Twitter CEO Elon Musk said Thursday that the platform’s Blue Subscribers can upload up to 2 hours video, marking the social media company’s foray into long video streaming that is expected to challenge YouTube.

Twitter Blue Verified subscribers can now upload 2 hour videos (8GB)!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2023

The move is understood to be part of Musk’s efforts to redefine Twitter, increasing the number of users, widening its range of contents – and most of all – implementing his “Everything App” idea.

Twitter said there is no limit to the number of videos you can upload, even if all videos are the maximum length. Under the change, video file size limit for paid users has been increased from 2GB to 8GB. The earlier longer video upload, which was only possible from the web, it’s now also possible through the iOS app.

The 2 hour video upload is an upgrade from the 60 minutes, 2GB in file size update made in December by Twitter, which was available only on the web at 1080p resolution.

As part of Musk’s efforts to redefine Twitter, he has introduced new features such as raising the character limit to 10 thousand for Twitter Blue subscribers. He also relaunched the Super Follow as subscription, giving content creators the opportunity to monetize their contents at $2.99, $4.99 and $9.99 per month.

With about 400 million monthly users, Twitter is expected to give video-based platforms a run for their money. Already there is a queue of users who want to start their podcast on the platform, including Tucker Carlson, ex Fox News host.

oh snap… Twitter know has playback speed; catching up to modern podcast players/youtube quickly

please add automatic transcripts & downloads to the roadmap @elonmusk https://t.co/8yUpnFpVLB pic.twitter.com/8LD88v1D5h

— @jason (@Jason) May 15, 2023

Musk’s response to this suggestion made by All-in Podcast moderator Jason, who has started uploading podcast videos on Twitter, is; “coming soon.”

Twitter users are expecting further changes in the future that will include payment services. Last month, eToro, a social trading company, announced partnership with Twitter to offer financial services. The partnership will allow Twitter users to access stocks, cryptocurrencies and other financial assets.

However, the flurry of changes happening on Twitter has also stirred a lot criticism, resulting in exodus of advertisers and some users. This has emboldened the belief that Twitter will have to face stiff competition from social media companies such as Mastodon and also Bluesky – recently launched by Twitter cofounder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, in its push to become everything app.

Both Mastodon and Bluesky share similarities with Twitter and have seen uptick in the number of users recently, especially those who disagree with Musk’s method of running the platform.

In AO Lawal’s WAEC textbook on Economics, he did not include “Knowledge” as a factor of production. Of course, during his era, Knowledge was not seen as a catalytic component of the market system. If you go back to Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” postulation and the wealth of nations, and adding the theories of comparative advantages, one thing was clear: specialization deepens competitiveness.

Yes, those remain. But time is changing in the digital online space: everyone is doing everything, as we learn that Facebook’s parent company is unveiling a Twitter-clone: “Giant tech company Meta is reportedly working on a Twitter-like app, which could launch as early as next month.”

Digital Marketing Expert Lia Haberman, disclosed that the new platform doesn’t have an official name yet, and is internally known as “P92” or “Barcelona”, but it is being designed following Instagram’s guidelines and branding.

The app description reads, “Say more with Instagram’s new text-based app for conversations. Talk directly with your audience and peers. Create with text and attach links, photos, and videos. Engage with likes and replies to deepen connections with friends, fans, and other creators. Bring your fans with you.”

The Igbo Nation summarized it thus: “uwa bu ahia” [the world is a market]. Go and play, no boundaries because our world is a market. Now, Twitter can work to clone Instagram since it has already hinted it would take up WhatsApp. Meta did what they do in churches in Nigeria: “return to sender” as you ban adversaries, real and imaginary. Twitter if you come after WhatsApp, we will come after you also!

When two elephants fight, the grasses suffer. But this may be different: customers will get better products. #battle

Update: after posting this, the news is that Twitter now allows its blue checkmark users to upload two hour videos. Hello YouTube, this is for you: “Twitter CEO Elon Musk said Thursday that the platform’s Blue Subscribers can upload up to 2 hours video, marking the social media company’s foray into long video streaming that is expected to challenge YouTube.”

On my piece on defunding many knowledge ecosystems by African politicians, including the iconic Ahiajoku Lecture of Owerri, which used to bring eminent Igbo scholars together, to discuss important things, Francis Oguaju dropped this comment: “Why does going to school feel like a scam to many? Because the intent has never been to acquire knowledge and liberate the mind, rather a sort of misguided notion about escape from poverty, so when you are unable to secure paid employment after schooling, it automatically implies that you wasted money going to school.”

The Ahiajoku Lecture was like Chinua Achebe’s literary home. When he edited Okike, Ahiajoku was always a place to meet to engage him. FC Ogbalu, one of the most prominent Igbo scholars who harmonized Igbo writing, used Ahiajoku to push the message of the necessity of writing and speaking Igbo in ways every Igbo person could understand. Simply, they invented Igbo Izugbe (general Igbo).

My Igbo dialect in Ovim (Abia State) is different from any community in the Igbo Nation except a neigbouring community named Amaba. Even Ahaba Imenyi, which we share boundaries with, has a different Igbo dialect. By the time you get to Umuahia, it becomes challenging. FC Ogbalu worked with other scholars to move from “A B GB…” to “A B CH …” introducing CH to accommodate some of these deviations in Igbo etymology. In Igbo, there is no C, Q and X. My senior secondary Igbo teacher, Papa Iyke, shared some of the convention communiques with us in a handout.

The first Igbo convention was in 1978 and later by around 1983, they ratified many things. If you check well, Umuahia and Owerri dialects dominated modern Igbo writing. Ahiajoku was a platform where many things evolved.

Going back to Francis’ comment, people say these days that if one finishes from a university and cannot get a job, that the education is a waste. That thinking is primarily the reason in Tekedia Mini-MBA we do not even offer any job support or help. Yes, if you want to come because it can help you get a job, this may not be the right school for you. We want you to come for knowledge, and if you do get it, many benefits will come along the way, including jobs. That is why we have no job portal or support system because when the world has made going to school to be about getting jobs, it has deviated from the core tenet of education which is the “liberation of the mind”.

And that education can come in many ways including lecture series, continuous education, university system and more.

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: I asked ChatGpt the subject matter, here’s what ChatGpt has to say: “While getting a job is one reason people pursue education, it is not the sole purpose. Education serves a range of purposes beyond employment. Here are key reasons for education:

Acquisition of knowledge and skills: Education is crucial for acquiring knowledge and developing critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and creativity.

Personal development: Education helps individuals develop intellectually, emotionally, and socially. It broadens perspectives, enhances self-awareness, and fosters personal growth.

Empowerment and social mobility: Education empowers individuals and promotes social mobility. It provides opportunities to improve socioeconomic status, break the cycle of poverty, and access better opportunities in life.

Citizenship and civic engagement: Education shapes active and informed citizens who can contribute to society. It helps individuals understand their rights, responsibilities, and democratic systems.

Cultural preservation and appreciation: Education preserves and transmits cultural knowledge and heritage. It helps individuals appreciate diverse cultures, languages, arts, and traditions.”

Comment 2: Some deep thoughts here.

Unfortunately, the false impression about education created many years ago, that fostered this syndrome, is still being perpetuated with much of the current structures and processes of the Nigerian educational system.

In our climes, a university degree is the minimum entry pass onto many life elevating jobs. Even polytechnic graduates have not quite won the battle for parity on this score. And year on year, millions of Nigerian parents ( including us here ) are almost giving up their lives to get their children to join the hordes of university undergraduates, admission-suitable or not.

I believe things will only start to change here when universities change parameters for admission into degree programs, and also expand their curriculum to include various short-term diplomas for those who may not meet up; and also when various governments as well as corporate Nigeria begin to reckon with skills and defensible capacities.

Otherwise, we are still blowing hot and empty air, I’m sorry.