But it actually undermines your point. You're arguing that Twitter as it exists today is somehow inherently "democratic" and run in the public interest because some users subsidize others. And that's just incorrect; those users subsidize the others because it is in their financial interest to do so. They want their ads to show where the eyeballs are, that's all. If the economics changed and it suddenly became more attractive for the paying users (the advertisers) for Twitter to be an exclusive gated community, that's what Twitter would become. It is responsive to market forces, so in that sense it's a very capitalist institution.
Which is not a bad thing! I'm not saying that Twitter employees should run up the red flag and seize control of the means of production. I'm just saying that Twitter is a business, which is to say that it's an enterprise designed to enrich those who set it up. The fact that currently the easiest way to make that happen is to let some people use it free is tangential to that.
Not unless they are clicking on the ads to ensure that Twitter can make money. More likely, they're clicking because they wish the purchase the good or service the advertiser is offering. Consumption is not subsidy. You might as well argue that the chattering masses are subsidizing a viral marketing platform for the consumer goods sector.
You aren't using hyperbole. You're just using language incorrectly. Socialism isn't Twitter's practices taken to extremes - it's something wholly different.
Comments
It's not meant to be taken literally. I'm using a figure of speech called hyperbole to drive a point.
But it actually undermines your point. You're arguing that Twitter as it exists today is somehow inherently "democratic" and run in the public interest because some users subsidize others. And that's just incorrect; those users subsidize the others because it is in their financial interest to do so. They want their ads to show where the eyeballs are, that's all. If the economics changed and it suddenly became more attractive for the paying users (the advertisers) for Twitter to be an exclusive gated community, that's what Twitter would become. It is responsive to market forces, so in that sense it's a very capitalist institution.
Which is not a bad thing! I'm not saying that Twitter employees should run up the red flag and seize control of the means of production. I'm just saying that Twitter is a business, which is to say that it's an enterprise designed to enrich those who set it up. The fact that currently the easiest way to make that happen is to let some people use it free is tangential to that.
You didn't understand my point. The advertisers are not the ones who subsidize users. Users who click on ads subsidize users who don't.
You are also repeating the last part of my post!
Not unless they are clicking on the ads to ensure that Twitter can make money. More likely, they're clicking because they wish the purchase the good or service the advertiser is offering. Consumption is not subsidy. You might as well argue that the chattering masses are subsidizing a viral marketing platform for the consumer goods sector.
You aren't using hyperbole. You're just using language incorrectly. Socialism isn't Twitter's practices taken to extremes - it's something wholly different.