Stanley Pignal

ARCHIVED ACCOUNT. I AM POSTING AT BLUESKY.
Charlemagne columnist & Brussels bureau chief, The Economist.
Past stints in Paris, Mumbai, London. Français.

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

SO there you go. Leaving this place and going to another one is a pain - I'm not pretending it's cost-free. But within a couple of months you're back to where you were before.

I don't judge people who have decided to stay here. But you should know what The Other Place is like

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

I am rejoining X for one thread to give people insights into what it is like in The Other Place (because of the algos, I can't even mention it by name).

I get that people hesitate to do the jump. But for those thinking about it, this is what you can expect. It's worth it.🧵

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

The advantages of The Other Place
- you don't have an overbearing algo that dictates the tone of the discourse
- is the tone "kinder"? Maybe. I didn't use to have a huge problem on X. It wasn't my reason for moving
- No terrible ads.🧵

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

After a month away I've decided not to come back to X. I will keep this account open to ensure it doesn't get cloned. The transformation of this platform into a megaphone for one person (never mind his views, which I do mind) is a step too far.

Find me on BSky!

Thanks & bye

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

Going to do another week on BlueSky only. Most of the people I have enjoyed interacting with over the years are now over there. I am on @spignal.bsky.social

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

I'll be off Twitter for the coming week.

I want to give the other place (BS) a shot. It does seem like many of the people I've enjoyed interacting with over the years are already there.

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

And my handle on Bluesky is the same: @spignal

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

I'll be off Twitter for the coming week.

I want to give the other place (BS) a shot. It does seem like many of the people I've enjoyed interacting with over the years are already there.

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

European "strategic autonomy" is fortune cookies in 4 different languages

[Darius Rochebin @DariusRochebin]

« Musk vient de Mars et l’Europe de Vénus. »

La formule de @TheEconomist sur l’effet du pouvoir décuplé de Musk sur la compétition avec l’Europe : https://t.co/874mPYFXaw

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

@tom_nuttall STILL NOT GIVING MALTA ITS DUE

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

@tariqkrim yes but if it's commoditised who cares? China dominates making t-shirts as well, it's not exactly important. If the West can make 6G or whatever technology without undue reliance on China - which is a question - that may be good enough. US has high bills and is no less dependent!

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

@tariqkrim The political decision was made, essentially, to keep consumer prices low by having lots of providers (in each EU country), enforced by antitrust rules. The upshot is much lower bills (which is great, given it's like a flat tax) but, indeed, lower investment in innovation.

[Stanley Pignal @spignal]

@Soob I'm not sure where you're getting that line of reasoning from. Certainly not one I've heard before, even implicitly.

[Henry Foy @HenryJFoy]

Commission's legal team fighting the Pfizergate text case in the ECJ this morning is trying to argue that they both don't have the SMS messages sent between VDL and Pfizer CEO Bourla... and simultaneously know the contents aren't important