The Big Tech Show
00:00:00 · S0, Adrian Weckler, S2, Tabitha Monaghan
[00:00:00] S0: We get it. Global IT can be a headache. Deal IT handles hardware, software, and access across 130 plus countries in one system. Companies like Eleven Labs are already scaling their IT operations with Deal. No juggling vendors, no lost orders, no access revocation failures. Build your global team with Deal. Visit deal.com/bigtech and start expanding your business today. [00:00:30] S1: Hey there. We are Indo Sport with me, Joe Lloyd, and we have things like this. How do you support the IRA when they [00:00:35] S2: can't I... No. It's just I... The support the IRA's caused the end British rule in Ireland, and I still believe there shouldn't be British rule in Ireland as an Irish person. Yeah. What I don't support and will never support is the killing of innocent lives on... No matter where. I just don't... I don't I don't agree with that, and I will never agree with that. [00:01:01] S1: This is an Irish Independent Podcast. I'm Adrian Weckler, and you're listening to The Big Tech Show. Now what's next for Revolut? Can it ever be your only bank? Could you eventually do things like take a mortgage out with it, Or does it plan on becoming a super app? Well, in a few minutes, I'm gonna be joined by Revolut CEO and co founder Nik Storonsky, who I caught up with here in Lisbon in the Web Summit. But first, I'm joined by Tabitha Monaghan, producer of the show. Tabitha, are you worried about losing your blue tick on Twitter? [00:01:40] S3: Would I be worried if I had a blue tick, which I do not. Oh. [00:01:43] S1: No. Sorry.
00:01:43 · Adrian Weckler, Tabitha Monaghan
[00:01:43] S1: No. Sorry. [00:01:44] S3: Thanks for that, Tala. Slight shade coming from a blue ticker yourself. Why be... I should be asking you that question. [00:01:50] S1: Well, I will not be a blue ticker for much longer because I'm not gonna pay $8 per month under Elon Musk's new regime for the golden circle to keep their anointed blue ticks. I'm not gonna do [00:02:03] S3: it. Do you think some people will? Like, I mean, I've spoken to a few people in The Independent who would have blue ticks, and they have no intention of paying Elon Musk for anything, especially for the privilege of being verified. What do you think generally? There will be some people who will pay it.
00:02:18 · Adrian Weckler, Tabitha Monaghan
[00:02:18] S1: Definitely, there will be somebody... Some people who will pay. Very few of the journalists that I spoke to about it so far, and this has only been used for the last day or two, will, but that is from a relative point of privilege. I've been a journalist for twenty years. I have my contacts. I have a following on Twitter. I have all of those things. I can't imagine for a young journalist, for somebody starting out, if you're a young singer, if you're a county counselor for example and you're trying to establish your your your credibility online and you might view this somehow as a way of doing that, you might pay $8 a month for, you know, as what's perceived to be heightened status. Now, I would take a slightly different approach to it in the sense that I would see it as lessening the authenticity of the whole platform, and not just because I won't pay for it. It doesn't... Twitter doesn't care what I do or don't do. But think about it this way. Twitter's core importance is really just one thing, and that is when the big news moment occurs, the really big one. Yeah. To be able to tell in minutes or seconds that whoever is tweeting about it or tweeting a news story or tweeting of you is actually them and is verified. Now, it's not utterly essential. You know, there are lots of people who are totally credible who don't have blue check marks [00:03:42] S3: to just take [00:03:44] S1: that small element away, and you're probably taking a tiny bit of Twitter's core relevance away, in my opinion.
00:03:44 · Adrian Weckler, Tabitha Monaghan
[00:03:44] S1: that small element away, and you're probably taking a tiny bit of Twitter's core relevance away, in my opinion. [00:03:52] S3: Well, I would look as well is that, okay, maybe those people who mightn't... Who I mightn't think are as important but still have those blue ticks. If those blue ticks stay, it's like it's like, okay. Well, I actually pay... I'm paying for this privilege. It's like, I know how you're spending your money, and I don't think it's it's a bit awkward.
00:04:10 · Adrian Weckler
[00:04:10] S1: It's kinda like having a fake degree on your wall, isn't it? It's kinda like how you like going into a sort of a, you know, one of those... What do they call those doctors? Those wannabe doctors who give you herbs and things like that. And you see all the certificates from, you know, the medical school of California, etcetera. I... No. But on a serious note, there is a potential positive spin to this to be fair to Twitter. So you could argue that by introducing a system where you can pay for a verified check mark, that might knock out an awful lot of bots because it's not really feasible for bots to keep buying, blue check marks and credit card details. So Musk is probably right in that sense. You could also argue that the system is a little bit elitist. I mean, I would say that it's an authenticity thing and that it actually serves Twitter itself more than the people who have the blue check marks because it's in Twitter's interest to be able to, you know, showcase credible, authentic newsmakers, not me, but like a lot of senior institutions for example are actually on Twitter and you go there to see what their take or what their latest line is on something, that benefits Twitter, the company, Elon Musk, more than it benefits the institution itself. But there is a case to be made that you are introducing a wider authenticity, and that is something that Twitter does need, to be fair.
00:05:48 · Tabitha Monaghan, Adrian Weckler
[00:05:48] S3: And it hasn't been just about the blue ticks this week. It has been a busy week for Elon Musk and Twitter HQ. He's he's made some sweeping changes, especially with the board. [00:05:59] S1: Well, he fired the board. He made himself, the permanent CEO. So not permanent CEO. The standing CEO, which he says will be temporary. But it's not just that. It was kind of embarrassing for Elon Musk because he cut off most of the trust and safety team from being able to access their controls within the company, which was reported as a transition thing. But he did it at the... As the same time as tweeting out himself a conspiracy theory, a a homophobic conspiracy theory about the husband of The US congressional speaker Nancy Pelosi who had been attacked, Paul Pelosi who had been attacked in his home, and he tweeted out a homophobic conspiracy theory about it. He then deleted it afterwards. That tweet was completely discredited by local police. So, I mean, if you're working in Twitter, if you're one of the 500 people working in the twit... In the... Twitter's Irish office, what are you thinking? You know, Musk is cutting off access to most of the trust and safety staff. He's saying he's gonna let go a quarter of all of Twitter's stuff, and then he tweets out a conspiracy theory himself.