Pressing X on X (Twitter Abandoned En Masse)
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2023-07-31 16:35:53 UTC
- Modified: 2023-07-31 16:39:10 UTC
Twitter (now "X") is already quite irrelevant this year
Summary: Twitter's rebrand accomplished nothing, but it did change the news cycle for almost a week; was this worth 44 billion dollars?
SOME time ago we said we'd strive to issue quick weekly reports on Twitter's demise, which was long in the making (even before Elon Musk). We did not envision a name change; keeping track of something called "X" is very difficult.
A lot of the "meat" is in the links at the bottom, but to give a rough overview, a week after the rebrand the feedback is overwhelmingly negative.
David Revoy (digital artist) dubbed it "Scary" and wrote: "I was just thinking about how the bluebird social network was rebranded, and how it now feels legitimate to give it a place in the museum of dead social networks... "
Many people are heartbroken because they think Twitter "contains" their friends. Many businesses mope because they "invested" in "X" (before it was "X"). Many publishers think their readers/audience are Twitter users (many no longer log in, so they see a sharp decrease in activity).
We've already said things about the trademark issues (there's more [1]), the plan to bribe people to come/stay [2], and the fact not many people remain in social control media after they leave Twitter [3]. There's an anticlimatic feeling. There are jokes [4] and heckles [5], even rumours about "X" abandoning the office (a claim they deny [6]) despite the new sign [7]. There's growing backlash about bringing back hate [8] and controversial statements [9], not to mention the misguided strategy [10] as explained by departing managers [11]. "The end of Twitter" [12] is discussed and one site says that "Twitter burns to the ground" [13] amid moderation controversies [14-16] and inane restrictions [17], even national bans [18]. While most headlines focused on the new logo and name (e.g. [19-30]), there was also criticism of the "app" culture [31-32] as advertiser continue fleeing [33].
If the intention was to shift the subject or to draw a lot of attention, then it probably worked. But there's a high hidden cost here and it seems like both advertisers and users quit in droves. It's a death spiral.
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Related/contextual items from the news:
The common forum that Elon Musk destroyed will never be replaced—and that’s okay.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’re developing a whole suite of new products that are like products you already know but designed to capture a larger audience than ever before.
Be nice to your SysAdmin, SEC makes rules for reporting cyber attacks, and Musk purloins a user's $40,000 Twitter X handle.
Billionaire Elon Musk says Twitter – the social media company he is in the midst of rebranding as "X" – will keep its headquarters in San Francisco despite the "doom loop" the city is facing as big-name businesses head for the exits.
Twitter/X quietly reactivates Kanye West’s account, but reports say he will be unable to monetize his account, and no ads will appear alongside his posts. X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has reinstated the€ account of Ye, the disgraced rapper and business mogul formerly known as Kanye West.
