User Numbers
Apr. 29th, 2022 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkitoutIn yesterday’s Matt Levine column, I learned that Twitter made a mistake in reporting its active users.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-04-28/elon-musk-s-other-merger-worked-out
But if you cannot connect to that for a reason of like, you know, a paywall:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418091/000141809122000072/twtrq122ex991.htm
And then search for the heading:
mDAU Recast
Specifically the statement:
“In March of 2019, we launched a feature that allowed people to link multiple separate accounts together in order to conveniently switch between accounts. An error was made at that time, such that actions taken via the primary account resulted in all linked accounts being counted as mDAU. This resulted in an overstatement of mDAU from Q1’19 through Q4’21.”
Who knows what this really means, but I know I immediately thought, Sock Puppets Are Supported!
Goddess, I hope that is an inaccurate reading of the actual, typical usage of multiple separate accounts on twitter. I _actually_ believe that the people who need to use this feature are more typically people responsible for posting official type updates to official type accounts, like, the various CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands that are all under a single corporate owner probably have one person in charge of tweeting for many / all of them on the regular. Altho who knows! Also, what are the implications for Brand accounts of “Authenticate All Real Humans”?
HOWEVER! The fact that this showed up around the same time as the Acquisition, and the fact that the Acquisition was preceded by a possible seat on the existing board suggests to me that this particular issue came to light in the course of All of That.
Which further suggests to me that person responsible for the shenanigans is at least asking the right questions and getting at the relevant data.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-04-28/elon-musk-s-other-merger-worked-out
But if you cannot connect to that for a reason of like, you know, a paywall:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418091/000141809122000072/twtrq122ex991.htm
And then search for the heading:
mDAU Recast
Specifically the statement:
“In March of 2019, we launched a feature that allowed people to link multiple separate accounts together in order to conveniently switch between accounts. An error was made at that time, such that actions taken via the primary account resulted in all linked accounts being counted as mDAU. This resulted in an overstatement of mDAU from Q1’19 through Q4’21.”
Who knows what this really means, but I know I immediately thought, Sock Puppets Are Supported!
Goddess, I hope that is an inaccurate reading of the actual, typical usage of multiple separate accounts on twitter. I _actually_ believe that the people who need to use this feature are more typically people responsible for posting official type updates to official type accounts, like, the various CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands that are all under a single corporate owner probably have one person in charge of tweeting for many / all of them on the regular. Altho who knows! Also, what are the implications for Brand accounts of “Authenticate All Real Humans”?
HOWEVER! The fact that this showed up around the same time as the Acquisition, and the fact that the Acquisition was preceded by a possible seat on the existing board suggests to me that this particular issue came to light in the course of All of That.
Which further suggests to me that person responsible for the shenanigans is at least asking the right questions and getting at the relevant data.