The internet was taken aback when users were greeted with a stylized letter 'X' instead of the iconic tiny blue bird on Monday, July 24, 2023.
This drastic rebranding was first announced by the owner of what once was Twitter, now X, Elon Musk, in a series of tweets—or should we say posts?—over the weekend before that momentous Monday. But as early as April 2023, the billionaire CEO had already changed the legal name of the company to X Corp.
On Sunday, Musk posted a sort of cryptic photo of him with his hands forming a large letter X as he poses in front of a backdrop bombarded with Xs. His photo was captioned, "Not sure what subtle clues gave it away, but I like the letter X."
"And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds," said another post he made that weekend.
Continuing their efforts to reshape the company's image, the process of taking down the original sign bearing the name "Twitter" from the San Francisco office building commenced on Monday. However, as NBC reported, local law enforcement stopped this project in the middle due to permit-related issues.
Aside from the logo, consumers have also noticed that entries on the platform that once were called "tweets" are now simply called "posts,", and "retweets" are just "reposts".
The rebranding drew a highly polarized reaction from avid users of the social media platform: some expressed support, while others asserted that this was a perfectly good way of undermining the cultural influence of the previous branding.
Mike Proulx, the research director at Forrester, mentioned on Sunday that this action would continue to distance Twitter from its initial user community, which was once remarkably devoted.
"While it could be argued that he's letting go of a recognizable brand, there's also the message that he's ushering in a new era for the entity formerly known as Twitter. This indicates a shift in direction and target audience," he explained.
Despite the divided opinions on this rebrand, the new X logo remains seated atop the San Francisco company headquarters, albeit with the good ol' white bird logo below, signaling that this talked-about revamp is here to stay.
With this, we offer a few insights on what this rebranding means for both Twitter or X app users and the company itself in the future.
Twitter in the Elon Musk Age: Why the Drastic Change?
By far, the new logo has been the most radical transition the app has gone through since billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk bought the company for $44 billion last year.
Ten years ago, Twitter gained prominence by presenting itself as a "global town square," offering a place where anyone could connect with millions of individuals in a matter of hours. The platform played a crucial role in enabling significant social uprisings, such as the protests associated with the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality.
The company's executives still promote this business branding even after Musk has taken over the corporation.
In the waning hours of Sunday afternoon, Linda Yaccarino, the recently instated CEO of Twitter, shared a tweet: "It's exceedingly rare—be it in life or in the realm of business—to be given a second chance to leave another major impression. Twitter left a colossal mark and revolutionized how we connect. Now, with X, we're set to go beyond, redefining the global public square."
However, some users felt alienated by a stream of updates, including the termination of some legacy verified marks, changing the whole system of verification, altering the character limit of posts, and blocking unverified users once they have seen 600 tweets a day.
These updates left a big impression on devoted regulars on the app, further informing their opinions on the drastic rebranding last week.
Nevertheless, owner Elon Musk remains zealous in his venture to turn X into a super-app, much like that of China's WeChat.
Industry experts are also one in imagining an American equivalent of WeChat, wherein consumers can do practically anything they wish to do online, from shopping to listening to a podcast to watching videos to messaging.
This rebranding is a gigantic step towards revolutionizing what was already a revolutionary app in terms of communication and culture-building.
More Than the Famous Twitter Logo: More Updates You Ought to Look Out For
At present, the platform's rebranding only entails a modification in its name; there haven't been any fresh functionalities introduced. This aligns with Musk's apparent preferred approach of generating anticipation initially and then delivering considerably later.
However, Mandeep Singh, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, suggests that the name change suggests Musk probably intends to maintain control over the brand in the near future.
Aside from the outward rebranding, the company is also gearing up for revolutionary changes on the app.
One of the most anticipated updates is the new audio and video call feature to be added to X's messaging platform. This is a huge step in turning the platform into the super-app Musk intends it to be.
Another already-instated update is regarding a significantly longer character limit for Twitter Blue subscribers. Currently, Twitter Blue members have the capability to compose tweets with a maximum of 25,000 characters. This marks an extension of 15,000 characters beyond the prior boundary of 10,000 characters, which was set as recently as April.
A new edit button is also added as part of the benefits for subscribers, allowing them to edit their post within one hour of sending it. More interestingly, Twitter Blue subscribers can now post up to two hour-long videos on their accounts.
There are also many helpful updates when it comes to battling disinformation, such as the built-in fact-checker, reduced visibility for posts that violate the app's rules, and the removal of some government-funded news labels.
Needless to say, the renewal of Twitter as X is just the start of an epochal innovation in the industry of communication and culture creation. Love it or hate it, Twitter is now X, and it is definitely here to stay for the better.
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