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July 24, 2023
Since the digital platform magnate announced that he would buy the platform in April 2022, we all began to speculate about the big changes that were coming for the application. What nobody could even imagine was the magnitude of these modifications.
After several months of negotiations, the agreement for the purchase of Twitter finally came to fruition at the end of October. In a tweet, Elon Musk explained the reasons that had led him to acquire the rights to the social network.
"Well, I think it's very important that there be an inclusive setting for freedom of expression"
He also added that "Twitter has become a kind of de facto public square, so it's really important that people have both the reality and the perception that they can speak freely within the limits of the law."
Considering Musk declarations, the first change proposal seemingly pointed towards a greater democratization of the social network.
Many were concerned about the possible implications of these statements. Well, they claimed that the tycoon would end up imposing a new regime of extreme liberalism, which would result in the proliferation of extremist content on the site.
"Twitter should be very cautious with permanent bans," said the businessman in an interview for TED. And he further adds that his purchase of Twitter was not exclusively a matter of profit. “Having a public platform that is highly trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important for the future of civilization”
Certainly, the arrival of the tech billionaire at the headquarters of the famous social network brought with it great changes, especially about the algorithm functions. But not too many in terms of the free expression of users. After a short first period characterized by slight changes aimed, fundamentally, at superficial issues, the application would undergo the biggest change since the arrival of the cyber magnate.
But all this was extremely changed when, on July 24, Elon Musk announced the radical rebranding of the company he acquired in October 2022. The iconic blue bird logo ceases to exist, and the name of the social network is now X.
Although the name change implies a great modification for lovers of the iconic application, the essence of the platform remains the same. And, furthermore, the well-known domain twitter.com has not undergone any modification.
Thousands of theories began to flood social networks about the true reason for the controversial decision. From the hypothesis that says that the intention behind Musk's decision is to release the company from the debts acquired in the past, to the one that says that it is an attempt to maintain high levels of competitiveness after the launch of the app that promises to become a great rival. "Threads" by Mark Zuckerberg.
Although both theories are perfectly credible, there is a third that seems to acquire more solidity. This is the theory that says that the change is mainly due to the tech billionaire's search to transform the social network into a copy of the Chinese application “We Chat”.
According to Twitter employees, in June 2022, before he acquired the company in October, Musk approached them and told them that the platform should be more like the Chinese app. The mogul finds it amazing how users "basically live in" the app. In other words, it seeks to turn Twitter into a kind of "all inclusive" application in which users can communicate, buy, consume entertainment and much more.
Everything indicates that this is the main reason for the change of brand from Twitter to X, since the new CEO of the company emphasized that same point.
With this drastic decision, Elon Musk moves away from his initial speech, in which he claimed that he was buying Twitter to start a kind of democratization of the social network and lets us see his true motivations.
This X issue appears to be an indication that Musk has given up on any plans to revive Twitter as a more democratic and powerful independent social network. The tycoon simply believes that he must begin to recover the US $ 44,000 million spent on the social network last year.
The move to X isn't so much about reinventing Twitter, but more about building a brand around Elon Musk's empire, including SpaceX, where the X brand really connects a little more closely.
Apparently, it is just an attempt to evade some legal problems that have not yet been settled inherited from the old administration. Like those related to the massive layoffs that have occurred since the arrival of the tycoon, the disputes over millions of dollars supposedly owed in compensation, notices of exhausting work hours, large losses of income after the departure of advertisers, etc.
Away from the multiple theories that try to explain the company's controversial decision, we can only say that this apparently superficial change responds to the purely commercial interests of the billionaire businessman.
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