Posted by The app that used to be called Twitter changed its name over the weekend. It caused a lot of talk on the internet. Now, X.com replaces Twitter.com, but the social media site still tells people to “tweet.”
The rebranding is another step in Twitter’s ongoing transformation from an online hangout spot to an app that can do “everything,” as CEO Linda Yaccarino describes it.
“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity — centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking — creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” she said on the platform. “Powered by A.I., X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”
Here’s what the change means for X since Elon Musk wants to change Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion in 2022.
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What will happen to Twitter now?
Musk has made it clear that he wants to turn Twitter into a “super-app” like China’s WeChat. For now, there’s nothing like it in the United States, but experts in the field picture an app that lets people do almost everything they want online.
App users can do many different things on the platform, like listening to a podcast, shopping, or watching videos.
Twitter users can already have live audio conversations, send longer text messages, and stream videos. So, if Twitter’s push for paid subscriptions works, it could someday share some of its money from subscriptions with its users.
Why the letter X?
Musk has been obsessed with the letter X for a long time, as his very first business was called X.com. After a merger, the app changed its name to PayPal. Still, Musk wanted it to keep the character X.
Musk’s other projects, like SpaceX, xAI, and the Model X, one of the first electric cars made by Tesla, also use the letter X. Musk even calls his son with the singer Grimes, “X.”
Six years ago, Musk took back control of X.com. In April, he changed the official name of Twitter to X Corp. Over the weekend, X.com was changed to point to Twitter.com, and on Monday, a crane started taking down Twitter’s famous bird logo from the building where the business is based in San Francisco. But soon after the work started, the cops stopped it.
How will this affect Twitter?
The platform’s rebranding is just a name change; no new features have been added. This is consistent with Musk’s product approach, which hypes up the product and delivers it much later.
What’s getting in the way?
An “everything app” could fail in many ways, from confusing its users to not getting enough sponsors.
Analysts say that adding shopping and paid subscription content to the platform could help it grow in the long run by giving it more ways to make money and making it less dependent on big companies’ willingness to spend money.
Building these skills would require a lot of money to spend on people and buildings. It’s not clear if a company that has cut about three-quarters of its staff and is now in various lawsuits over unpaid bills can do that.
Anisa is a writer who focuses on career and lifestyle topics in an effort to motivate both job searchers and employers towards greater fulfillment in their professional lives.
Reach me at anisa@jobstore.com.