The Verge headline Twitter’s acquisition of a company that makes video streaming tools was one of the biggest tech acquisitions of the year, and that news could soon be good news for the people whose jobs depend on it.
But as the company prepares to close the deal, it may not be good at all for its employees.
The Verge has obtained an internal email exchange between the company’s VP of product management, Matt Buell, and the companys head of public relations, Rob Anderson.
The email shows that, while Vox Media is working to integrate some of its tools into its own app, the company will continue to make it available for free, as well as through its own platform, to all Vox Media employees.
Buel wrote to Anderson, “The only reason you have access to a free app is because Vox Media was acquired by Twitter.”
He went on to state that, in light of Vox’s acquisition, “there are no longer any ‘free’ apps” on the platform, but rather “a paid app.”
While Buels comments are likely a placeholder for the end of the day, it does indicate that the company has no plans to make its own tools free or open source.
Bully Pulpit is Vox’s new podcast, hosted by Vox’s co-founder Ezra Klein.
The podcast is currently in production and can be downloaded for free through iTunes.
Vox Media CEO Alex Roetter previously stated that the acquisition would mean that the Vox platform “would be free and open source.”
That’s certainly not the case, and as Vox Media’s internal email suggests, the transition will likely be rough.
For starters, it’s unclear what the transition would look like for Vox Media.
“Our goal is to deliver the best platform possible for everyone, but it’s important to recognize that a free platform is still a platform,” Buella wrote.
“You will need to make decisions about the future development of your app based on what the community thinks is best for your platform.
If you think the free platform will be best for the Vox community, that’s great, but don’t expect Vox to be making all the decisions for you.”
Vox’s employees will continue working on the Vox app as long as they use it, but that could change as the app continues to grow and evolve.
Buedel noted that the transition was “very important” to the Vox team.
“It means that we can start thinking about how we can improve the app for our existing users,” he wrote.
Bues emails also highlight the need for Vox’s staff to support the app.
“The team is looking for ways to improve the content, but you will need Vox staff to help develop new features for Vox,” Buedell wrote.
In his email, Buello added that he would need to talk to the “vox team” to make sure “all of the Vox staff and community feel like they are part of a team.”
That means that the app may never be able to compete with the company that has built its platform.
And as Vox employees continue to rely on Vox Media to offer their work to the world, it could be the end for their jobs.
Vox’s transition could also impact the companywide social network.
“Twitter’s acquisition is going to have a big impact on Vox’s internal users,” Anderson wrote in an email.
“We are going to be using Vox Media as our primary social network for the foreseeable future.
This means that our existing Twitter users will have access across all of our platforms, including Vox.
“Please consider helping us grow the Vox Community.””
With this new role, we will need all of your support to stay relevant, active, and engaged on Twitter, including any and all updates, updates, and updates,” he continued.
“Please consider helping us grow the Vox Community.”