Create

Why is 'RIP Twitter' trending on the social media platform? Elon Musk's reign sparks memefest online

#RIPTwitter trending on the platfom (Image via Getty Images)
#RIPTwitter trending on the platfom (Image via Getty Images)

The #RIPTwitter is trending on the platform amidst mass lay-offs and user sign-offs. Elon Musk acquired the social media platform on October 27, 2022, and since then the microblogging platform has been in the news consistently for the wrong reasons.

The reason for the company's downhill tumble can be attributed to its chaotic schemes and mismanaged policies. These include lay-offs that reduced the workforce to almost half, the blue check subscription program, and subsequent parody accounts that cropped up.

Elon Musk recently proposed an 'extremely hardcore' reset for the company. In an email sent to its employees that was obtained by The Verge, the Tesla founder wrote:

"Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade."
youtube-cover

On November 16, 2022, Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to staff: commit to working 'hardcore' or take severance pay and leave.

In the wake of this news, about 75% of its remaining employees allegedly planned to refuse the proposal, according to a tech reporter, Kylie Robinson, @kyliebytes.

Image via Twitter/@kyliebytes
Image via Twitter/@kyliebytes

Additionally, employee badges and access were disabled till Monday, which has led to many questioning if this is the end of the microblogging platform. Many of the power users are signing off from the platform as a result, including Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali, journalist Aaron Rupar, and influencer Mitchell Nagy.

Most Twitteratis are using the hashtag #RIPTwitter or #TwitterDown to discuss this chaos and express their concerns.


"Goodbye Twitter, been a good run": Netizens react to company drama

With many left wondering about the future of the microblogging platform, users have taken to making some hilarious and witty tweets. Here are some of the best ones:

if this is my very last tweet, i just gotta say one thing -- I will never, ever, buy a Tesla
Gentlemen, it has been a privilege tweeting with you tonight.#RIPTwitter https://t.co/wDRHyWhwf3
So, roughly 25% of the workforce at Twitter has to stay because they have work visas, and Elon says they are shutting down for the weekend.Did he really think this "work harder or leave" ultimatum was going to work?Everyone who can leave *is* leaving.#RIPTwitter twitter.com/kyliebytes/sta…
Me looking back at my three followers one last time since Twitter about to shut down #RIPTwitter #TwitterDown https://t.co/1MITBwhlZB
it has been a pleasure shitposting with you all #RIPTwitter

Additionally, many have shown appreciation for the old company's management over the new one under Musk. Here are some of the comments seen on the platform:

Twitter was often a hellscape, but it was also a diverse community that rallied to help save my daughter's life. I shared her story of needing a liver donor for her Stage 4 Cancer, & thankfully @ShawnZed read the tweets, & now she's alive & a cute diva. God is good. #RIPTwitter
Musk turned one of the biggest sites on the internet into a crater within a month.I never want to hear anyone call him other than a dipshit ever again.Twitter HQRIP Twitter
Ex-Twitter employees pitching investors next week. #RIPTwitter https://t.co/aQe1Zpl2GT
If Twitter really is gone tomorrow, it was a pleasure being here ✌🏻#RIPTwitter https://t.co/DQuNVyZLAW
Whatever happens to Twitter, its employees did the right thing defying Elon Musk. His sense of entitlement to their labor is unacceptable and no one should have to put up with his manipulative, exploitative BS. I only wish they’d unionized! #RIPTwitter

After the acquisition, the new CEO immediately announced a slew of new features to reduce bot accounts, make algorithms open-sourced, and promote free speech.

In an attempt to combat the spam bots, Musk announced the launch of a $7.99 per month subscription service for users to get the blue tick. The decision was questioned by a number of people as the blue tick was previously used by verified government accounts, notable figures, and other vetted users. After a number of issues arose, the scheme was halted by the micro-blogging site.

In addition to all this, the company also laid off nearly half of its workforce, in an effort to combat the company supposedly losing $4 million on a daily basis. The layoffs were highly mismanaged, as many employees claimed that they were not informed of their job termination.

The company reportedly even asked many ex-employees to return. According to the Deccan Herald, Musk laid off about 3,800 full-time employees and 5,000 contractual workers and is "getting rid" of anyone who criticizes him.

@unusual_whales I would like to apologize for firing these geniuses. Their immense talent will no doubt be of great use elsewhere.

Allegedly, many employees told Bloomberg that at least 20 employees were let go after criticizing Musk on various internet platforms. Here are some of the tweets by former employees:

For those saying that criticizing should be done in private: I have reports for a number of employees similarly terminated the past 24 hours who were criticizing Musk's tweet on an internal Slack watercooler channel. Some criticized other eng leaders.~10 people, as I hear.
That’s it for me. 8.5 years as an SRE at Twitter and I’ve just been fired. I’m grateful to all my colleagues for getting to learn from and grow with you all. I’m proud of the thing we built. I’m sad to see what’s happened to it. Looking forward to taking a break 🫡💙
Welp that’s it for me folks!“Your recent behavior has violated company policy.”If you ask me why exactly I really don’t know 🫡
After 12 amazing years and 3 weeks of chaos, I’m officially fired by Twitter. Never expected I would have stayed this long, and never expected I would be this relieved to be gone. I have a lot of stories to tell. But to my fellow (ex-)tweeps-#LoveWhereYouWorked 🫡 https://t.co/lVWbqpcSXO

The company no longer has a communications department to contact for comment.

Quick Links

Edited by Prem Deshpande
Be the first one to comment