Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
the critical crossroads, the shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The
Boring Company and Neuralink. I'm your host, Will Walden.
So Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, of course, is set to
undergo a significant redesign. They're going to be removing
traditional interaction and engagement buttons from users
feeds. It'll eliminate the retweet
button. They're also the repost button.
Same thing, the like button, reply buttons.
And that's all going to be removed from individual posts on
your timeline. So users will no longer see
repost, like, and reply counts on each post.
Instead, interactions will be handled differently with users
needing to swipe left or right on a post to like a reply.
And for those using X on iOS, a forced touch on a post will open
a menu with more options, and the only visible metric
remaining on the post in the timeline will be the view count,
which has been relocated to the upper right corner of each post.
The redesign was first identified by Aaron Paris, who
is a researcher for Mac Rumors is later confirmed by Elon Musk.
Now, the majority of user feedback so far of this change
has been fairly negative. Many users have expressed
dissatisfaction with the removal of the familiar buttons, finding
the proposed swipe gestures kind of less intuitive.
Then, in response to a user criticizing the change, Elon
Musk defended the redesign, stating it's awesome, just swipe
left to like and right to reply. And despite Musk's enthusiasm,
the general reception remains kind of skeptical.
The planned redesign represents a substantial shift in how users
interact with content on X, and by eliminating traditional
engagement buttons, X aims to streamlines the interface,
though it risks alienating users accustomed to the current layout
now. The change could also impact the
way users perceive engagement on their posts, with removal of
visible like and repost counts potentially affecting the
overall user experience. View counts will be the sole
metric displayed, shifting the focus to how many people have
seen a post rather than how many have interacted with it.
Now, for users, the new interaction methods may require
a little period of adjustment. Swiping left or right to
interact with posts is a departure from the more
straightforward tapping of the buttons.
This could lead to a sort of the slight learning curve as users
adapt to the new system. And people will complain about
it and say they're going to be leaving X and they'll probably
stick around like normal as something changes like this.
When there's an interface change for any big social media
platform, there's always an outcry and X's decision to move
away from the visible engagement.
Metrics like likes and replies may also influence how content
is shared and consumed on the platform.
Without the immediate feedback of likes and reposts, users
might approach posting differently, potentially
altering the platform's dynamics.
Now, this redesign aligns with a broader trend in social media
towards more simplified and streamlined interfaces.
However, remains to be seen whether this specific change
will be embraced by X's user base or if it will drive users
to seek alternative platforms. The removal of engagement
buttons and counts could also impact content creators who rely
on these metrics to gain the popularity and reach of their
posts. For influencers and businesses,
this change might necessitate new strategies for measuring
engagement and success on the platform.
And as X prepares to roll out these changes, the developers
will likely need to monitor user feedback closely and be prepared
to make further adjustments based on how the new interaction
methods are received. The shift to swipe based
interactions could also pose challenges for accessibility.
Users with motor impairments or those who use assistive
technologies might find the new gestures more difficult to
perform. Raising concerns about
inclusivity and the redesign of X is part of a broader effort to
innovate and differentiate itself in social media.
And by experimenting with new ways of interacting with
content, X aims to stay relevant and appealing to users, though
this comes with the risk of alienating the current user base
on X and the reaction to the plan changes shows the
challenges of social media platforms when they make
significant alterations to user interfaces.
They have to balance innovation with user satisfaction, and it's
a difficult task. The success of such changes
often hinges on how well they're communicated and implemented,
but for now, users will need to prepare for a new way of
engaging with posts on X. Whether this will lead to a more
streamlined and enjoyable user experience or a decline in user
engagement, that all remains to be seen.
Also, we haven't seen a desktop version of X with a new
interface yet, because there's really no way to swipe left or
right on a desktop, except for with your mouse, I guess.
So this is only going to be mobile, and Elon Musk is very
confident about the redesign. He's committed to it and he's
going to see it through despite the initial negative feedback.
The long term impact of these changes on user behavior and
platform dynamics will be an important area to watch in the
future. It's a notable departure from
traditional social media interaction methods, and by
removing all of these buttons and introducing swiping, X aims
to create a more streamlined experience.
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