Twitter is now X after a radical rebranding over the weekend.
The iconic bird logo was replaced throughout the social network with a new X logo, and the official @Twitter account was also renamed to X.
Elon Musk, who bought the social network in October 2022, explained why the rebrand matters.
Screenshot from Twitter/X, July 2023Musk has hinted at the upcoming change to Twitter for months.
X
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2023
X was mentioned when the new Twitter CEO, Linda Yaccarino, joined the team.
Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!
My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2023
The rebranding is no surprise to those who follow Musk, as he has mentioned plans for a comprehensive social platform that offers more than text-based updates.
Going to create a site where the public can rate the core truth of any article & track the credibility score over time of each journalist, editor & publication. Thinking of calling it Pravda …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2018
The new platform envisioned years ago incorporates a credibility score to make it easier to spot bots and disinformation.
Create a media credibility rating site (that also flags propaganda botnets)
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2018
Instead of creating a new platform from scratch, the purchase of Twitter accelerated the plans for X by three to five years.
Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2022
According to Yaccarino, X aims to become a universal marketplace for ideas, products, and services powered by artificial intelligence.
The platform, which once transformed global communication, promises boundless interactivity in the future.
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. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) July 23, 2023
Twitter’s stakeholders have long desired more significant innovation, and X is the solution, with its formation already visible in numerous recent feature launches.
Yaccarino and Musk anticipate further growth and are excited to introduce X globally.
Lights. Camera. X! pic.twitter.com/K9Ou47Qb4R
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) July 24, 2023
As X continues to take over the Twitter brand, the x.com domain will redirect to the Twitter website.
https://t.co/bOUOek5Cvy now points to https://t.co/AYBszklpkE.
Interim X logo goes live later today.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Screenshot from X.com, July 2023The domain was once the home of Musk’s venture into banking with X/PayPal.
Screenshot from Archive.org, July 2023Branding on the official website appeared to be a mixture of X Corp and the soon-to-be-gone Twitter bird.
Screenshot from Twitter, July 2023What Will Happen To Embedded Tweets?
In addition to questions about rebranding, others are interested in how the move to x.com and other changes will affect features like embedded tweets.
How long before embedded Tweets break?
A lot of content marketers are going to scramble (myself included) real quick.
Little did we know that screenshots of Tweets would be the winners in the end…
— Garrett Sussman ☕️🔎 (@garrettsussman) July 24, 2023
John Mueller, Google Search Advocate, noted the unreliable way embeds work.
Here’s the one for Twitter: https://t.co/NYhEPFrhj4
I just don’t like having to rely on unknown JS & 3rd-party embedded content. No unknown functionality, no unknown content, no unknown tracking, no unknown breakage.
— John Mueller (official) · Not #30D (@JohnMu) July 24, 2023
We have reached out to X/Twitter to comment. The press@ Twitter autoresponder has been updated from 💩 to “We’ll get back to you soon.”
The Future Of X
As we look to the horizon of this digital revolution, the potential for AI integration within X becomes an intriguing possibility, particularly considering Musk’s existing AI venture, xAI.
The amalgamation of xAI’s cutting-edge technology into the X super-app could be a game-changer, pushing the boundaries of how we interact with digital platforms. Twitter becomes X under Musk, offering unlimited interaction via AI-powered features, redefining the scope of the global town square.”
That’s the promise of X – an immersive, seamless digital ecosystem.
The dawn of this new era certainly warrants our attention, as X is poised to redefine Twitter and the social media landscape and beyond.
Featured image: bluecat_stock/Shutterstock
