Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast.
This is a show where we discuss. The critical.
Crossroads That Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and
Neuralink, and I'm your Host Will Walden One.
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Thank you so much. Elon Musk's X, the social media
platform formerly known as Twitter, is set to remove the
option for premium users to hide their blue checkmarks, a feature
that was once optional. Now this change was communicated
to users through a notification and the blue check mark,
previously a mark of authenticity and also status,
has transformed under Elon Musk's ownership into a symbol
that users could purchase, leading to a shift in the
perception among the platform's community.
Now, according to a recent update from X itself, the
ability to conceal one's blue check mark will soon be
discontinued. The platform stated.
The Hide Your Check Mark feature of X Premium is going away soon,
urging users to adjust their premium settings accordingly.
Now this marks a significant shift in how users can control
their visibility and association with the blue check mark.
Now the decision to make blue check marks mandatory for
premium users reflects A broader change in policy under Elon
Musk's direction. Initially, Musk critique the old
Twitter's Blue check system as a quote Lords and Peasants system,
only to reintroduce it in a different form where users could
pay a monthly fee for premium features including the blue
check mark. Think about that, if you have
the money, you can have a blue check mark or if you had the
status before, you can have the blue check mark.
Does that still make you a Lord If you have the money or the
status? That's up to you to decide.
Now this move has not been well received by all though as many
users expressed dissatisfaction stating they would not pay for
such a feature. The ability to hide the blue
check mark was heavily utilized last week when Musk decided to
automatically assign it to popular users, indicating the
user's reluctance to be openly associated with the paid status
symbol that we introduced in August of 2023.
The option to hide the blue check mark was intended to allow
users to subscribe to X Premium without public endorsement or
the stigma of having paid for their status.
This features removal, expected to occur less than a year after
its introduction, has sparked concerns about the increasing
influence and control exerted by Platform Policies over user
preferences. Now many influential and high
profile users on X now face a challenging decision, continue
using the platform with an openly displayed blue check
mark, or cease using this service altogether.
Now the new policy could potentially Dr. significant
numbers of X's content creators to alternative platforms such as
Threads, which have emerged as competitors in the social media
space. And the pattern of imposing
stark choices on users and affiliates is characteristic of
Musk's management style. Similar to past instances where
he has issued ultimatums to advertisers and product users,
this move can be seen as part of a broader strategy to reshape
the platform according to his own vision and his operational
philosophy. Now the timing of this policy
change coincides with X's recent promotion were accounts with
substantial number of verified followers were upgraded to
premium status at no additional cost.
And this gesture of goodwill is now juxtaposed with the removal
of a feature that many users valued for its privacy and
discretion. Now, the initial implementation
of the blue check mark was to signify verification and
authentic user profiles, which was a free feature before Musk's
takeover. Their transition to a paid
verification system has diluted the symbol's value, making it a
target for criticism and a tool for scammers and impersonators.
Now, furthermore, the platform's automatic distribution of blue
checks to certain users last week, regardless of their
consent, highlights the unpredictability and autocratic
nature of changes. Under Elon Musk, many of these
users, surprised by the unrequested verification, chose
to hide these checkmarks, a choice that will be soon
revoked. Now, the implications of this
policy change extend beyond user dissatisfaction, though it also
provides fertile ground for fraudulent activities, as
observed with the platform's recent issues around URL
manipulation. X's system, which automatically
changed mentions of the Twitter.com URL to x.com,
inadvertently facilitated phishing by allowing scammers to
exploit modified URLs. Our concerns escalated when
users noticed the automatic URL replacement on X's iOS app,
turning legitimate links into potential phishing traps.
Now, for example, the transformation of
netflitwitter.com into netflix.com in users posts did
not redirect to Netflix, but rather to the deceptive site
designed by scammers. Now the public's reaction was
swift, with warnings spreading about the dangers of these
altered URLs. 1 notable instance involved the user purchasing A
misleading domain to redirect visitors to a warning page,
thereby preventing potential phishing attacks.
Now, despite this backlash, though, X temporarily rolled
back the automatic URL change feature after public outcry and
media coverage, though concerns about similar issues persist.
This reflects the ongoing challenges of Musk's platform as
it faces and attempts to innovate while managing user
trust and safety. The series of policy shifts and
their execution under Musk's ownership illustrates how he
does broader, abrupt changes without telling anybody what's
going on and disregards user feedback or potential negative
feedback. Seems like Elon Musk just kind
of does what he wants to do. It's his platform.
He can do whatever he wants. Now.
This approach has led to a growing perception of X as a
platform where unilateral decisions are common and user
autonomy is increasingly restricted.
Now, as X continues to evolve under Musk's ambitious
directive, platform risks alienating a portion of its user
base who value transparency and control over their online
personas. Removal of the ability to hide
blue checks is just one example of policy changes that may have
lasting implications on the platform's community dynamics
and user engagement. Now, looking ahead, the
platform's direction under Musk will likely continue to stir
debate and scrutiny as it balances innovation with user
satisfaction. How X navigates these challenges
will be crucial in determining its position within the
competitive landscape of social media platforms going forward,
including threads, Facebook, et cetera.
So X decision to remove the ability to hide these blue
checks and the shift of the Twitter to x.com domain, well,
we're going to see where this leads, but hopefully they can
get the domain redirect figured out.
It's a kind of simple thing that they could be doing, but
apparently they messed this one up.
Maybe somebody's getting fired. I don't know.
Elon doesn't like when people mess up, so stay tuned.
We'll have more information about this on a day by day
ongoing basis. So thank you so much for this
thing. Hey, thank you so much for
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