this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2023
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X is reportedly selling inactive usernames for $50,000 — The move is the platform’s latest attempt to raise revenue::undefined

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[–] Uglyhead 85 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Musk claimed that “vast numbers of handles were consumed by bots/trolls” and that he was “aiming to start freeing those up next month.”

So Phony Stark is going to start taking anyone’s Twitter handle that he considers a troll and selling them.

[–] Jeffool 68 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Seems like a good time to remind everyone just a few months ago he took two active usernames from their users without warning. Both @x and @music were in use and taken by Musk with no warning and no recompense.

At this rate I see it as completely possible that someone buys one, and the first time they don't update within whatever Musk feels like is "too long" that day, he takes it back with no warning.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What a lovely idea, i want to buy a car from him

[–] beebarfbadger 3 points 10 months ago

One that runs over grannies on its own or one that runs over grannies while looking like a crumpled up F-117?

[–] [email protected] 47 points 10 months ago

My account might be worth $50k? Any offers here? 1/2 price fire sale here on Lemmy, only $27k!

[–] [email protected] 41 points 10 months ago (2 children)

This guy is speedrunning enshittification.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

He's new in the social media business. Has some catching up to do

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Miss the times when I was thinking he is speedrunning Factorio.

[–] Tygr 36 points 10 months ago (2 children)

These aren’t 3-letter dictionary word .com domains Elon. Nobody will pay that on a service that’s devaluing by the hour.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

My guess is that crypto scammers are the ones more likely to buy some of the inactive handles

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago (1 children)

He'll really do anything except the things we all know will bring the advertisers back.

[–] dasgoat 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Like kick nazis off his platform. He's committed to being the worst possible bussinessman

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago
[–] Nonononoki 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Someone's gonna buy realDonaldTrump and pretend it's the real one lmao

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Someone is going to pay $50K to pretend

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago

Tell me you're desperate without telling me you're desperate...

[–] WhatAmLemmy 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like the intention's to force existing users/companies to continue using the platform, or he'll sell their brand to someone else who could damage it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

If this was the intention, it might backfire.

If you're not active on Twitter but you don't want your account stolen, is it easier to become active or just use some service to post drivel every few days.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Finally Netflix can rename their DVD division to Quickster!

[–] aleq 4 points 10 months ago

I think the DVD division finally shut down a few weeks ago. Read about it in the same breath that I learned it still existed.

[–] Godric 12 points 10 months ago

Q: What's the fastest way to make a social media company worth $20 billion?

A: Start at $55 billion and do whatever the fuck the Muskrat is doing!

It would genuinely funny to watch one of the largest, most socially relevant websites commit suicide in real time, of it wasn't so sad

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

How is this guy one of the richest in the world? This is on the level of used car salesman.

[–] Khanzarate 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

He started rich, invested in a relatively early online bank that did decently, was CEO, got voted out of being CEO and they put someone competent in that position, where it evolved into Paypal. EBay bought PayPal for 1.5 billion dollars, and that gave Musk a stupid amount of money to throw at things, like founding spaceX and buying into Tesla very early. spaceX and Tesla have competent people.

Honestly, as far as I can tell, his whole business life has been coming up with ideas, finding competent people to help make those ideas reality, and then getting replaced with those people, leaving him with a large amount of money and time to repeat the loop. He also seems to be a good engineer for spaceX. If he didn't start rich, he'd be chief engineer somewhere and do a good job, but instead, he fucks up businesses and then usually gets removed. In twitter's case, though, he bought it personally, and there's no shareholders to kick him out, so all the business stupidity has to play out.

[–] pensivepangolin 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Close!

He doesn’t come up with anything. He just got lucky buying into other people’s companies based on their ideas.

[–] Khanzarate 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Do you have a source? I admit mine aren't for sure free of bias, but I'm pretty confident X.com, the online banking company, was actually his.

PayPal (the service) wasn't, and it was eventually so important that they renamed the company after the service, so he's not doing great here, but he wasn't completely devoid of good ideas.

I wonder what happened to that, because he certainly is devoid of ideas now.

[–] pensivepangolin 1 points 10 months ago

Okay so a cursory reading of Wikipedia (yeah I know, not the most credible) shows that you are correct about him being one of the key players in starting the online bank X.com with Peter Thiel and crew.

I concede that point! My apologies for casting aspersions.

[–] Uglyhead 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Ooo, mention the part where when wanting to start SpaceX, Muskrat travelled the world trying to buy technology, while being what must have been a complete shite in Russia, a top Russian space scientist spat on him.

[–] Khanzarate 2 points 10 months ago

Well-deserved as far as I can tell. Had to get an expert to come with him before they'd even consider again.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

Only need to sell 40,000 to make up the current loss amount.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

Only if it comes with an nft.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Domain names? Who needs them when you can buy a nickname on rusted platform!

[–] beebarfbadger 1 points 10 months ago

Last step left is formerly-twitter selling digital hats.

[–] JeeBaiChow 7 points 10 months ago

Pretty much expected. No one really deletes anything. It's just marked as inactive and hidden from public view. Then the data raping can begin.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Aren't there some sites that allow Twitter login as login for their site? I wonder if you keep the same token and can identify as them.

Tbh I haven't done anything like this on a technical level yet, so maybe it's not possible.

[–] rolling_resistance 4 points 10 months ago

I don't think they use handle as a profile identifier.

[–] dyc3 3 points 10 months ago

Nah, they use a unique identifier other than your handle because you can change your handle.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Fascism and desperation. Name a better duo.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

That's seem like an accurate and fair price point for a username.

Sign me up! I'll take 2 please.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That means I could buy elron_has_a_small_peepee now?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Sorry dude, you have to bid and I'm playing $$$

[–] satans_crackpipe 3 points 10 months ago

This reads more like "twitter.com is reportedly attempting to sell dusty office furniture".

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I hope nobody buys anything from X, ever again