Spaces Host Holden Culotta – Talking Twitter X, Election 2024, and RFKjr!

On this episode, Holden Culotta and I engage in a conversation about the impact of social media on politics, the corruption in the political system, and the shift towards celebrity culture in politics. They also discuss the role of media in shaping public opinion and the rise of podcasting as a platform for open and honest conversations.

Holden Culotta on X @Holden_Culotta

This discussion is important as it highlights the changing dynamics of media and politics, the influence of social media on elections, and the need for transparency and accountability in the political system. It also emphasizes the importance of independent media and free speech in fostering a more informed and engaged citizenry.

We also touch on the changes in social media platforms, particularly X (Twitter), and the importance of having a different model that allows users to have more control and visibility. They also discuss the impact of social media censorship and the need for a free speech platform. Holden Culotta shares his experience hosting spaces on X (Twitter) and the importance of respectful conversations and bringing together different political groups.

The conversation also touches on the political landscape, including the potential for RFK Jr. to run for president and the need for new faces in politics. It reflects the desire for authenticity and a return to a sense of pride in the country among younger generations.

Overall, this podcast sheds light on the changing dynamics of social media platforms, the need for alternative models that prioritize user control and free speech, and the potential for new political figures to bring about positive change. It also highlights the growing dissatisfaction with traditional political options and the desire for fresh perspectives and authenticity in politics.

You can find Holden Culotta on X @Holden_Culotta and Billy Dees @BillyDees.

This is a clip from the inteview.

All Things Media – Will Social Media Become Something More Than Social Media?

Twitter has now become “X.” Could it be an everything app?

Every so often I do an “All Things Media” podcast episode that generally centers around topics such as media, social media, and current events. That much isn’t new. What is new is how I presented the video version of this podcast.

The audio platforms are where much of my listenership resides. Therefore, I have always been careful to make sure the audio is as pristine as possible and guard against visual references during the shows.

However, many of my guests or their publicists wanted video links so that their clients could be showcased in a professional forum for their followers on social media.

The natural thing to do was to start a YouTube channel for the Billy Dees Podcast. I never really pushed the show on YouTube, it was a support platform for the podcast. YouTube has recently implemented a podcast tab which is long overdue. YouTube is also a major search engine, and I wanted our content to be discoverable on the platform. For all these reasons, maintaining a YouTube channel for the podcast is a good idea and I will continue to do so.

In the meantime, Twitter has always been my social media home. I have often said that Twitter was built for podcasting. If you are a creator of pretty much any category – author, advocate, or artist etc. – the audience that Twitter has built-in is enormous. For any news or trending topics, Twitter is about as good as it gets.

When the reported attempted coup was happening in Russia a short while back, I intensely followed the story on Twitter and TikTok. I anxiously tuned into the national news that evening anticipating detailed professional coverage of the event. All three major networks, NBC, ABC, and CBS, lead with the submarine story at the Titanic location which by that time was already a week old. The tragic fate of the occupants was known, and the story had moved to the “how could this happen” phase. The following day, news promos on the networks said, “Tune in tonight for continuing coverage of the coup in Russia.” The only problem was by that time, it was already over.

NBC News always leads its program with the phrase “breaking news.” That’s broken news.

In the meantime, Tucker Carlson and other media figures began moving long-form media content to Twitter with much success. Elon Musk also rebranded Twitter into “X,” what some may call a move toward an “everything app.” This would include a new app with tweets, now referred to as “posts,” long form posts, audio and video content, and financial transactions.

Simultaneously, Meta launched “Threads,” a Twitter copy, by leveraging its users mostly from Instagram. Was I the only person who wondered how the same people, with the same contacts, sharing the same content, was going to be a grand slam? It wasn’t.

Also at the same time, cable news and news in general continued to flounder.

During this turmoil, I decided to give the video version of the podcast a try on X. I did my commentary about the branding move from Twitter to X and the recent UFO news – and placed the video version on the platform. It makes perfect sense to place video content native to the platform where the users are.

I have heard different things about the usage and traffic on X since the rebranding. There have also been other changes to the old Twitter platform that many users have not liked. So far, the platform seems stable to me. It is simply too early to say but so far I am not alarmed.

I do consider my full-length posting on X a success. The views and engagement were very strong. X has also made the paid boosting process for marketers much more streamlined than it was before on the old Twitter.

Granted, this was the first time I tried posting long-form content on Twitter X, so I don’t have a good gauge yet. For more discovery, I added another full-length podcast interview episode to Twitter X on August 6, 2023. This is a practice I plan to continue for the near future as the new incarnation of the platform starts to take form.

As it stands, I am cautiously optimistic about X. I have never been a Meta person, although strategic Facebook boosts do work for the right circumstances. Instagram has not caught fire for me. LinkedIn has its place, to be sure, especially with the B2B crowd. But, if you are counting on trending and active engagement, the LinkedIn “What’s My ROI Zombies” are not going to do it for you.

This is an interesting time for how news gets disseminated. I’ll just leave that right there for now…

…and if X turns out to be what it is intended to be, I want to be a part of it.

Hey, follow me on Twitter! I mean X! @BillyDees

You can find the full-length commentary podcast on X here.

Spotify and YouTube are below.