TWITTER has been around for almost two decades, during which time it has avoided being taken over, despite years of speculation about potential buyers.
It took Elon Musk just 11 days to acquire the company.
Mr Musk, the Tesla founder who is said to be the world's richest man, had been eyeing the social media platform for a while.
Earlier this month, the SpaceX chief engineer and CEO revealed he had become Twitter's largest shareholder. He was offered a seat on the company's board in exchange for a cap on his shareholding.
In the end, he gave up the seat and took the entire boardroom instead.
It is worth considering the implications of Mr Musk's Twitter takeover to TT's democracy.
We are living through a period in which concerted efforts are under way to roll back globalisation. Shortages of commodities, problems with distribution and an increasingly chaotic natural environment have forced most countries to focus on self-sufficiency.
The internet, however, is one of the few domains where globalisation has remained deeply entrenched, connecting people from far-flung corners of the world with the click of a mouse.
Mr Musk's manoeuvres might seem irrelevant to us until we consider the key role played by social media today in our society, a role that was only heightened by the turn to online life wrought by the pandemic.
According to some analysts, there are at least 70,000 TT nationals on Twitter. But the number could well be much higher, especially when factoring in the TT diaspora.
Whether living at home or abroad, the people of this country love social media. So popular are websites such as Twitter that even Cabinet members like Faris Al-Rawi have routinely turned to online spaces to engage with users. Finance Minister Colm Imbert's Twitter usage rivals that of the official account of his own ministry.
A potent illustration of the role of Twitter in our democracy came during the 2020 general election campaign, when the Opposition UNC was widely lampooned by users for a manifesto pledge to 'create a dome around TT.'
In an electoral system in which a few hundred votes can determine the outcome of an election, the influence of social media is not to be discounted.
'Twitter has extraordinary potential,' Mr Musk said in a recent letter to Twitter shareholders. 'I will unlock it.'
What the billionaire means by this is uncertain. He has spoken in the past about being a 'free speech absolutist,' but has also pledged to rid the site of bots and fake accounts.
One thing is clear: Mr Musk's takeover demonstrates the power of plutocrats all over the world to wield influence beyond the borders of their nominal homelands. The ripple effects will go viral.
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