Elon Musk’s X sends Twitter’s blue chook into obscurity
Elon Musk is killing off Twitter’s iconic blue chook and changing it along with his favorite letter of the alphabet – however which may not be the largest change coming for the social media platform.
Musk, who took over Twitter final 12 months in a deal price $US44 billion ($61 billion), revealed on Sunday that the platform will “bid adieu” to the Twitter model because it transfer in the direction of its subsequent iteration, ‘X’.
Stylistic modifications will embody a change from a blue color scheme to black, and switching Twitter’s chook for an “Artwork Deco”-style letter X.
Whereas the change may appear sudden to the informal observer, Musk has lengthy been open about his plan to transition Twitter to X, which he known as “the all the pieces app” in October 2022.
Twitter Inc. was formally renamed X Corp. in April 2023, and whereas the twitter.com URL presently stays energetic, x.com now additionally directs web customers to the social media platform.
When asserting the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as Twitter CEO in Could, Musk mentioned he appeared ahead to working along with her to rework Twitter into X, the all the pieces app.
Yaccarino tweeted on Monday that X will rework the worldwide city sq..
“X is the long run state of limitless interactivity – centred in audio, video, messaging, funds/banking – creating a world market for concepts, items, companies, and alternatives,” she wrote.
What’s an ‘all the pieces app’?
Yaccarino mentioned there may be “completely no restrict” to Twitter’s transformation.
“X would be the platform that may ship, nicely … all the pieces,” she wrote.
Musk has been vocal about his need to create an all the pieces app, brazenly eager to observe within the footsteps of the Chinese language app, WeChat.
“In the event you’re in China, you type of dwell on WeChat,” Musk mentioned on the All-In podcast final 12 months.
“It does all the pieces. It’s form of like Twitter, plus PayPal, plus an entire bunch of issues all rolled into one, with an awesome interface.
“It’s actually a wonderful app, and we don’t have something like that outdoors of China.”
WeChat launched in China in 2011, and now boasts multiple billion customers worldwide.
Initially a platform centered on cell textual content and voice messages, WeChat’s companies have since expanded to change into omnipresent in customers’ on a regular basis lives.
WeChat – and its embedded mini-apps which permit entry to third-party companies – can be utilized to pay payments, switch cash to buddies, ebook motels and taxis, organise hospital appointments, store on-line, and purchase groceries.
Customers will need to have a Chinese language checking account to entry the WeChat Pay operate, which is now open to 49 nations, together with Australia – the place greater than 10,000 retailers and eating places use the system.
World’s ‘largest monetary establishment’
If Musk has his method, X would be the West’s reply to the Chinese language all the pieces app, with a specific deal with monetary companies.
In March, he informed Morgan Stanley managing director Michael Grimes that X may change into “the largest monetary establishment on the earth” by offering handy fee choices.
“I feel it’s attainable to create a really highly effective finance expertise, principally,” he mentioned.
“PayPal is type of like a midway model of what I feel may very well be carried out in funds and finance.
“You need to have the ability to ship cash simply from one account on X-slash-Twitter to a different account effortlessly, with one click on. You need to have the ability to earn curiosity on the cash; you need to have the ability to have debt, so your curiosity can go destructive.”
Twitter a step to final objective
Musk has been working in the direction of this for many years; he co-founded on-line financial institution X.com in 1999, an establishment that incentivised sign-ups and eased the method of transferring funds digitally.
X.com later merged with software program firm Confinity, and shaped safe on-line funds platform PayPal, which launched in 2000 and was purchased by eBay in 2002 for $US1.5 billion ($A2.2 billion).
In 2017, Musk purchased the X.com area from PayPal for its “sentimental worth”.
Whereas the power to deal with cash on Twitter/X is but to go dwell, Musk has already overseen a number of modifications since his takeover, together with placing blue verification checkmarks up on the market, and testing out job listings on verified organisation profiles.
Subsequent within the firing line seems to be the whole concept of retweets, and the collective name of the platform’s users, presently referred to as ‘tweeters’.
Whereas some are condemning him for his plans to massively change Twitter, and throwing away the extent of brand name recognition many corporations would kill for by disposing of the platform’s blue chook and lexicon, Musk isn’t backing down.
“Frankly, I like the destructive suggestions on this platform. Vastly preferable to some sniffy censorship bureau!” he tweeted on Monday.
X is a key a part of Musk’s imaginative and prescient for the long run – he’s simply utilizing Twitter’s pre-existing person base and platform to hurry issues up.
