Twitter is transforming into X, as the site’s former bird logo has now been replaced by an official new X logo. Elon Musk, who owns the transformed social media site, began signaling the change early Sunday morning with a series of tweets, starting with one that said, “and soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

  • Xeelee
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    2 years ago

    Buy one of the most recognisable brands on the planet and then just toss it overboard and replace it with something totally bland. Only a true business genius could come up with an idea like that.

    • FfaerieOxide
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      42 years ago

      Yeah, but for a little while at least he’ll have an X that hasn’t left him.

  • roguetrick
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    252 years ago

    What, is he trying to ensure his new product is entirely branded as “shit”? I am amazed. Usually you rebrand to get away from something the previous direction was doing. Considering he was still operating on the goodwill from the previous direction while actively tanking the platform, this is astounding.

  • xc2215x
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    42 years ago

    This seems like an Elon decision that he likes not one that is good for the site.

  • Roundcat
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    282 years ago

    And yet every journalist, youtuber, podcaster or creator complaining about it will do everything in their power to find an excuse not to leave.

  • TingoTenga
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    2 years ago

    I have a hard time imagining that a letter individually considered, with only minimal stylization, will not have lots of issues for being protected and defended as a trademark.

  • AFK BRB Chocolate
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    32 years ago

    He’s wanted an X company for so long - it feels like something from a teenager desperately trying to be edgy.

    He got x.com in 1999, trying to make an online bank. He then bought/merged with a company that was doing an online payment system, envisioning it as part of X, but that got rebranded to PayPal and ended up being spun off separately, ultimately bought by eBay. The online bank thing failed.

    I think he’s probably going to try to make Twitter the base for a new online bank thing, but I hope not too many people are dumb enough to trust their money to Musk.

  • MxM111
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    182 years ago

    Click X to go to Twitter. No the other X - you just closed the window.

    • _haha_oh_wow_
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      112 years ago

      Closing the window seems like a better choice, let’s call it a happy accident.

  • ChaosOnion
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    142 years ago

    He scared off a large portion of developers, killed third party clients, destroyed validated users via monetization, let bad actors back onto the platform, and thrown away iconic branding for edge lord bullshit. Manchurian CEO.

    • @[email protected]
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      22 years ago

      I feel at this point it would’ve made more sense to just build his own social media platform from scratch. What he’s doing is like spending billions to buy a specific used car, only to promptly replace every single part of it and throw the existing parts away. I mean sure, but then why not just buy a new car to begin with?

      • @[email protected]
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        32 years ago

        Because he never wanted to buy Twitter

        His plan was likely to act like it, then at the last minute claim some flaw (like too many bots) and that he had reluctantly decided it would be better to make his own.

        If it worked he’d hurt Twitter and build up hype for his new social media.

        But he’s an idiot, and accidentally committed to buying it

    • @[email protected]
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      12 years ago

      His costs of hiring, retention, RFP-bidding, and regulatory compliance are all going up at his other businesses.

      And, his employees at those other businesses no longer think he’s a genius, which might be worse. Morale is going to be a serious issue.

      Elon will be sent to pasture at all of his investments by the end of the decade. The cost of doing business with him is going to become too high.

    • @[email protected]
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      32 years ago

      It’s not a far stretch to assume that he is tanking twitt…X on purpose. Probably because he is a spoiled brat and someone made fun of him too much on Twitter.

      • brothershamus
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        02 years ago

        Except that it goes directly against his “give me money because I’m a genius” thing that he’s done everything to cultivate. To deliberately attack his standing with SpaceX and Tesla, et. al., by spending 45 Billion to explode a social media juggernaut is beyond insane.

        • Ragnell
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          12 years ago

          Space…X

          This is an unhealthy obsession of his.

          • lemonflavoured
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            32 years ago

            The difference is that SpaceX is actually good at what they do (largely due to Gwynn Shotwell and others)

  • lemonflavoured
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    22 years ago

    Ah yes, rebranding while in the process of losing loads of users because of your own stupidity! That’s sure to go well!

  • dowath
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    2 years ago

    The twitter branding was one of the few things actually going for it. Oh look a cute birdie, oh look the house is a birdhouse! GET IT!

    Now it’s, an X? A meaningless X? With a birdhouse home icon and bird-related words everywhere?

    • muse
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      132 years ago

      It looks close enough like a swastika that he can sell merch easier to his fanbase. Armband sales are gonna go through the roof

    • Ragnell
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      82 years ago

      He killed the blue canary in the outlet by the light switch. Where is the birdhouse in our soul now?

      • fartsinger
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        22 years ago

        Omg, it’s “outlet by the lightswitch!” I’ve been trying to decipher that line for years!

    • @[email protected]
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      22 years ago

      As has been pointed out elsewhere on the net, the Twitter branding was the most valuable part besides the already existing userbase. Having “tweeting” and as a verb in everyday English has been a godsend marketing specialists can only dream of and it has become so prevalent in news and journalism, it’s both hilarious and depressing.

      Elon is really working to make the dream of mainstream Mastodon and a big fediverse a reality.

      • dowath
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        12 years ago

        start tootin’ everyone lets make it catch on…

      • kimagure
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        12 years ago

        Nah, people will move to Threads or Blusky not Mastodon.

  • SpaceMonk
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    102 years ago

    I know these articles get made but they don’t have to get posted.

  • LChitman
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    42 years ago

    Has anybody considered that Musk could be engaging in a Trading Places style billionaire competition, wherein the players try and trash their multi-billion dollar tech company faster than the others?

      • LChitman
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        12 years ago

        Not sure, the other big companies have lots of individual issues and scandals but Twitter is way ahead, and it seems like there is something new every week. Musk must be winning so far.