Twitter TV Ad

I believe the ad Twitter ran at the Oscars last night is their first TV ad.

If so, I am a fan.

It was an anchor to a hashtag conversation and took on a topic of cultural relevance.

It speaks to the power of Twitter to be a force for good in the world.

I understand that Twitter is used by all sorts of bad people and for all sorts of bad things.

That is the challenge of operating a real-time, open, global communication system.

But it is also true that Twitter is used by all sorts of good people and for all sorts of good things.

And the ad reminded me and everyone of that last night.

Disclosure: My wife and I are long TWTR.

#Current Affairs

Comments (Archived):

  1. Richard

    Why doesn’t Twitter put ads on Twitter promoting Twitter ?

    1. ShanaC

      they do

  2. Richard

    Any idea of the cost per viewer for this ad?

    1. JamesHRH

      Very, very targeting audience – social circle of senior execs, other 1%ers.

      1. ShanaC

        it can’t be THAT targeted, Nielsen reports 26.5ish million viewers

  3. awaldstein

    I like that Twitter is active and a service for all to use.As a company though, like Facebook, they are hard to love as a brand as I’ve never felt they took a stand or believed in something.Maybe that is changing. Which is good.In many cases I don’t do business with companies that don’t take a stand. Voting with my dollars is as relevant as voting at the ballot box.

    1. LE

      In many cases I don’t do business with companies that don’t take a stand. You use twitter. So I assume you see twitter as a utility more than a brand?I don’t even come close to doing anything like that. In fact Patagonia did something that pissed me off (don’t remember even what it was) but I still buy their clothing and will give them money. The product is good and that is why. Not going to cut my nose to spite as the saying goes. Don’t agree with what cloudflare has done but would still use and recommend the product. [1]Also not going to not patronize a company because some top execs did something objectionable (and as I have said punish the employees, vendors and so on).Lastly while there is no problem with voting with your dollars I don’t follow mob mentality and make decisions based on what the popular consensus is.[1] After all is anyone proactively investigating and vetting brands and companies that they use? Or just reacting after the fact to what they read in the news even though the same behavior could reside everywhere.

      1. awaldstein

        We have a different point of view on this is all.I think I”m spiting myself by not doing this.

    2. JamesHRH

      This is another great comment. You are on a roll.Twitter’s problem is the CEO, who cannot find someone to define the brand for him and who cannot do it himself.Your ‘take a stand’ reaction is a good one – it points users to a general set of principles through a specific instance.If Twitter had any guts, it would say:- Twitter lets people converse- People from anywhere- Chatting about anything- On the whole, that’s a positive for society.- How much of a positive is it? Well, that’s up to you.The gutless move is the Google move – lean hard into the zeitgeist and feed people’s feels. If you want to know how that works out long term, check Justin Trudeau’s popularity numbers in Canada. Or think Pepsi & Kendall Jenner.Know what your job is, do it.

      1. ShanaC

        There’s a great article in the atlantic about people chatting and the meaning of free speech, dating from Athenian Greek ideas based on two different words they had for free speech:isegoria described the equal right of citizens to participate in public debate in the democratic assembly; parrhesia, the license to say what one pleased, how and when one pleased, and to whom.https://www.theatlantic.com…Which one is the positive for society?

        1. JamesHRH

          Both are neutral but vital.

    3. PhilipSugar

      You could say their stand is they don’t take a stand, that is what they believe. And I agree with that.Does the internet get used for terrible porn and other stuff? Yes.Facebook for bullying? Yes.Twitter for bad stuff? Yup.But none of this is new.Have there been terrible hateful books published because of the printing press? Certainly.I think Rush says it best: If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.Our forefathers believed this as they made freedom of speech the first amendment. Not the second, or tenth. They were ordered for a reason.

      1. awaldstein

        no–with that ad they did take a stand.and i’m sorry, the idea that it is acceptable as a brand to be a bully or a bigot or a whatever is not a free ride. not ok.

        1. PhilipSugar

          The question is who gets to decide. And yes Twitter is not a government entity. So they ultimately decide. But when we talk in our smug circles about blockchain decentralizing the internet I’d say I’d be long on it disrupting Twitter.

          1. awaldstein

            yes twitter like any other company gets to decide for themselves and by that decision they take a stand.by amazon refusing to disengage from the nra, they take a stand.the government is really no different than business on this front and live by their actions. support the nra you take a stand. support someone running for office who supports accused pedophiles there ya go.this is all how it should be.

          2. PhilipSugar

            Hey, everybody can do what they want. That is the beauty of the U.S.. But I am telling you jamming down “liberal politically correct” values on people has the same effect that jamming down “conservative evangelical values” has. (Quotes because they are not really my words or beliefs)You know my wife was back in Alabama for a week. They hate that guy. You know who many people hate more? Almost 50%???? People that try to jam down “liberal PC views”Damn that is one sad state of affairs. That is my only viewpoint in this post.Then the echo chamber says: YEA!!! We are winning!!! Uuuum no people hate you so much they would vote for that creep.Seriously. The NRA thinks if they give an inch, people will take a mile. Unfortunately that is not an unfounded view. That is also very sad.

          3. awaldstein

            I agree it is a mess.I also agree that you can’t convince others on the other side in almost 100% of the cases.So–We stumble forward and live hopefully to stumble another day.I continue to do what i can to insure that the current administration and his party is defeated and gone.Belief and actions is all anyone can do.

          4. JamesHRH

            Needs to be codified – not one off process.

          5. JamesHRH

            Why?

          1. awaldstein

            yes–you are what you believe and what you say and how you act indicates just that.if you as a political party support an accused pedophile and state publicly that you need the win and the moral issue is not relevant, then well that is who you are.If you put out an ad support the meto movement and the rights of women, then yes.

          2. obarthelemy

            You’re assuming ads are what a company believes.An ad is an ad is an ad. It’s there to get more customers. It’s usually made by an external agency that meets exactly 0 of the rank and file and few of the top brass outside of marcom. Co-opting whatever potential users want seems logical. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…A political party is a false equivalency, because political parties are indeed a lot about values, they’re not selling a product. Twitter is not a political party.

          3. awaldstein

            Disagree on all fronts.

          4. JamesHRH

            Company believes that ad is what they want in the market – so it’s what they believe.

          5. PhilipSugar

            Seriously not political, but do you think Twitter should block those posts?I mean yes they can. They can become CNN and a Fox alternative will pop up. That is my only view here and of that I am sure. Push on one end of a ballon and the air will simply go to the other.You split and polarize even further, and you lose half your market.I don’t think I’d feel very good about it as a shareholder.I can see saying we are not taking any money from any party (we actually do that) Or you take money from both.You are foregoing revenue, or pissing people off but you know if you work with one and ban the other, you half your audience.I mean you are viewing those tweets even though I am assuming you strongly disagree with them.Do you see those as “fake news” serious question. I can see how you say you don’t believe in whether they are wrong or what exactly happened. But there was a private server, Bengazi happened, Mark Rich died, and we did sell 20% of our Uranium to Russia.Again no political view stated here, but is it possible to see that “the other side” might view them with a different lense than you do?

          6. obarthelemy

            I don’t think they should block those posts.But I don’t think they should paint themselves as champion of #metoo and progressives in general while at the same time happily hosting the Pussygrabber-in-chief and lots of morally objectionable and factually incorrect things / users. Those posts were the first few phones that popped up when I searched for #lockherup. I’m sure there are much more objectionable & silly ones.It’s the “I’m wearing cool brands, so I’m cool” thing from back in high school. Now it’s I want my brands to… make progressive ads ??? So I can feel progressive for using them ? At the same time https://www.recode.net/2018… (could not find info on gender pay gap… I’m suuuuure such a progressive company has an unimpeachable public report on it though, riiight ?).That ad is lip service at its most hypocritical.

          7. PhilipSugar

            Ahhh….then we agree.As for gender gaps, if they really spent $5mm on that ad as was said, putting that money into teaching girls (and I mean starting at age 10) about programming and business. That is $500 a child for 10,000 kids.We don’t spend near that much, but we do a large percentage in not only money but time.Just me but I am a believer in doing and when people find out it is genuine not fake. See Matthew 6:2 and Mark 12:41 Sorry if that religion reference offends you.

          8. obarthelemy

            I try hard to be indifferent to religions. Around me, the good people are neither more nor less religious, but the “bad” people are more religious. Or maybe that’s my bias. My uncle sums it up as “an issue with revealed religions that feature a chosen people”. He thinks deeper than I do, I just go with there are issues with religions, same as with communism/fascism and psychology: they own an overriding Truth that can easily become perverted and clique-ish. So it entirely depends on what one does with it. Which begs the question: why does it try to be that overriding if it entirely depends on one’s take on it ? Anyhow, I’m straying, sorry. Pet peeve. I’ve got religious, communist and psychologist friends. Even, had a few far-right ones but that’s harder to tolerate, especially now.

          9. PhilipSugar

            See my other comment. Not really super religious and yes big organizations (all) become corrupt after several generations.I think it is a big circle. That is why I want to see more than two parties. Each party has to tolerate groups that I don’t think you really would. I just wish Libertarians would get their shit together more. Then that might fracture and splinter the existing parties.And people that profess too loudly to be religious, that is usually a sign.

        2. Matt A. Myers

          This ad in particular could be viewed or argued as being opportunistic. Would they have done the same for the gun’s and violence issue, for the patents issue that squashes innovation and increase the cost of living and lowers the quality of life for everyone — perhaps not because there won’t be 50%+ of people who actually care enough about the issue (likely only because they don’t understand or are aware of how much they impact them).Or maybe Twitter will start to ‘rally the troops’ via ads and they’re just getting started.What about educating the population about the Pyramid-Ponzi scheme structures of certain crypto-assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum’s Ether, etc? I wonder how many crypto-asset ICO advertisers there are, etc.It comes back to if they’re being opportunistic or there’s real leadership and a genuine motivation of rallying the troops for conversation via Twitter, how honest is their process and leadership, how free or aware of their bias are they – are they influenced by doing what’s right or by incoming revenue sources?

          1. awaldstein

            everyone is opportunistic.you never know the true motivation of just about anything.overthinking anything has never got anyone anywhere honestly.

          2. Matt A. Myers

            Being opportunistic while being selfish and lacking empathy vs. opportunistic being non-violent and with empathy – and without greed.”you never know the true motivation of just about anything” isn’t really an argument point, the start of one sure, though it’s empty on its own. And i’d disagree, unless someone’s self-awareness and therefore ability to trust is low. We’re all animals, we have fundamental motivations to have enough food and shelter, and then you go from there. And in reality the issue isn’t knowing the true motivation of someone anyway, you don’t need to know if someone was rejected from art school and that lead them to becoming Hitler, it’s how the person treats other people at their core, along with the integrity for that, that matters, e.g. a practice of non-violence; ignorance allows people very easily to harm people because of a variety of reasons including bias or incentives, etc.”overthinking anything has never got anyone anywhere honestly.”That’s quite the subtle put-down, pretty surprising from you – you who do more thinking than most; I guess you’re putting yourself down too then.

          3. awaldstein

            I have no idea what you are saying honestly or why the aggression towards me.

          4. Matt A. Myers

            Not sure why you’re perceiving it as aggression, I responded to your comment – just going into deep thought.

      2. falicon

        To be fair, it gets used for great porn too…:-P

        1. PhilipSugar

          Ok….funny. But I can tell you this as we had some people in the porn industry approach us to be customers…….We turned them down.Yes, some is just porn, which to me really means images of things you are never going to be…..I say TechCrunch and Fortune are capitalist porn. I remember Playboy as a kid in the 1970’s.But I spent two days looking into it, at the private AVN show in meetings. Not at the trade show they open up to take advantage of the CES attendees. (they charge them $150 admission, I might question who is getting taken advantage of)But it gets REALLY ugly really fast. My mind cannot un-see or un-hear some things. I will never post, but let me assure you in some ways it makes prostitution seem tame. It is like the WWE, I thought funny with Hulk Hogan, Macho Man. Now it has to keep getting more over the top.If I could un-do that trip I would.

          1. falicon

            I’m with ya…difficult to be involved in the internet space since the early days and not have at least a porn story or two.Maybe telling those stories in our tell-all book can be a part of our retirement plan…someday 😉

          2. LE

            I think it depends on the details honestly. Would be interesting if there was an opportunity what my wife would say. If it was ok with her it would be ok with me. I don’t even know. Would depend on the dollars involved. Would I rent commercial space to someone doing that? Not if I could get a doctor to rent. But what if I couldn’t? I turned down a lease from an abortion clinic. Not because I am against abortion but because I didn’t want damage and protests.The guy that gave me the biggest gift at my bar mitzvah gave me $1000 in today’s dollars. He owned a few porn shops on Arch street in Philly. His stepson worked for him. I remember him saying ‘oh we have judges, lawyers and doctors coming in here’.Of course I took the $1000 (equivalent) because well money is money. Not like I donated it (well parents control that anyway). So in a sense where do you draw the line? Simply where you feel like you are clean. This is like what Arnold is doing. Feels he is clean by way of where he draws the line. Nothing wrong with that. But call it what it is.I think if I made a boatload of money from porn (I don’t) and I bought a big waterfront shore house and invited people over as long as it wasn’t well know on the surface that that is where I made money from most people would still be glad to visit and of course they would almost certainly use the house when I wasn’t there. That is the way people are. They talk out of both sides of their mouth. All these highfalutin values but when it comes down to it many (but not all times) that is just because they don’t get the benefit of the distasteful activity.Honestly if I could handle the volume I’d be on the phone with the NRA and do a partnership. Missed opportunity for small vendors to ride a waive and stand out.

          3. PhilipSugar

            The way you make money as you know is you get a customer in a vertical and then you expand out in a vertical.It is totally stupid that people in verticals say who else do you have in our industry, but you know they do. I always want to say “so you are a stupid lemming?” which in fact they are but I can’t say that.Each vertical has it’s nuances. You were a printer. Hospitals have different needs than the guys passing out flyers on the Vegas Strip. The work to go a vertical is hard. You have to get a “lighthouse” customer, then service them, they start expanding. At least in BtoB but not much different than BtoC.I had a really good three hour chat with the guy that owns all of the Club Risques in our area on a plane back from Vegas. You know he started at Penn at that place called Wizards when his Dad’s high end Italian Restaurant started failing. Interesting story. BTW: He said women’s nights were his biggest problem. I’ve told the story about Evangelicals at the Wyndam Anatole and the mini-bar and adult movie purchases that were off the charts.If I could get past the thought that I have a daughter, the problem is it gets really, really nasty very quickly. Some strip club is relatively tame, maybe you don’t on purpose get performers to get hooked on drugs, yes maybe there is that one person who puts her way through college cleanly. But that was insane.

          4. LE

            That guy was my ex wife’s customer. I used to design ads for them in the coupon book and then taught my wife. She did it in Pagemaker in the bedroom on a Mac. I don’t know if the same guy owns it now but all of those businesses that serviced Penn students was in the book. From what you are saying it must be the same guy.And yes easy way to add a customer is to show them one of their competitors is a customer. That also was the case not only in printing but for the coupon book. That is like an easy sale. Many times it pays to give away the product just to be able to use a business to get a paid customer.

          5. PhilipSugar

            I am saying I had a nice conversation with him, I made small talk during diner service, and then I always wonder how things worked. He seemed reasonable. Some of the people I spoke to at that show made my skin crawl. What I saw……not right. I mean some evil shit, and I have seen some bad stuff and have a tolerance much higher than many. Some shop on Arch Street or Times Square in the 1980s is like watching broadcast TV compared to the worst porn you can imagine, and then the next level is this stuff.

      3. JamesHRH

        First graph is factually incorrect,They remove accounts based on their standards and this ad is a huge social justice stance.

        1. PhilipSugar

          Didn’t use a graph or understand the question why? I can put out an ad saying I am a 30 year old male model, but it doesn’t really mean I am. Maybe that ad was worth it because preaching to the choir is good, but that was all that was.

          1. JamesHRH

            It’s a bad ad for Twitter the same way that kneeling for the anthem was bad for the nfl

    4. ShanaC

      With speech for everyone paid for by advertising, I think that’s hard to do.

      1. JamesHRH

        That’s why Twitter should be ad free and should generate revenue from their 1% power users.

    5. Mr. Perfect

      I’d rather companies provide a good service at a fair price while being socially responsible. I couldn’t care less about them taking a stand. They are a business. Businesses make money, non-profits take a stand. The only stand any tech company would make would have to be far left as not to anger and lose most of their left leaning work force. And that would be less taking a stand, and more about picking a position based on convenience while using their size and influence to bully people into acquiencing.

      1. awaldstein

        What does socially reponsible mean?If it is a goal and articulated it is most certainly a stand and part of their Brand as a core value.

        1. Mr. Perfect

          Being socially responsible is a business practice a company takes because they think it’s an ethical practice. For instance, finding new ways to recycle their own waste so as to cut down on pollution. They can tell others they do it, or they can do it quietly. To me, taking a stand involves making it known, making it loud, and trying to influence others to do the same.

          1. awaldstein

            Thanks that is clear.Disagree and have no interest in companies that part of their mission is not some facet of social good and responsibility to make life betterMy bias I realize and at peace with it

          2. Mr. Perfect

            Again, that is the job of a non-profit. Companies can donate to a non-profit profit, and many do just that. It’s also much more effective. Non-profts often understand issues and the solutions much better than a corporate officer who only thinks about it some of the time.

          3. awaldstein

            Different opinion on this

  4. kidmercury

    twitter has made some great strides in the past couple years on the product front for which they are to be commended. but calling them “open” is comical, since they go around censoring and un-blue-checking people arbitrarily, especially those with political views that run contrary to the main current in silicon valley. it’s their platform so that’s their right, i suppose, but calling it “open” seems disingenuous.

    1. JamesHRH

      Bingo.

  5. Grace Schroeder

    I hope we have begun a sturdy path toward abstracting the essence of humanity, lifting it from the cement veneer of color, gender, geopolitical and economic differences that we have been riding on.

  6. Tom Labus

    I’ve come very close to buying few times in the last few months. They are close to being market healed. If that happens could be nice ride.They traded at 70 for an hour or so post IPO. I’d take 40 for a start.

    1. creative group

      Tom Labus:We had similar thoughts but realize that we can’t be held captive to market unknowns that have nothing to do with traditional market fluctuations based upon business decisions good or bad.Jack Dorsey is brilliant as we have expressed numerous times. The best can only operate one company or everything under the same roof. (GE, Alphabet) We still feel JD needs to choose Square or Twitter.Captain Obvious!#UnequivocallyUnapologeticallyIndependent

      1. Tom Labus

        He’s done well with both. Who knows.

    2. Salt Shaker

      The street is so fickle. TWTR gets hammered for years w/ FB comparisons while simultaneously exhibiting flat MAU growth. TWTR’s user growth for 2017 was virtually flat as a pancake, while MAU vs. YAG was up roughly 4% for each qtr. Hardly killing it. Yet, the stock is now trading at 34, more than 140% higher than its 52 yr low. It seems the Street views TWTR in a diff light and is less beholden to user metrics, heretofore a critical metric? I bailed at a loss. #Confused.

      1. Tom Labus

        Sentiment change. It always swings but not necessarily for legit reasons.

      2. JamesHRH

        Feels over Reals.

    1. fredwilson

      thanks for clarifying that. i wasn’t entirely sure about that as i indicated in my post

  7. LE

    Well the stock gained and is at what appears, by quick check, to be at at least a 1 year high.Not a fan of the commercial but the increase in market cap means ‘it worked’ (see how long it lasts obviously)…. https://uploads.disquscdn.c

    1. P Donohue

      Trump has been great for TWTR. However, what will happen after he is gone? How much traffic is Trump related? If anything, he has introduced people to Twitter that would never have tried it. In that sense, he has been good for it.However, there may be unforeseen liability not mentioned in their federal reporting that may bite them in the ass via a feeding frenzy of securities law firms.Mueller & Co. are, if anything, painfully thorough. If there is any possibility of something adverse coming out in the laundry, it might be wise to reveal it before the Feds do. Because they will.For example, does Twitter have the ability to detect the use of “gaze tracking”? Is it possible to even use Twitter for that purpose in a way that would tie them to that?Just thinking.

  8. jason wright

    Telly is not interweb native.Has user growth stalled?If it’s the first of more ads then it will suggest (to me) that it remains a niche product for a niche audience. It’s not a major mass application.The ad was opportunistic. That suggests inauthenticity.

  9. Ghorwood

    Consumer attention is scarce and a single TV spot isn’t enough to convey a message — even if its broadcast during the Oscars. I would like to understand what else is Twitter doing to support this positioning? It would be interesting to understand their KPIs because the response to this execution alone has been mixed.

  10. obarthelemy

    I really don’t grok tools that make ads about what you can do with them. I did buy a rice cooker, but mostly, I buy a tool already knowing what I want to do with it, because it’s the best value for my needs. On twitter, I wouldn’t be doing poetry or culture or politics, so that ad flies over my head. And gives me a headache with flashing words and explosive declamation. And irritates me with a succession of posers. In black and white because that makes it arty, I guess ?Plus, people won’t become woke through Twitter. Find a nice magazine/website you’re compatible with, and read *everything* in it. Then, hit the links and bios. Twitter is fast-thought, to news and thinking what a hamburger is to cuisine.Edit: or drink a Coke. I think it makes you woke since that ad last year ?

  11. Salt Shaker

    What a waste of money. The cost of a :30 commercial on the Academy Awards is approx $2.6M and TWTR ran a :60, so they prob spent $5.0M. Was this an image play, as the creative message did abso nothing to inspire usage (re: a promo stunt)? Unless the goal is to drive sign up and/or usage, what’s the point? Plus, the show skews old, demos likely not particularly well targeted for TWTR. Perhaps even sillier is when AWS advertises on major sports programming. AWS isn’t a consumer product and the number of eyeballs they reach where their message has relevancy makes such a buy grossly inefficient, even if AWS and AMZN has money to burn.

    1. LE

      As I said in my other comment there are more reasons to advertise than what is obvious on the surface.Take ADM. When I used to watch the morning shows on Sunday (I don’t anymore) I remember advertisements for Archer Daniels Midland ‘Supermarket to the World’. Now back then I reverse engineered the purpose as simply similar to lobbying. You have a lot of decision makers and important people who watch the Sunday Morning shows so it’s not about getting end user customers to buy more from ADM. It’s about relevance in decision maker (and the media btw) minds. Buying influence and making yourself relevant. And they did that (and might still do that) for many many years. In general a pattern like that indicates that it pays. I am not saying that twitter is doing the right thing just pointing out there are several ways to skin a cat.Ditto for AWS on major sports programming. Tech decision makers watch sports. Even if only small sliver if you have a big buying decision you want that audience.Make sense now? Edit: Also helps stock price as well.https://www.youtube.com/wat

      1. Salt Shaker

        Sorry, not buying. In a former life I managed ad budgets between $2M-$100M. You want to reach Wall Street, fin advisors or analysts, you run on the Sunday morning talk shows. Are those folks also watching the Oscars? Of course they are, but you’re also paying for a shitload of wasted impressions. I get TWTR wanted to position itself as part of a topical discussion in a relevant context, I just think there are better ways to accomplish that goal. Do you think many today (other than our host and the folks at TWTR) are talking about “that great TWTR commercial?”

        1. LE

          First you make as if this is science and it’s not it’s art. Business is art is what I mean. There are many people that operate in ways that don’t make sense or aren’t immediately obvious. [1]Wasted impressions? So what the bottom line is are you getting some benefit. Why do I care if millions see my ad and don’t buy if the few that do put money in my pocket in a big way or I gain influence (my other comment) ? Who cares? I hate to roll out the Mac Ad at the Superbowl almost to simple as an example of money apparently not well spent. Back then it was idiotic.And yes nobody is talking about the commercial in normalland. And I agree I don’t even like the commercial. But hey maybe it was also a moral boost for the troops or who knows what.By the way the ad has received mainstream media attention you will see if you do a search. Hence the metrics indicate it got extra out of whatever money they spent on the ad.Here you go:https://www.huffingtonpost….https://www.washingtonpost….https://www.teenvogue.com/shttp://variety.com/2018/dighttp://www.adweek.com/digithttps://mashable.com/2018/0…[1] This does not mean you are not correct. But why did Steve Cohen overpay people? To be a good customer so he got early deals. Why did my dad overtip the kid who shoveled snow? He was not one to waste money without benefit. So kid would come to his house first after a storm. Why do I give realtors full commission on prospects but handle all the work for them? So they don’t send them to other property owners. (Besides I do a better job than they do.)

          1. Salt Shaker

            It’s $5.0M for a company that heretofore has not demonstrated an understanding of who/what they are or developed a leveragable, sustainable positioning for itself. TWTR seems all seat of the pants, and that’s part of the problem. If this is part of a larger integrated strategy, then I’d have less of a problem. It reeks of a one-off, and one-offs rarely bear fruit (Apple’s “1984” not withstanding).

    2. JamesHRH

      Virtue signalling.Makes CEO comfortable when he is hob-nobbing.It is a waste – Jack has ridiculous, near once in a generationl intuition but his long game has a ton of holes. Piercing market position analysis being the most egregious.

      1. ShanaC

        nah, the GRP is high because they co-share to social media and other outlets. IE: This Blog

    3. Matt A. Myers

      I’d take it as an experiment they’re wanting to see what the impact is, though virtue signally as @jameshrh:disqus mentions is on point too.

  12. Adam Sher

    Maybe someone at Twitter reads Fast Company. Fast Company wrote a good article a year ago about companies publicly participating in politics. The conclusion is, “So to corporate executives: Your constituents are watching. They acknowledge that your company has a distinct set of values. They are asking for you to be forthright. And they want to know that you have the gumption to stand up for your stated values.”https://www.fastcompany.com…. Additional article from HBS https://hbr.org/2014/11/do-

    1. ShanaC

      but what does that mean when you are a speech driven company

      1. Adam Sher

        They define their version of free speech to promote, which they can do as a private company. Koch enterprise does this using the same methods as twitter – PAC, charitable contributions, lobbying. Twitter is unique in that it has ability to directly affect speech, unlike most other companies. Its reach is wider than almost any company. Will Twitter be a benevolent dictator?

  13. Kirsten Lambertsen

    I didn’t watch the Oscars, but the same ad showed up in my Twitter feed last night. I had this series of reactions:1) Cool!2) Oh, it’s an ad :(3) Oh, but Ava DV is in it! All right then. You have my attention.I’ve seen Twitter doing a *lot* recently around their harassment/abuse problems. Saw Jack recently had an open dialogue with people on Twitter about improving Twitter’s “health” overall. It was really good to see him opening up the discussion and being receptive to input from users, even when some were a bit harsh with their comments.It feels like it took the realization of the role that Twitter played in Russia’s interference in the 2016 election to finally bring about a new attitude about abuse at Twitter. I think they have a little work to do to repair the perception that they care about image and money but not the individuals who’ve been deeply, negatively impacted by abuses and have been telling Twtr about it for a long long time. But they have good start, I think.I agree with Arnold that they need to take a strong(er) stand. There ain’t nothin’ in the middle of the road but white stripes and roadkill.

    1. Pointsandfigures

      not too many other people watched the Oscars either. : ) ratings down huge

      1. Lawrence Brass

        People now want and have access to media on demand. I think that this is the main reason that the live events ratings are down.The most interesting part of the event for me was when Jimmy Kimmel and a group of actors went out of the venue to say thank you to a group of people watching a movie in a neighboring cinema. I don’t know if it was fabricated or a real surprise for the people there, but I think that the act of going out and reaching the viewers is a powerful message. Not only about the actors’ thankfulness, but about the need to reach and *interact* with the viewers.Media consumption patterns are changing.Anyway, I was consumed by sleep before the end of the event.

        1. Pointsandfigures

          We agree patterns are changing but Kimmel Dr Al went full social justice warrior. Alienated 50% of the country

          1. PhilipSugar

            The highest paid actor in the world who came from non-elite roots, said it best:“You know, it just goes to show you that people aren’t listening to that anyway. They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills. A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”Unlike many other celebrities, Wahlberg hasn’t forgotten where he came from.“Me, I’m very aware of the real world,” he said. “I come from the real world and I exist in the real world. And although I can navigate Hollywood and I love the business and the opportunities it’s afforded me, I also understand what it’s like not to have all that.”Wahlberg grew up one of nine children in a working-class Irish Catholic family in the Boston district of Dorchester.

          2. Lawrence Brass

            He brought his show to the event. Both him and Colbert have increased their ratings doing opposition.

          3. PhilipSugar

            I think what happened is people like me don’t want to watch shows designed to get you angry, I have enough drama at work. So they cater to the people that do.Here’s what happened to me last week, we had the VP of sales blame losing a sale on one feature.But that paled to the guy who had epilepsy (we didn’t know he did) and had a massive seizure at his desk. My people did the exact right things and I was at lunch. Got everything out of the way, called 911 kept him from standing back up, nobody knew why.I got to the hospital. Holy shit, his face was just broken. I pulled his supervisor aside and said: “What the FUCK?” He said he stood up and fell and by the time we got there this had happened. I thought how the hell am I going to explain this I had called his parents.Doctor came over said ok you have epilepsy and are on X. Turned to us and she said: “do you think he dislocated arm on the fall or as he was seizing?” No idea, “well all things considering doesn’t look too bad, good job on getting the stuff out of the way and not letting him stand again”

          4. Lawrence Brass

            Awful week indeed.Its troubling how unprepared most people are to handle medical emergencies. I wonder how many of us start to google in the middle of an emergency to know what to do.In the few emergencies I have been involved there was always a discussion among the group attending the affected about what to do right around the person’s face. A few times I recall someone calling “I am a doctor” or “I am a nurse” and taking control of the situation, or taking power as JLM wrote.In one of those emergencies I was the one on the floor and literally and irresponsibly had to escape from my caretakers, but that is another story.

    2. PhilipSugar

      I let this die down. If Russia influenced the election with the amount of money they spent versus Clinton and Trump as reported by NYT, Washington Post, and TechCrunch, every single brand should hire them.Seriously, beat that drum, but Russian’s must be genius, because the beating of that drum is like a war call to his supporters (I am not one).I bet you every time somebody shouts that is why he won, another 100 are willing to overlook his horrific faults and vote for him.

  14. BravoFred

    “Disclosure: My wife and I are long TWTR.”Bravo Fred! Kudos to you!I would like to see more such disclosures in the future from you on this blog such as, “Disclosure: My wife and I are investors in Coinbase.”Talking your own book is, of course, reasonable… as long as people realize that is what you are doing. But singing the praises of, say, Bitcoin without disclosing you are an investor in Coinbase is duplicitous.

  15. Chimpwithcans

    Interesting – I did not watch the Oscars and if I did I have a feeling I would have had different advertising here in Africa. But to merge the old media world with the new in this way seems to me like an interesting experiment. It also seems to not conform to any metric we have for traditionally measuring adverts – impressions, spend etc. It is more curious than that. I’d love to hear how Twitter perceives the success of this campaign.

  16. JLM

    .An ad typically contains a call to action with that action, somehow, favorably impacting the company with the ultimate yardstick being shareholder value.This was not an ad. It felt like art.Art is rarely a call to action. I heard no call to action.This is vanity.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

    1. Lawrence Brass

      I see it as change, as women taking power.It has been a long journey.

      1. JLM

        .In life, one does not receive power; one takes power. You do not ask permission to take power.If you have to tell someone you have taken power, then you have not really taken power. Power does not ask for approval.Power translates immediately to action. Action demonstrates power, not words.People discern immediately who is in charge.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

        1. Lawrence Brass

          I have learned that from my unofficial CEO coach already. :)But, when taking power collectively, words provide the means for inspiration which in turn moves people into action.The power of words. I can tell you that “Lawrence, can you take out the trash please” moves me quickly into action here.

          1. JLM

            .The speaker of those words had power and used it effectively.You discerned the effective projection of power.I, too, am a trash engineer.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

  17. Kanon Kubose (Flurrywinde)

    Is TWTR stock a bad investment in light of blockchain versions coming out?