Twitter has begun rebranding itself into “X,” with owner Elon Musk and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino saying that the new brand will allow Twitter to “dream bigger.”
Musk’s stated aim with Twitter — right from the time he purchased the platform — was to create an “everything” app that would allow users to tweet into the void and do their banking, for example.
Now, the transformation is underway, with Musk announcing that the platform’s logo would change from the classic Twitter bird to an “X.”
Yaccarino said that “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centred in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”
She also added that “fans and critics alike have pushed Twitter to dream bigger.”
Quite what dreaming “bigger” means, is unclear. She also added that “X” had started to take shape over the past eight months “through our rapid feature launches.”
Those feature launches have included limiting the number of tweets a user can view, breaking the existing verification system in an attempt to generate more money and increasing the character limit for verified users. Exciting stuff.
The “Community Notes” feature was designed to replace Twitter’s content moderation system by outsourcing it to users. There have been some funny and shocking moments.
Community Notes has added some “context” around Elon Musk’s denial that his father owned an emerald mine pic.twitter.com/Q8cNoh9VF0
— James Clayton (@JamesClayton5) March 9, 2023
Invited a Colombian woman on vacation without meeting her first – now we’re getting married. pic.twitter.com/ydCm4jWmBW
— 🤙 (@ptrain67) December 17, 2022
Musk reportedly emailed the remaining Twitter employees to inform them of the change to the company’s name and added that X.com now redirects to Twitter.com.
This is the clearest indicator so far that the Twitter the world knew and (sometimes) loved is no more. As expected, Musk is ploughing on with extricating Twitter from advertising revenue — fortunate considering it was down by half since his takeover — and towards other services. Aside from the supposedly upcoming banking and payment tools, the company will also release a hiring feature that will let Verified Organisations post openings.
