Next CEO: Fixing Twitter Blue, Dealing With Musk
The head of Twitter says he has found someone to take his job. Elon Musk thinks it's a tough job that nobody should take.
On Thursday, Musk said he won't be Twitter CEO for much longer. He's found someone to replace him in about six weeks. The Wall Street Journal says Linda Yaccarino, who leads NBCUniversal's advertising worldwide, might be the one to take over.
Last month, Musk spoke to Yaccarino in an interview at a conference and said that people should not take his tweets too seriously. It's better to wait for official confirmation from both sides. If there is a new chief executive coming, there are some important things they'll need to focus on right away.
Establishing Rapport With Musk
Musk is sticking around. He bought a $44bn business and is now in charge of Twitter. He's also going to be executive chair there and manage some important stuff. Tesla investors want him to focus on their electric car stuff. But Musk likes Twitter and will still pay attention to it.
The WSJ calls Yaccarino a tough negotiator and a gentle influencer. Her skill with people will be put to the test if she becomes Musk's colleague.
To impress advertisers, Twitter must have a CEO who earns respect. A candidate with an advertising background would be fitting. Last year, advertising made up over 90% of Twitter's revenue of $5.1 billion. Since Musk's takeover, Twitter's reliance on advertising has decreased.
In March, Musk said Twitter's sales will drop to under $3bn due to problems with ads. People are worried about bad things on the site, workers quitting, and a messed up product launch. This led to many people pretending to be famous things on Twitter.
Twitter wants to make money with subscriptions, and Elon Musk thinks it's important too. They have a new service called Twitter Blue, which costs $8 per month on the web or $11 on iOS or Android in the US. It gives you a verified account and less advertising. It's available in the UK and Australia too.
Not many people have subscribed to Twitter's paid service. One estimate says it's only around 600,000 people. But Twitter has more than 250 million users in total. The paid subscribers bring in about $5 million per month. That's not enough to make up for the drop in advertising revenue.
Get Ready For "X" - The Ultimate App!
Blue's relaunch is part of Musk's bigger vision. He tweeted that Twitter would be "an accelerant to creating X, the everything app" before buying it. Musk praised WeChat, a Chinese app that offers multiple functions, to Twitter staff, saying "If we can recreate that with Twitter, we'll be a great success." However, competing in markets like the US is tough, and "everything apps" haven't succeeded there.
Twitter has lots of rules to follow. The European Commission is worried that Twitter isn't obeying the digital services act in the EU. This law looks after social media websites. Twitter also has to follow the new UK online safety bill. This law says that tech companies have to keep people safe from bad stuff on the internet.
The US Federal Trade Commission is checking out Twitter too. They're worried that job cuts and cost reductions might have harmed Twitter's ability to protect users and keep up data security standards. To prove that Twitter is still serious about this, the new CEO will have to talk to Elon Musk. He said he'll also be Twitter's Chief Technology Officer.
Control Costs And Debt
Musk planned to buy Twitter by borrowing $13bn, which is a lot for a company that has lost money in the past. He previously said Twitter was at risk of going bankrupt but later claimed it was no longer a concern. Musk reduced yearly expenses from $4.5bn to $1.5bn, but Twitter must stay profitable to pay off its debt and survive in the long run.
