The Twitter rebrand created waves throughout the internet and became one of the hottest topics when it happened. This move would seem random if you weren’t following what was happening. Why did the platform go this route after establishing itself as Twitter for over 15 years?
Was there any reason to make this drastic change? Let’s unveil the social media giant’s rebranding process to truly understand what drove the transformation.
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Is Twitter Rebranding to X?
Yes, Twitter is rebranding to X. Companies often do this to keep up with the times and to indicate a change in direction or vision. As you may already know, the CEO of Tesla bought Twitter for $44 billion.
Before Musk became the owner of Twitter, he posted his real intentions to purchase the social media network. He wanted to acquire this platform to create X, a super app.
A “super” or “everything” app offers all types of services, like Grab in Singapore and WeChat in China.
WeChat is an instant messaging and social media platform offering mobile payment services. Similarly, you can book a taxi, order food to your doorstep, and make payments on Grab.
After the buyout, there were signs of the platform undergoing significant change. For instance, Elon informed users that X would be making a lot of moves. Similarly, he also unveiled multiple slides for Twitter 2.0. They gave a glimpse of how the platform will evolve in the future with features such as:
- Encrypted direct messages (DMs)
- Longform tweets
- Relaunch of the Twitter Blue subscription and verification service
- Payments
In other words, before Musk bought Twitter, it was clear that he wanted to create X.
When Did Twitter Rebrand to X?
When did Twitter rebrand to X? Twitter changed to X on July 23, 2023. The initial signs of the new ownership making a significant change to the platform came several months earlier.
X Corp., a subsidiary owned by Musk, merged with Twitter, Inc. in March 2023.
Elon posted a cryptic tweet, informing everyone that the Twitter brand will cease to exist. The tweet also talked about a move away from birds, indicating a change in the platform’s iconic logo. For context, the iconic bird has been Twitter’s logo since its inception in 2006.
@greg16676935420, a popular Twitter user who posts memes regularly, hosted a Twitter Space. The title of this audio session was — No one talk until we summon Elon Musk. He also invited Musk to be one of the speakers. Towards the end of the session, Musk confirmed that Twitter’s logo would change the next day, i.e., July 24, 2023.
He also asked X users to create and post logos. If a person comes up with a good design, the platform will use it as their official logo. @SawyerMerritt, a Twitter user, posted an image and a short clip of the new design.
Musked picked @SawyerMerritt’s logo, and Linda Yaccarino, Twitter’s CEO, was also on board with the change. Within a week after changing Twitter’s logo, the social network made minor changes to its design.
Why Did Twitter Rebrand to X?
The biggest question on everyone’s mind is — why did Twitter rebrand to X. After all, everyone is familiar with Twitter, so why bother changing it in the first place?
There are several reasons why companies choose to rebrand:
- The organization completed a merger and wants to take the company in a new direction.
- The brand changed its vision and wanted to let everyone know.
- The company wants to increase their reach and appeal to a new target audience.
- The firm has a bad reputation and wants a fresh start.
Twitter underwent significant changes under the new ownership. The owners introduced several features while overhauling the platform’s verification system.
For example, Twitter relaunched Twitter Blue, the original subscription service. Subscribers received special features to enhance their experience on this platform. Twitter also bundled the verification process with this subscription while stopping the legacy program.
Before the launch of the subscription service, users had to be notable, authentic, and active to receive the blue tick. People can get this iconic tick if they subscribe to Twitter Blue and meet the platform’s requirements.
Subscribers no longer have to stick to the 280-character limit. Their posts can now contain 25,000 characters. Members can publish videos as long as three hours.
Also, there was a shift in what users consumed on the platform. According to Twitter, eight out of 10 sessions from various users involved videos. Remember — Twitter started as a micro-blogging service.
Twitter made sense when the tweets were short. Nowadays, the platform allows you to publish long posts and videos. Given the immense changes, it was time for the social network for the Twitter rebrand X.
Why Is Twitter Called X?
Why Is Twitter called X? The new owners had the option to choose anything, so why did they settle on this alphabet? To answer this question, you must look at the first clue, i.e., Elon Musk.
X seems to be one of his favorite letters. For instance, when Musk started an online bank in 1999, he called it x.com. However, his fascination with this alphabet didn’t stop there. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., i.e., SpaceX, a company he founded, has this letter. If you look at Tesla, they have a vehicle called the Model X.
However, X is more than just a name. It shows the new ownership is ready for the platform to take the next step into a new frontier. This is similar to how Twitter changed online communication forever after it became available to everyone.
X indicates a move towards Musk’s ultimate vision, i.e., bringing the super or everything app to life. The focus shifts from a micro-blogging site to banking, messaging, and audio and video content.
After the rebranding, it’s evident the social media platform is evolving in this direction. For example, it already acquired money transmitter licenses from several states in the United States. These licenses are necessary to provide various financial services.
Creators no longer have to direct users away from the platform to generate revenue. Instead, they can earn from creator subscriptions and ad revenue sharing programs. Also, you can now perform audio and video calls on X.
Is Threads Rebranding to Twitter?
No, Threads isn’t rebranding to Twitter. This makes sense on paper, as the two have many similarities. Also, after the rebrand, Twitter now calls itself X.
However, as of April 2024, twitter.com still directs people to X. Also, if you browse the social media platform’s blogs and help articles, you’ll still see remnants of Twitter.
Elon Musk Rebranding Twitter: A Closer Look at X’s Transformation
Is Elon Musk rebranding Twitter a good or bad idea? The answer isn’t as clear-cut, as there are several nuances.
For instance, it took Twitter over 15 years to build a powerful online brand. Tweets officially became a word in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. The blue bird is iconic, as people instantly recognize it anywhere.
Also, the blue checkmark was synonymous with the platform. When a famous person gets this tick, it lets people know the account is authentic. People also considered the checkmark as a status symbol.
However, rebranding out of the blue also caused many issues. For example, according to Time, X’s valuation dropped by at least $4 billion due to this move. Also, this platform has a loyal user base with a strong connection with the Twitter brand.
People don’t like change, especially when it is strongly associated with their identity. As a result, several users left the platform, causing X’s competitors to see a surge in visitor traffic.
The rebranding process wasn’t smooth sailing by any stretch of the imagination. For instance, the police initially prevented the social platform from removing the Twitter signage from their headquarters in San Francisco.
This was because the social media giant didn’t inform the building’s owner or the security about their plans.
Even though it is officially X, people still refer to the platform as Twitter. Also, the social media platform is sailing on unknown waters, as the West doesn’t have any popular super apps.
On the other hand, the rebrand does allow X to take the social network in a new direction. Will Elon’s gamble work or fail? Only time can tell.
TweetDelete Makes It Easy to Rebrand Your Twitter Profile
You finally have the complete story about the Twitter X rebrand. This should clear up most of your confusion about this transformation.
Are you looking to create a second Twitter account to try something new? Why should you start from scratch when you can rebrand your existing profile with TweetDelete?
The advantage is that you get to keep all your followers. Also, using your old account makes gaining traction for your posts easier.
TweetDelete can easily remove every single post from your profile. All it requires is your Twitter Archive or X Data file to delete all your tweets. This way, your followers won’t see your older content when they visit your profile page.
The other option is the auto-delete utility, which removes specific posts from your profile. This way, you can put all your focus on the Twitter rebrand.
Finally, there’s the bulk-delete tweets utility. It allows you to remove thousands of X posts in minutes. You can also run the unlike tweets tool to clean up your profile.
Use TweetDelete today to rebrand your X profile without losing your precious followers!
