X: What now with Twitter?
By Fay Capstick
Elon Musk has been at it again making changes to the business that he has bought seemingly to play with. This time he has changed the name from Twitter to X. This week we shall be looking at what has happened, what it means, and what the implications are for users and the business.
What has happened?
Elon Musk has decided to change the name of Twitter to X. Changing names never tends to go as well as expected. A quick memory jog: Prince, Kanye West, Facebook, 4oD. Original names stick and memories are long.
How?
The change happened quickly after the announcement. The logo has changed from the famous blue bird to a black X and everything has been rebranded. We are now to refer to “tweets” as “posts”.
Why?
Musk says it is part of an overall plan for Twitter, but to outsiders, it looks like it has been done on a whim. We cannot be sure if this is part of some actual greater plan or something that Musk decided to do on a bet; either is possible.
One clue that the change was more whim than planned comes from the controversy over the flashing X sign that Twitter put on its headquarters roof. X did not have the permits needed and the sign had to be removed. This suggests a rushed rather than planned re-branding (or just a very long wait for building permits to be approved in San Francisco).
Fun Fact: Musk’s first-ever start-up was called X.com, so he has a history with the name, even referring to one of his many children as X.
What impact will it have?
The impact will be hard to judge. For a smaller company, it would be very hard to manage, as such a sudden and dramatic change of branding would be very hard to communicate in such a way that their users, audience, and the general public recognise it.
Twitter is different. It is a household name across the world. The ups and downs (well, mainly downs) of the changes that Musk is dictating are making the news. Users and non-users alike will probably be well aware that Twitter is now being re-branded as X. This gives it an advantage, but it does not mean that the re-branding will work.
It is hard to foresee a time when it is not referred to as: “X, formally known as Twitter.” X is simply not good enough for a company name to be spoken without extra clarification (at least at the moment).
Further, being as Twitter was a unique and iconic name, I do not think that people will stop using it any time soon. Names stick. That is the point of branding and Twitter used their branding well. Taking away both the name and the iconic blue bird image could harm the business and its place in public culture.
What does WeChat have to do with this?
WeChat, as a reminder, is a Chinese app that lets users do everything. Kinda like everything on your phone rolled into one, dating, texting, payments, news, hospital appointments, games, ride-hailing and social media. Anything that combines everything in this way and acquires users will have a lot of information about them that is extremely valuable to advertisers and sensitive.
Musk’s goal is to turn X into a similar platform to WeChat and he has announced that they will be slowly working towards this goal. But, how confident people will be in a company with such private knowledge of users with Musk owning it is debatable, but it is quite a goal given that in China almost all citizens are users. Personally, I find the idea of one business having so much knowledge and control over its users very worrying.
Has anything else happened with X?
Yes, they have a new slogan to go with the new name! Previous ones have included, “Let’s Talk”. The new one is “Blaze your glory”, which sounds very American and very meaningless when considered in the context of the app.
We have also learned that the parent company for X is called X Corp, which does sound a bit better than plain, simple, X, but still rather Iron Man in vibe.
Legal bills paid!
One other strange offer from Musk is that X will pay people’s legal bills should their bosses be unhappy about their activity on X. Musk has even declared there will be no limits on this legal fund for people who have posted or liked something on X that has then caused them problems in their employment. Musk has been very clear about his support for free speech. Overall, this is quite a bizarre offer.
Have any of Musk’s changes helped?
Based on some of his recent decisions, you would think that Musk was doing more harm than good at X. However, it has been reported by TechCrunch that X is near to breaking even, according to their CEO. However, this is unsurprising given the amount of staff that they made redundant, which encompasses most of their workforce; something that is unlikely to bring reassurance to their advertisers and the revenue they bring in (half of advertising money has been lost since Musk took over).
One thing is sure, it is all fascinating to watch, and maybe, just maybe, Musk can pull off his “everything app.” Watch this space.
Final thoughts
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