Twitter is dead! Long live… uh, “X.” Yesterday, Elon Musk announced that big changes are on the way for his fading social media empire. The Twitter bird logo will become an X, the word “tweet” will be no more, and the new domain name for the site will be “X.com”.
Musk is currently taking suggestions for a new official logo for the site, though Star Wars icon and Twitter highlight Mark Hamill has his own pointed suggestion:
It’s worth remembering that Musk has been trying to make “X” a thing for over two decades. Back in the early late 90s he was trying to ride the dotcom boom, and figured a “financial superstore” known simply as X.com would do the trick.
In 2000, after joining PayPal, he tried to push for that site to rebrand as X.com, but was promptly forced out by the board who clearly didn’t think it was a good idea.
Well, we’ll apparently soon find out if X.com will sink or swim. That said, as far as branding goes, most companies would kill for phrasing as ubiquitous as “tweet” and “retweet,” so ditching all that feels like shooting yourself in the foot from that perspective.
Twitter users are currently fleeing the site like rats from a sinking ship anyway, and this move will only accelerate the process.
Then again, given Musk’s recent behavior, we wouldn’t be surprised if this never actually happens, and turns out to be one big joke. I guess it remains to be seen if X gon’ give it to ya.
Published: Jul 24, 2023 02:24 am