It was the year 2023, and Twitter was about to undergo a drastic shift, poised to astonish the entire Twitterverse. Ever since dank meme lover Elon Musk took the reins of blue bird app in 2022, speculations loomed about changes, but none could fathom the impending upheaval that awaited.
Fast forward to July, the month that marked the demise of Twitter as we knew it. Musk declared that henceforth, the platform would be known as ‘X,’ ushering in a wave of changes that swept away the familiar bird logo and everything synonymous with the microblogging giant. This was more than a mere rebrand; it was a symbolic end to Twitter. The bird was free, we wondered.
Also Read: This Man Will Have Sleepless Nights After ‘X’ Installed at Twitter HQ, Here’s Why
Musk’s fascination with the letter ‘X’ became the emblem of severing ties with the platform’s established norms and expectations. The shift wasn’t just about creating an “everything app”; it was a departure from the essence of Twitter itself. No longer confined by the constraints of its mission, X became a realm where breaking norms was just another Tuesday.
Gone were the days of tweets and retweets; Musk broadened the spectrum, relabelling them as ‘posts’ and ‘reposts.’ The microblogging exclusivity that defined Twitter was discarded at Musk’s whim.
Renaming Twitter, tweets, and retweets as “X, posts and reposts” will go down as the dumbest branding decision of all time.Literally threw away billions of dollars worth of brand equity for nothing. “Tweet/tweeting” literally had become part of our language and Elmo trashed it.
— Steve Reaser will never call it X… (@screaser) November 9, 2023
No longer confined to 280-character snippets, timelines now brimmed with a cacophony of randomness, transforming the once-curated experience into a chaotic blend of spam. The bluebird, Larry, once soaring above the succinct challenges of Twitter, now lay crushed in the wake of this upheaval.
remember when we had a character limit on twitter, i miss that— Linda™ (@Lindellions) December 28, 2023
To make matters worse, the obliteration of Twitter’s verification system was a blaze impossible to ignore. Musk’s hasty implementation of a paid verification scheme had backfired, rendering the once-revered blue checkmark meaningless. Thousands of spammers and sycophants flooded in, and Twitter responded by stripping “legacy” verification from countless accounts.
The ensuing chaos was merely a prelude to this year’s revelation – the rise of the paid-for blue checks. Verified accounts, now prioritised in replies and search results, reshaped Twitter dynamics. Engagement bait reached new heights, as users vied for a share of potential ad revenue. The platform, once a bastion of authenticity, morphed into a circus of everything and anything.
The amount of bots, ads, and race bait pages has increased tenfold over the last year and they’re all verified accounts so they’re paying to be annoying lmao— TwinnyWinnyGangBear (@HennyGangBear) December 28, 2023
Amid the mayhem, pockets of celebration emerged. Users reveled in newfound earnings, paralleling the success stories of YouTubers.
Me walking up to my wife in two weeks to show her my first ad revenue payment from pic.twitter.com/KXHRoNzVKo— Dividend Rob (@DividendRob) December 28, 2023
Yet, beneath the surface, ‘Formerly Twitter’ stands as a testament to a bygone era. The nostalgia for a platform we cherished, a microcosm we adored, and a bird we longed to preserve – all swallowed by Musk’s sweeping everything agenda.
Also Read: Twitter Becomes X: A Look at Evolution of Logos and Death of Blue Bird
In the pursuit of an all-encompassing platform, he eclipsed the vintage charm that endeared Twitter to its users—an unintended consequence of trying to reinvent the wheel when sometimes, the beauty lies in preserving the essence of the original.
So there it is, 2023 bid adieu not just to the year but took Twitter along for the ride!
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