Current:Home > BackTwitter replaces its bird logo with an X as part of Elon Musk's plan for a super app-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Twitter replaces its bird logo with an X as part of Elon Musk's plan for a super app
View Date:2024-12-23 19:00:02
Twitter's iconic blue bird logo was officially replaced Monday with the letter "X." A day earlier, the URL "X.com" began to automatically redirect users to Twitter.
Taken together, the two changes mark the latest and arguably most dramatic changes for the social platform since the billionaire's purchase last year. It may signal a new era for the platform — which Musk has long envisioned as a super app that will offer a variety of services from online banking to video messaging.
"X will be the platform that can deliver, well....everything," Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino wrote Sunday on Twitter.
Musk has hinted at changing Twitter's name to "X" since last year when he was days away from officially owning the company. "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," he said on Twitter.
Musk's vision for an "everything app" has been compared to platforms like the ubiquitous WeChat app in China.
"He wants to create an app similar to how WeChat is used in China, where it's part of the fabric of day-to-day life. You use it to communicate, to consume news, to buy things, to pay your rent, to book appointments with your doctor and even to pay fines," Ashlee Vance, the author of Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, told NPR in a May interview.
Social media experts are doubtful of Musk's "everything app"
Twitter's new logo is sleeker and on par with the futuristic style of Elon Musk's other business ventures, Tesla and SpaceX. But social media expert Jennifer Grygiel is skeptical that Musk can create an innovative Twitter as the re-branding suggests.
"I'm not sure he has enough trust from his user base to get people to actually exchange money or attach any type of financial institution to his app," Grygiel, a professor at Syracuse University, told NPR.
Grygiel added that Musk hurt Twitter's integrity with decisions like removing blue checks, firing thousands of Twitter staff and reinstating problematic accounts.
Jeffrey Blevins, a journalism professor at the University of Cincinnati, agreed that Musk has dismayed a significant portion of Twitter users — so much so that a rebranding can't hurt.
"I think this is a way, maybe, to try to save it essentially by destroying it and recreating it as something else," he said.
Musk really likes the letter "X" but no one really knows why
For years, the billionaire has been known for having an affinity for the letter X — though he has shared little explanation as to why.
In one of his earliest ventures, Musk called his online bank X.com. That name was later dropped when the platform merged with a competitor to become PayPal.
"Everyone tried to talk him out of naming the company that back then because of the sexual innuendos, but he really liked it and stuck with it," said Vance.
"X" is already the name of Tesla's third electric car model, which debuted in 2015. Musk's spaceflight company is called SpaceX. And in 2020, Musk and his then-partner, the Canadian musician Grimes, named their youngest son "X Æ A-12."
veryGood! (1383)
Related
- Lane Kiffin puts heat on CFP bracket after Ole Miss pounds Georgia. So, who's left out?
- Music trends that took us by surprise in 2023
- California hiker rescued after being stuck under massive boulder for almost 7 hours
- China’s homegrown C919 aircraft arrives in Hong Kong in maiden flight outside the mainland
- Opinion: NFL began season with no Black offensive coordinators, first time since the 1980s
- What does 'sus' mean? Understanding the slang term's origins and usage.
- South Africa to build new nuclear plants. The opposition attacked the plan over alleged Russia links
- Do those Beyoncé popcorn buckets have long-term value? A memorabilia expert weighs in
- Bankruptcy judge questioned Shilo Sanders' no-show at previous trial
- 'Taxi' reunion: Tony Danza talks past romance with co-star Marilu Henner
Ranking
- Bo the police K-9, who located child taken at knifepoint, wins Hero Dog Awards 2024
- U.N. says Israel-Hamas war causing unmatched suffering in Gaza, pleads for new cease-fire, more aid
- Police and customs seize live animals, horns and ivory in global wildlife trafficking operation
- Katie Lee Biegel's Gift Guide Will Help You & Loved Ones Savor The Holiday Season
- Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday light display in Manhattan changing up this season
- Kenya marks 60 years of independence, and the president defends painful economic measures
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits White House for joint appearance with Biden
- Inflation continues to moderate thanks to a big drop in gas prices
Recommendation
-
Princess Kate to host annual Christmas carol service following cancer treatment
-
Zac Efron shouts out 'High School Musical,' honors Matthew Perry at Walk of Fame ceremony
-
FDNY reports no victims in Bronx partial building collapse
-
Secret Santa Gifts on Amazon That Understand the Assignment & They're Under $30
-
2025 Medicare Part B premium increase outpaces both Social Security COLA and inflation
-
US announces new sanctions on Russia’s weapons suppliers as Zelenskyy visits Washington
-
Rare gold coins, worth $2,000, left as donations in Salvation Army red kettles nationwide
-
Imagine if GPS got lost. We at Space Force worry about it so you don't have to.