Musk Says Twitter to Change Logo to “X” from the Bird. Changes Could Come as Early as Monday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Musk Says Twitter to Change Logo to “X” from the Bird. Changes Could Come as Early as Monday.

Full Article Source

AP 11:01 JST, July 24, 2023 NEW YORK (AP) Elon Musk said Sunday that he plans to change the logo of Twitter to an X from the famous blue bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last year. In a series of posts on his Twitter account starting just after 12 a.m. ET, Twitters owner said that hes looking to make the change worldwide as soon as Monday. And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds, Musk wrote on his account. The change isnt surprising given Musks long history with the name X, says Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce. The billionaire Tesla CEO tweeted last October that buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app. Musks rocket company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is commonly known as SpaceX. And in 1999, Musk founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company now known as PayPal. Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X, Musk tweeted Sunday. Hours later on Sunday, Linda Yaccarino, the longtime NBC Universal executive Musk appointed as Twitter CEO in May, weighed in on the move. Its an exceptionally rare thing in life or in business that you get a second chance to make another big impression, she wrote on her Twitter account. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square. Yaccarino wrote on Twitter that X would be the future state of unlimited interactivity centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. But the change on Twitter was met with skepticism on the social media platform. The change will be very confusing to a huge chunk of the Twitters audience, which has been already souring on the social platform given a slew of other major changes Musk has made, Adamson said. They wont get it, he said. Its a fitting end to a phenomenal unwinding of an iconic brand and business. Earlier this month, Musk put new curfews on his digital town square, a move that met with sharp criticism it could drive away more advertisers and undermine its cultural influence as a trendsetter. The higher tweet-viewing threshold is part of an $8-per-month subscription service that Musk rolled out earlier this year in an attempt to boost Twitter revenue. Revenue has dropped sharply since Musk took over the company and laid off roughly three-fourths of the workforce to slash costs and avoid bankruptcy. Luring advertisers is essential for Musk and Twitter after many fled in the early months after his takeover of the social media platform, fearing damage to their brands in the enveloping chaos. Advertisers have cut back on spending partly because of changes Musk has made that has allowed for more hateful content to flourish and that has offended a wider part of the platforms audience. Musk said in late April that advertisers had returned, but provided no specifics. Musks move to change Twitters logo to an X also comes as Twitter faces new competition from Metas new app, Threads, launched earlier this month. It has been seen as an alternative for those who have been upset with Twitter. Threads is being billed as a text-based version of Metas photo-sharing app Instagram that the company has said offers a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. In the first five days of its launch, 100 million people had signed up for Threads, according to a post on Threads by Instagram head Adam Mosseri. JN ACCESS RANKING The Japan News / Weekly Edition Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting, readable fomat. Read more 2023 The Japan News - by The Yomiuri Shimbun