Twitter is still here despite warnings of its demise

Ever since billionaire Elon Musk bought social media service Twitter last October, pundits have been predicting its demise. Some left-leaning figures have been cheering its missteps and urging users to switch to alternatives like Mastodon.
But unless Twitter service becomes unreliable or makes significant changes that affect regular folks, most users are unlikely to switch to a copycat platform. Twitter simply has too large a user base for fans of microblogging to go elsewhere.
A social media service would need to provide something new and exciting for users to switch. That’s how Facebook overtook MySpace and TikTok rose to prominence against Instagram and Snapchat.
Under Musk’s ownership, the biggest change I’ve seen is an increase in advertising in my feed. Also, I was concerned when Twitter switched to an algorithmic feed by default for a short time when I only use a reverse chronological feed.
One change I didn’t like was the cancellation of Twitter Moments. I enjoyed curating tweets on newsworthy topics.
Internally at Twitter there have been loads of changes, including a slashing of its workforce. There’s also been a bunch of moves to try to get users to pay for an upgraded service or for identity verification. These moves come amid a big drop in advertising revenue, with many advertisers concerned about Musk’s changes to the service.
But so far the service has seen little change from my perspective. Fingers crossed.
Twitter as a business is another story. It could eventually fail for lack of revenue from advertisers and subscribers.
If Twitter does goes away, I’ll mourn the loss of a service I liked. But I’ll move on, which is what I said years ago when I joined Twitter.

Photo: Twitter Sand Sculpture at Bush Lake, Bloomington, MN, by Rosaura Ochoa. (via Creative Commons)

Is E3 video game show kaput? Sure looks like it

E3, short for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, used to be the premiere video game conference. But this year’s planned E3 show in Los Angeles, the first since 2019, already is missing some major exhibitors from years past.
IGN reported Jan. 30 that all three of gaming’s first-party console manufacturers plan to skip E3 2023. Microsoft’s Xbox, Nintendo and Sony will not have a presence on the Los Angeles Convention Center show floor. E3 2023 currently is scheduled to take place June 13-16.
E3 was struggling before the Covid pandemic caused the cancellation of the last three in-person shows. Sony pulled out of the 2019 show, joining publishers Activision and Electronic Arts in leaving the show.
Conflicts with the show’s owner, the Entertainment Software Association, and changing market dynamics have caused exhibitors to bail on E3.
The big game publishers get more bang for the buck by holding online events and their own game reveals. And the decline of retail sales and rise of online gaming and e-commerce have pushed E3 into obsolescence.
The conference website has little information. The homepage just says “E3 2023 Coming Soon!” But it does offer media registration and exhibitor info.
On Monday Feb. 6, I spoke with Strauss Zelnick, chief executive of game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software. He noted that the company is cutting back on spending, including events, citing a difficult macroeconomic climate.
As a follow-up question, I asked if Take-Two planned to participate in E3 this year. After a pause, he said no decisions on that have been made yet.
On Feb. 7, I spoke with David Cole, principal analyst for DFC Intelligence, a research firm focused on tracking digital entertainment.
“E3 is pretty much dead,” he said. Cole said vendors have more cost-effective ways to reach their audiences than an in-person show.
Meanwhile, Comic Con International: San Diego is likely to see a big influx of game properties, thanks to their adaptions into movies and TV series. Comic-Con is set to run July 20-23.
“The Last of Us” series on HBO Max, based on the Sony game property, has been renewed for a second season. Other Sony game franchises getting adapted into movies and TV series include “Gran Turismo,” “God of War” and “Twisted Metal.” They follow the 2022 movie “Uncharted.”
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” based on Nintendo’s long-running game series, opens in theaters on April 7.
Elsewhere, Netflix is making movies based on Ubisoft game “The Division,” Microsoft’s “Gears of War” and Take-Two’s “BioShock.”
Not to be outdone, Amazon Prime Video is planning TV series based on the game series “Fallout” and “Tomb Raider.”

Surprises from the Rock Hall’s 2023 nominations

Given the huge backlog of worthy artists for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’s no surprise that individual predictions for the 2023 nominations differed so much from the actual list, released today.
Last week, I wrote that four artists were consensus picks of music experts for nomination this year. Of those, only one made the cut: Kate Bush.
The others remain on the list of biggest snubs: Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan and Outkast.
A pleasant surprise was the number of artists nominated for the first time. Eight of the 14 nominees were newbies. They include my wish-list favorite, Joy Division/New Order.
Others on the ballot for the first time include Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Warren Zevon, Missy Elliott and The White Stripes.
Of those, The White Stripes was the biggest surprise since none of the pundits I follow suggested the group as a possible nominee.
Of the remaining six acts, Rage Against the Machine has had the most nominations to date, with five nods, according to Future Rock Legends.
Kate Bush and The Spinners each have been nominated four times. And A Tribe Called Quest, Iron Maiden and Soundgarden now have two nominations apiece.
The 14 nominees on this year’s ballot are the fewest since 2010, according to Axios.
My biggest miscalculation was thinking girl group Destiny’s Child would be nominated in its first year of eligibility. The nominating committee likely considered Destiny’s Child a problematic pick, considering bad blood with two early members of the group.
If the nominating committee waits two years, it can induct just the final lineup of the group: Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. That would greatly increase the chances of them showing up and performing at the induction ceremony. A big plus.
A voting pool of more than 1,000 music historians, journalists and previous inductees will select the final inductees, usually five to seven performers.
Inductees will be revealed in May, and will be honored at a ceremony in a location yet to be announced.
Early fan voting shows Cyndi Lauper in the lead, followed by Willie Nelson and George Michael.

Photos: The 2023 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.