In a major shakeup in the world of social media, business magnate and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk recently revealed that he had started a search for a new CEO for the Twitter platform. The news was especially noteworthy given that Musk had just announced he would be polling the site’s users on who they wanted as the new CEO.
The move comes months after Musk, who owns more than 21 million shares of Twitter, took to the platform to voice his frustrations over the social media platform’s failure to effectively combat the spread of misinformation. Musk also claimed that tweeters didn’t have enough freedom to express their opinions and he encouraged his followers to help create their own platform.
Musk, who has historically shown a commitment to transparency and user participation, is said to have already begun to consider some candidates before making the announcement. Sources close to the billionaire hinted that he had been influenced by the pro-transparency, anti-censorship stance taken by his open-source projects.
Musk had contacted several candidates including Google executive Sundar Pichai and Apple’s former SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi, who have both since declined.
It’s also been reported that Musk has approached Texas-based software engineer Alex Kantrowitz, who is said to have spent several months in talks with the automaker about the job. Kantrowitz is thought to balance Musk’s needs for a tech literate CEO with a commitment to social media that prioritizes user participation.
Still, the decision to solicit input from the public appears to have been a major consideration going into the search process. By inviting the public to participate in the search process, Musk appears to be taking his goal of transparency, anti-censorship, and public participation to the next level.
Regardless of who ends up as the next CEO, it appears that Musk’s commitment to user experience and participation through public polling and open-sourcing will undoubtedly influence the future of Twitter and its leadership.
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