Lucy Kellaway - do CEOs need Twitter?

Synopsis

Chief executives today must communicate with their employees and the World At Large, making Twitter an essential platform. A report from the business school INSEAD highlights that executives who do not tweet are akin to those who remain isolated in their corner offices. The report ranks the most influential CEOs on Twitter, with Tim Cook at the top, boasting 3 million followers, despite being outnumbered by Bill Gates, who has 30 million. Cook's tweets, often featuring mundane personal updates and business meetings, receive significant engagement, raising questions about the nature of his influence. Interestingly, he follows very few accounts and rarely retweets, with only 40 tweets this year. The report suggests that while Twitter is a democratic communication tool, Cook's approach seems to contradict this notion. In contrast, Elon Musk, known for his dynamic tweets about rockets, stands out as a more engaging figure on the platform.