me to take them to Disneyland or buy them Disney merchandise.
When Disney destroyed Star Wars and then the MCU, it only hardened my disdain into hatred. So, those two franchises are dead to us now, too. And you know what? My kids could care less. They want to chat with their friends or play online video games. Disney was so hawkish about protecting their IP that it has lost all currency for all time with the new generations.
If you want entertainment, there are a million other avenues now. Disney is a remote also-ran. If you want amusement park rides, Cedar Point is vastly superior and much cheaper.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Spamalope on Thursday September 15 2022, @03:55PM
Yes! When Disney backed DMCA made it a crime to remove Sony malware from a Celene Dion CD a co-worker listened to that prevented Turbo Tax from installing due to (also BS) copy protection I became militant vs both Sony and Disney products, and have seen them just double down so I've kept the policy.
(Score: 2) by HammeredGlass on Thursday September 15 2022, @05:43PM
Hahahahahaahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahaaha
Current thing doesn't get swapped out so effectively in the processing cores of the NPCs when those entities are not aligned already.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Thursday September 15 2022, @10:02PM
I don't think those are the words people typically use [youtu.be] to describe them.