Particularly, Elon and his Twitter 2.0 staff have determined that linking out to any competing social platform, in any approach, is now in opposition to the principles. Due to, um, free promotion?

As defined by Twitter:

“We acknowledge that lots of our customers are lively on different social media platforms. Nevertheless, we are going to not enable free promotion of sure social media platforms on Twitter.”

So Twitter doesn’t wish to juice its rivals by offering free attain to its viewers. Unsure that’s going to offer the aggressive edge that Twitter hopes, however right here we’re.

“Particularly, we are going to take away accounts created solely for the aim of selling different social platforms and content material that accommodates hyperlinks or usernames for the next platforms: Fb, Instagram, Mastodon, Fact Social, Tribel, Nostr and Put up.”

To make clear, you’ll want to take away all hyperlinks in your bio, and not tweet hyperlinks to your accounts on:

• Fb
• Instagram
• Mastodon
• Fact Social
• Tribel
• Nostr
• Put up

In case you had been questioning, at the moment, hundreds of thousands of accounts are falling foul of this new rule.

Many customers had famous points attempting to hyperlink to their Mastdon accounts over the previous week, which gave the impression to be Twitter’s try to cease a person exodus. Now, we’ve got an official purpose as to why – and that’s not all.

Within the additional documentation of the brand new rule, Twitter additionally notes that:

• Third-party social media hyperlink aggregators equivalent to linktr.ee, lnk.bio

These are banned to, so you’ll want to eliminate your Linktree hyperlinks, in addition to some other hyperlink aggregator.

Which appears absurd, however once more, right here we’re.

‘However hold on’, I hear you say, ‘what about official cross-posting choices utilizing Twitter’s API, like once you share a hyperlink to one thing utilizing the Twitter button from the share choices obtainable?’

That, apparently, continues to be allowed.

“We acknowledge that sure social media platforms present different experiences to Twitter, and permit customers to publish content material to Twitter from these platforms. Typically, any sort of cross-posting to our platform isn’t in violation of this coverage, even from the prohibited websites listed above.”

So theoretically, you possibly can nonetheless cross-post your newest replace on, say, Instagram, and that may not be in violation of the principles. However posting a direct hyperlink to your IG profile would.

Twitter additionally notes that:

“Posting hyperlinks or usernames to social media platforms not listed above are additionally not in violation of this coverage.”

So hyperlinks to YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and apparently, TikTok, are all fantastic.

Evidently, Mastodon, which is slowly changing into the Twitter different of alternative, has irritated Elon sufficient to warrant consideration, whereas Meta should even have gotten his goat by some means.

The addition of Nostr, an open supply platform being promoted by former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey, additionally means that the connection has soured between these two (bear in mind when Jack stated Elon was ‘the singular answer’ he trusted to avoid wasting Twitter?), whereas the omission of TikTok might level to Elon’s difficult ties with China, and a must not step on any toes on that entrance.

Twitter additionally says that any try to bypass the brand new guidelines – like spelling out ‘dot’ for social media platform hyperlinks to keep away from URL creation, or sharing screenshots of your deal with on a prohibited social media platform – you greatest consider, that too will end in a paddlin’ from the tweet Gods.

Twitter will, nonetheless, proceed to permit paid commercial/promotion for any of the prohibited social media platforms. What a shock.

Look, I notice there are passionate supporters of Elon who see no fault in something that he does, and for these folks, that is seemingly simply one other a part of his grand grasp plan, that each one of us common-folk are simply too silly to get. However that is dangerous. It is a dangerous coverage, which is not going to assist Twitter. And whereas the idea of walling folks in could really feel prefer it makes some sense, on some degree, with regard to halting the usage of the app for ‘free promotion’ of rivals, the impacts will, over time, considerably outweigh perceived advantages.

Take, for instance, creators who cross-post to Twitter to advertise their stuff on different apps, on which they’ll make way more income. Twitter advantages from this, by elevated engagement, however now, these creators should suppose twice about how they use the app for this objective – and whether or not it’s even value utilizing in any respect.

It’s the precise reverse of what Twitter had been working in direction of earlier than Elon, with its improvement extra creator instruments and incentive applications.

Disabling Linktree and comparable providers additionally hurts Twitter’s ecosystem, and lessens its worth, versus rising it, whereas stopping folks from selling their Mastodon and Put up hyperlinks will seemingly simply make them migrate sooner.

And the complicated ingredient the place you possibly can nonetheless cross-post through official share hyperlinks?

All the replace looks like rushed coverage, that hasn’t been thought by.

Very similar to this – one other coming Twitter replace:

Conceptually, that ought to incentivize extra folks to pay for Twitter Blue, proper? As a way to get this extra ‘downvote’ profit.

However as many have identified, that is truly extra more likely to be misused and abused to silence dissenting opinions, whereas additionally including extra incentive to dam and mute – i.e. cease listening to opposing opinions.

There’s additionally the brand new ‘anti-doxxing’ guidelines that noticed a number of high-profile journalists suspended final week.

It’s set off pleased coverage, being developed with out the trade data or the sensibility required to return to the correct strategy.

Oh, additionally, it’s probably anti-competitive, and unlawful in Europe.

Elon has famous that Twitter’s going to do ‘plenty of dumb issues within the coming months’ as he works to proper the ship. This, most undoubtedly, is certainly one of them.