Hi everybody and welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast.
In a notable shift from the well known brand, Twitter is no
longer Elon Musk's X Corp is paving a new path, forging its
identity through a multifaceted transition that aims to
transform the popular microblogging site into an
Everything app. As a transformation on furls,
memorabilia that was once synonymous with the Bird theme
platform is now finding its way to the auction block.
And as part of the sweeping rebrand, over 600 pieces of
Twitter's heritage are up for auction.
Scheduled to kick off on September 12th and conclude on
September 14th, this event is poised to attract those
nostalgic for the former Twitter brand.
Now the Auctions collection includes emblematic neon signs
featuring the Twitter bird, a larger than life hashtag, the
iconic at symbol, and assorted branding furniture like a bird
themed wooden coffee table in a hanging sofa swing shaped like a
bird cage. Now this auction follows a
similar event at the year's beginning, which saw various
office fixtures and electronics find new owners.
And among the eclectic offerings, there's even a
Twitter Essentials 24 record collection, including a record
player. Now estimating the total revenue
from these sales might prove challenging.
And during a previous auction, a three foot Twitter bird statue
fetched a high bid of $100,000. And two particularly intriguing
listings are the Twitter birdsides still clinging to the
sides of the X Corp building. These are being offered, but the
details emphasize that buyers must engage a licensed San
Francisco firm with the right permits to detach these iconic
symbols. And a painting of Ellen
Degeneres's viral 2014 Oscars selfie, once the most retweeted
message, adds a touch of sentiment to this auction.
Now the auction is just one aspect of the broader
transformation. Since Musk's acquisition of
Twitter in 2022, efforts to erase the Twitter name from the
platform have been ongoing. The rebranding symbolizes a
significant shift, marking the end of Twitter in the beginning
of X. And Musk's ambitions for X go
beyond mere rebranding. His vision is to create an
allencompassing platform where users can text, call, pay, shop,
bank, and ship online, a transformation he has pledged to
accomplish within five years of this acquisition.
And such an ambitious endeavor does not come without obstacles.
Critics argue that establishing an Everything app in the US
might be unattainable. Regulatory scrutiny and
antitrust challenges could pose significant hurdles given the
increasing scrutiny of tech companies and the financial
industry. And in a strategy to attract
users to X, Musk has launched a revenue sharing program for
content creators, As reported by The Verge.
This program rewards users who earn at least $10 by achieving a
minimum of 5 million views within three months.
And Musk's approach also includes lowering the payout
threshold to $10, effectively rendering X Premium, formerly
Twitter Blue, free for accounts generating substantial views.
Additionally, the Twitter Blue subscription service has been
rebranded to X Premium, a further step in solidifying the
new identity. While the rebranding progresses,
efforts to ease lingering advertisers concerns following
previous scandals and reports of increased hate speech are
underway. Ex CEO Linda Yocarino has been
actively engaging the major brands hesitant about
advertising on the platform. In recent interviews, Yacorino
highlighted new content, tools to offer more control to
advertisers and expressed unwavering support for Musk's
vision. Yacorino views the
transformation as a liberation. For Twitter's legacy.
This shift is about more than just changing the name.
It's about evolving into a platform that offers a wide
array of services, from long form videos and articles to
video chat calls. Though some experts remain
skeptical about the feasibility of an Everything app, the
leadership at X focuses on what's possible, not on what
cannot be done. And since taking over Twitter,
Musk has introduced changes like moving account verification
behind a pay wall and extending post link limits.
However, the rebranding from Twitter to X marks the most
profound alteration in setting mixed reaction from users, And
the auctioning of iconic Twitter symbols like the giant neon bird
represents more than just a sale.
It's symbolic of a monumental transformation led by Musk, as
the online auction showcases various memorabilia from the San
Francisco office. It serves as a reflection on a
digital era that is now shifting into a new phase.
And the transition from Twitter to X, led by Musk's vision and
operationalized by Yakirino, is both ambitious and quite
complex. And Harold's an era where the
platform seeks to become an integral part of users, digital
lives reaching far beyond its original scope.
And in the bits of this change, doubts and vast expectations, X
Corp stands at a crossroads, looking toward a future that
could redefine social media's role in the interconnected
world. Only time will tell if X will
indeed become the everything app that Musk aspires to create.
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