Twitter's Global Newspaper Value

Shaan Puri shares his perspective on Twitter's value as a modern media platform, comparing Elon Musk's Twitter investment to previous media acquisitions by tech billionaires.

• Twitter's Fundamental Value:

  • Acts as the "newspaper of the world"
  • More valuable than traditional physical newspapers
  • Has existing user base that makes it superior to building alternatives

• Comparison to Other Media Acquisitions:

  • Similar to Bezos buying Washington Post
  • Similar to Benioff buying Time Magazine
  • Better strategic move than these traditional media purchases

• Platform Control Strategy:

  • Better to buy and change existing platform than build alternative
  • References Trump's Truth Social failure as example
  • Buying existing platform lets you "institute the changes you want"

• Key Advantages:

  • Already has established user base
  • Easier to modify existing platform than build new one
  • Undervalued for a long time according to speakers

• Proposed Changes Under Musk:

  • Focus on freedom of speech
  • Open source the algorithm
  • Let users choose their own algorithm/filters
  • Make filtering process more transparent

The speakers view Twitter as fundamentally more valuable than traditional media, seeing it as the modern equivalent of a global newspaper with the added benefit of being able to implement immediate changes to how information flows through society.