In a move that has left the internet in a frenzy and a literal whirlwind, Twitter, the social network known for its iconic bird logo, is spreading its wings and soaring into a new era. The bird has officially left the nest, replaced by a single, mysterious letter: X. So - what is X.com?!
Elon Musk, the tech mogul who apparently has a special fondness for the 24th letter of the alphabet, announced the redesign in a series of tweets that kept his followers up all night. It almost seems like he was trying to outwit the Twitter bird. So – what is X.com?!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
The makeover began with a cryptic tweet from Musk hinting at a farewell to the Twitter brand and, rather dramatically, "all the birds." What followed was a challenge to his followers: design a good enough X logo, and the next day it would go live around the world. The Twitter community, as expected, went into overdrive.
X is here! Let's do this. pic.twitter.com/1VqEPlLchj
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) July 24, 2023
Musk, in his signature style, tweeted about the redesign throughout the night, interspersing phrases like “Deus X.” Celó joined the Twitter Spaces session and sat in silence for nearly an hour before confirming the logo change. One can only imagine the tension in that virtual room.
In an email to Twitter employees, Musk announced the company's rebranding as X. It's unclear if he was referring to the logo or the entire company, but either way, it looks like the bird has officially left the building. What is X.com?!
As for the new logo, it appears to be a minimalistic art deco design, a far cry from the friendly bird we've all come to know. The logo was provided by a Twitter user who used it for his abandoned podcast. Talk about a logo that gets a second chance at life!
The redesign was met with mixed reactions. Musk's fans are all for the change, while longtime Twitter users aren't too thrilled. Marques Brownlee, a Twitter veteran, stated that he would continue to be called by Twitter, to which Musk responded, "Not for long."
Not for long
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
The letter X is no stranger to Musk's ventures. From X.com, the original name for Paypal, to SpaceX, to his baby's name X Æ A-12, Musk's love for letters is evident. Now he is finally doing something with the X.com domain, which he bought from Paypal in 2017.
The final redesign of the site will be the clearest statement yet that this is no longer the same social network it was before Musk took over. From restricting DMs for non-payers to introducing a LinkedIn-like recruiting feature, the changes have come thick and fast.
And now, with the introduction of "X, all apps," Musk seems to be trying to put the 'extra' in the 'extra.' Whether it will be a huge success or a hard landing, only time will tell. But one thing is for sure, the Twitter bird is probably tweeting “Why was I replaced with a letter?” from its nest in retirement.
What X.com Will Bring Us - So what is X.com
Elon Musk is known for his visionary nature, and his latest move, transforming Twitter into X, is just another example of his unwavering courage. X is not just a new incarnation of Twitter, it is much more. It is a universe that brings together everything that Musk has imagined and dreamed of over the past 24 years.
In Musk's random narratives, X will be a combination of Twitter, Substack, YouTube, PayPal, Amazon, TikTok, WeChat, and Baidu—all rolled into one universe labeled with a single letter: X.
However, it should be noted that until now Musk has mostly just talked about building new things on top of the old Twitter. In the nine months since he has been running the company, he has accomplished little of this.
In a book by Walter Isaacson, who spent nearly three years with Musk, he revealed that Musk had been planning the transformation into X for more than nine months — even before he signed the documents to buy Twitter. Musk is confident that X can become a trillion-dollar company. He envisions it as a financial platform that allows anyone to get rich through content creation.
From the first day he walked into Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco, Musk was obsessed with killing off the bird logo. He believed that employees do not think big enough and do not have a burning mission.
On the first day of the transformation to X, the conference rooms previously named after birds have already been renamed eXposure, eXult and s3Xy.
The new X application, which as of today resides on the x.com domain, is therefore much more than just a social network. It is a platform that combines various services and functionalities offered by the largest technology companies into a single application. It is a place where people can connect, share information, create and consume content, trade and even perform financial transactions. In other words, X is Elon Musk's vision of an all-powerful app that will change the way we use the internet.
