Twitter Blue Bird becomes ‘X’. Elon Musk has made a lot of changes since taking over Twitter, but his latest move will change Twitter like never before.
He intends to do away with Twitter’s blue bird logo, from which the word “tweet” is derived. The platform will be renamed ‘X’.
As Twitter Blue Bird becomes ‘X’, here’re 10 points on how Twitter changed under Elon Musk:
- Twitter Blue was arguably Musk’s most significant change since the takeover. Musk replaced the blue badge of legacy verification with a paid verification system. The move sparked widespread outrage, with many expressing security concerns and others lamenting the loss of their blue badge.
- Then, for brands and government figures, Twitter introduced gold and silver ticks. In one of its many U-turns, the microblogging site began distributing blue ticks to celebrities who use the platform to confirm that they are not fakes earlier this year.
- Another controversial move by Musk was his decision to reinstate many high-profile accounts that had been suspended by the previous Twitter leadership. Ye (rapper Kanye West), accused of sharing anti-Semitic posts, influencer Andrew Tate, now imprisoned in Romania on charges of human trafficking, and former US President Donald Trump, accused of inciting Capitol Hill riots, were among them.
- Musk was also chastised for mass layoffs at Twitter shortly after the takeover. In a cost-cutting measure, nearly half of its workforce was laid off. In a separate email, the Twitter CEO issued an ultimatum to employees, stating that they will “need to be extremely hardcore and that only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”
- Twitter’s advertising business partially collapsed as a result of the major changes on its platforms and within its offices. Musk admitted earlier this month that Twitter’s ad revenue had dropped by nearly 50%. Even before the takeover, the microblogging site was having problems, and its popularity and influence were not translating into profits. According to Musk, Twitter’s cash flow remains negative due to a drop in ad revenue and a high debt load.
- Musk has moved to introduce payments and commerce through the platform in search of new revenue streams. Musk has stated that he wants Twitter to provide services such as peer-to-peer transactions as part of his vision for an “everything app” that serves as both a social media platform and a payment platform.
- According to rough estimates, Twitter has nearly 200 million daily active users. However, the site has encountered a number of technical issues since Musk’s takeover as he fine-tuned the platform. The “For You” and “Following” tabs are among the changes.
- Meanwhile, Twitter is facing competition. Threads, a text-based platform launched by Facebook parent Meta earlier this month. According to estimates, the new Instagram-connected platform already has around 150 million users. However, according to data from market research firm Sensor Tower, the amount of time users spend on Threads has decreased since its launch, according to news agency AFP.
- Many influencers have announced their intention to leave Twitter as Musk moves to change the name and logo. This is a new round of people leaving the platform, following an exodus following Musk’s takeover.
- Musk has already named Twitter’s parent company the X Corporation. “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make (it) go live worldwide tomorrow,” he said yesterday. He has also said a new emblem should be “of course, Art Deco” style and that under the site’s new identity, a post would be called “an X.”
Also read: What is xAI, a new company introduced by billionaire Elon Musk?
