In one of the most significant changes to a critical part of the social media ecosystem this year, Twitter owner Elon Musk and Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino announced a branding redesign of the social media site. They said that the platform’s unique bird logo will be updated, and it will be renamed “X.” This transition is likely to drive Twitter into new territory, focused on payments, banking, and commerce, all powered by AI. X.com will now redirect a user to Twitter.
Linda Yaccarino expressed excitement about the future of “X,” claiming that it will revolutionize the way people engage with one another by merging cutting-edge capabilities such as audio, video, messaging, and more. Elon Musk announced the branding revamp in a tweet over the weekend, bidding farewell to the Twitter brand and its Larry the Birds images.
The billionaire business magnate posted a photo of the Twitter bird on a black and white marbled background, emphasizing the “X” identity shift. Since Musk’s takeover of Twitter last year, the platform has experienced issues in its advertising business, prompting it to look for other revenue sources. The inclusion of payments and commerce appears to be a means to offset diminishing advertising earnings.
Under the new branding, tweets will be referred to as “an X
No, you will not. You will no longer tweet on Twitter. Under the new branding, platform posts will be referred to as “an X,” and an Art Deco-style logo is being sought. A tweet is primarily the voice of Larry the Bird, which has come to represent Twitter the social media network, and the expressions of its users. Musk’s branding change will erase the platform’s relationship with birds.
Is there a precedent for X?
There is, indeed. Elon Musk has been vocal about his desire for “X” to be an all-encompassing program, similar to the X.com business he previously established, which eventually morphed into PayPal. Despite having over 200 million daily active users, Twitter has had technical difficulties and user hostility since Musk’s takeover. The implementation of fees for formerly free services, changes to content monitoring, and the reinstatement of previously banned users have all been met with criticism.
Twitter now faces competition in the social media arena, thanks to Meta’s recent introduction of Threads, a text-based platform with a sizable user base. Musk’s goal with “X” is to establish a worldwide marketplace that brings together ideas, goods, services, and opportunities in an infinite and dynamic ecosystem.