I still wonder if they tanked it on purpose. Hanlon’s razor and all that, but it’s just weird how many left-leaning social media sites get bought by right-wing assholes who immediately piledrive it into the ground against all capitalistic reason.
Facebook did the same with Instagram the year before. Definitely trying to manage risk by buying and/or killing all the competition.
The decision to buy is made by numbers before the purchase: returning visitors, time spent etc. “look at how many hours of eyeballs we’re buying”
The decision to kill the porn is made by social pressure after the purchase: “hey we’ve noticed that in your stable if brands you have some questionable materials. We can’t be associated with that kind of filth, you’re damaging our brand.” - cc processors, advertisers etc. “my wife went on that platform we just bought and you won’t believe what she found” - half the members of the board.
Most boards are collectively moronic - rarely do you have competent people that can hold serious tense discussion and can reach conclusions without either descending into massive infighting or just coast along the dominant political players.