In a surprising move, Elon Musk, the billionaire in control of Twitter since October 2022, declared that the social media platform will undergo a major rebranding as “X,” effectively phasing out the iconic little blue bird that has been synonymous with Twitter for years.
In a late-night post on Saturday, Musk announced, “Soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” He also revealed that the platform’s website will transition to the x.com domain name. To gauge user preferences, Musk conducted a poll, asking if the default platform color should be changed to black, with about 75% of the votes in favor as of Sunday morning.
“If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make [it] go live worldwide tomorrow,” Musk added. Following this statement, he shared what appears to be a new logo for X.
Back in April 2023, Musk had already made a name change for the company, rebranding it from Twitter Inc. to X Corp., which is registered in Nevada and operates primarily in San Francisco.
Twitter, founded in 2006, adopted the bird as its mascot in 2008, and the current design of the Twitter Bird logo was introduced in 2012.
As the most-followed user on Twitter with 149 million followers, Musk’s decision to shift away from the Twitter brand caught the attention of the platform’s users. Musk playfully commented on his attraction to the letter “X,” noting, “Not sure what subtle clues gave it [away], but I like the letter X.” Interestingly, one of Musk’s children with the musician and artist Grimes bears the name X Æ A-XII, affectionately known as “X.”
Since taking over Twitter in a massive $44 billion deal, Musk has implemented significant changes, including replacing the executive leadership and dismantling the board. Subsequently, Twitter underwent four rounds of substantial layoffs, reducing its workforce by approximately 80%, from an estimated 7,800 employees to about 1,500.
To improve Twitter’s ad revenue, Musk appointed former NBCUniversal ad executive Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO. The company faced a significant decline in ad revenue, resulting in negative cash flow and a heavy debt burden. To counter this, Musk introduced Twitter Blue, a subscription service priced at $8/month, offering benefits such as a “verified” blue-check mark, previously exclusive to celebrities and prominent accounts. Moreover, Twitter recently initiated revenue-sharing with select creators, making Twitter Blue subscribers eligible for these earnings.
With the transformation to “X,” the future of the social media platform takes on a new trajectory under Elon Musk’s guidance. Users await the unveiling of the reimagined X platform, and its potential impact on the digital landscape.
Source : Variety
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