Trump was kicked out of Twitter. For the moment, he has lost his massive megaphone to the masses (over 88m followers). He is also suspended from Facebook.
Privately owned Tech companies have an incredible amount of power. I have no doubt Trump will find an alternative outlet.
Sift, though on a much smaller scale, also has a lot of power. It can and does remove people from its site (in some cases justified). Make and are making editorial decisions that push its own agenda. It has moved from user say to now more and more editorial control eg - posts no longer ranked by the number of clicks, they are ranked by the editorial team. Click rates hidden.
Tech companies can do whatever they want. Due to early mover advantages, alternatives are just not viable or useful.
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Social media is only successful if people use it.
"Followers "don't have to be. Why do people look at "influencers"
They must be idiots to comply with the social mores involved, which generally involve giving money away
One of my clients in PR world has been asked to make more use of influences. They now have agents etc who try and put ridiculous terms in their agreements. For me it's mainly a nonsense
To be blunt, that is the price you pay for "free" social media.
These companies only have power because users agree to give it to them in return for the benefits they receive. That is as true for smaller operators like Sift as it is for big operators like Facebook and Twitter. None are obliged to provide platforms to anybody. Free speech means that you cannot be stopped saying things others might find objectionable. It does not require anyone to make it easier for you to say those things to a larger audience.
Does raise the question of why we use Aweb. Its not social media, most of us post under pseudonyms for a number of reasons mostly good, and the public access and structure means its less of a professional forum. Yep, its a free resource, but would there be more focus if it were a private group on LinkedIn? Which exists, someone is going to tell me.
Can't see the harm if The Donald, Nigel and Katie joined Aweb though, can you? And that nice Mr Robinson, wherever he is.