Elon Musk Unveils "X" Logo in Twitter Rebranding

Elon Musk has revealed a new "X" logo intended to replace Twitter's iconic blue bird, as part of a significant rebranding effort for the social media platform he acquired for $44 billion last year. The "X" logo has started appearing at the top of Twitter's desktop version, while the familiar blue bird remains dominant on the smartphone app. In response to queries about what tweets will be called after the rebranding, Musk stated they would be referred to as "Xs." However, these ongoing changes made by Musk since acquiring Twitter have led to user alienation and advertiser disengagement, leaving the microblogging site susceptible to new rivals like Meta's text-based app Threads, which specifically targets Twitter users.

Musk invited fan submissions for logo ideas and selected one, describing it as a minimalist Art Deco design that may undergo further refinement. He personally adopted the white X on a black background as his new Twitter icon and shared an image of the logo projected on Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. Musk tweeted that Twitter's brand, along with the bird icon, would soon be bid farewell, hinting at a transition towards a more comprehensive "everything app," similar to China's WeChat, integrating video chats, messaging, streaming, and payments.

Elon Musk's fascination with the letter "X" is evident in his renaming of Twitter's corporate name to X Corp. after the acquisition. Furthermore, he recently founded xAI, an artificial intelligence company aimed at competing with ChatGPT. Musk's history includes founding the online financial services company now known as PayPal under the name X.com in 1999. Notably, he also named his son with the singer Grimes with a collection of letters and symbols, simply "X."

Linda Yaccarino, appointed by Musk to be Twitter CEO in May, endorsed the new logo and shared her vision for X as a future state of unlimited interactivity, centered around audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking, creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Some experts, like Paolo Pescatore, a tech and media analyst, believe that driving all user engagement towards one destination could be a sound strategy. However, others cautioned that the sweeping rebranding might confuse Twitter's audience, already disenchanted by Musk's previous changes, including limiting the number of daily tweets users can read.

Twitter's longstanding brand recognition built over 15 years is at stake, making this move by Musk an extremely risky one. While some users don't often refer to Alphabet, Google's parent company, and Facebook's renaming to Meta hasn't gained much traction, Pescatore believes it might be the right time for such a rebranding to tackle the negative sentiment surrounding the company and appeal to new audiences.

Musk's numerous earlier changes, like the recent limits on tweet views, have faced criticism for potentially driving away advertisers and undermining Twitter's cultural influence as a trendsetter. To offset declining revenue, Musk introduced an $8-per-month subscription service earlier this year. However, the company's revenue has sharply declined since Musk's takeover, which included significant workforce layoffs to cut costs and avoid bankruptcy.

Source: Associated Press (AP)