Twitter aren’t having the best time of it right now, with even CEO Jack Dorsey branding his platform “confusing”. This week, they entered talks with Yahoo over a potential merger, which brings to mind an unlikely 3am romance between two party goers, bored of watching Facebook and Google dominate the dancefloor (with Snapchat happily chilling on its own and looking all the cooler for it).
But jokes aside, a merger could mean a stronger Twitter, and a stronger Twitter will slow down the single platform dominance that threatens social media. That’s important. Social media’s value comes from its variety, and we’ve seen far too few new platforms keeping up momentum after an initial buzz for our liking recently.
Don’t expect Facebook to stop growing anytime soon either. Its board have begun planning for a post-Zuckerberg future, starting motions through the courts to ensure his family cannot inherit the company if he leaves, or dies. Or as they say, “These new terms thus ensure that we will not remain a founder-controlled company after we cease to be a founder-led company.”
It’s important – no new CEO wants to work for a powerful founder – so the decision means getting top talent for the top role will be easier for the rest of the company’s life.
Google meanwhile is reportedly thinking hard about its own future. No boardroom transitions here, however. It’s worried about Skynet. Yes, the one from Terminator.
How do we know? Because its elite-AI facility has released a paper detailing an AI ‘kill switch’ for use in emergencies.
Ahh, now even the geekiest Squid can sleep soundly tonight.
