By Jenica Romanchuk

When rumors started swirling about Twitter changing its name to X, I couldn’t believe it at first. But then, in July 2023, as I searched for my favorite blue icon on the phone, I found a black icon instead. It had actually happened!

Elon Musk had indeed decided to rebrand this popular platform, choosing to dismantle something iconic. Something that has existed for 18 years.

Some people say it‘s his ego; others think it’s a marketing move, seeking more attention. Whatever the reason, I was disappointed like many other users.

Twitter had its own vibe, and I expected something big and better with the new name and logo. Some changes did happen, but there weren’t many improvements for regular users.

Curious about the impact, I researched and spoke with marketers to understand how these changes affected them.

Let’s see what I found out.

Big Shifts in the X-sphere (Formerly Twittersphere)

It’s been over seven months since Twitter became X, and yet we still refer to it as Twitter.

We‘ll keep retweeting and never reposting, won’t we?

Breaking that habit is tough, and it’ll take some time for us to fully accept this change. Obviously, the name change was the first and most significant alteration.

So, here are all the changes the platform made in 2023.

Rebranding — New Name, New Logo

In July 2023, Twitter officially became X.

Elon Musk announced the change on his profile, and people went crazy in the comments:

Musk, also known for founding PayPal as X.com in 1999, legally changed Twitter’s domain to x.com.

The rebranding reflects Musk’s ambition to create an “everything app” like WeChat. This type of app combines messaging, social networking, e-commerce, delivery services, and online banking.

Musk explained that the old Twitter name didn’t fit the platform’s expanded capabilities, so the change was necessary.

Analysts and experts shared their views about this with TIME magazine:

• Jasmine Enberg from Insider Intelligence believes Twitter’s brand is closely connected to Musk’s personal brand.
• Allen Adamson from Metaforce criticized the move, calling it an “ego decision” that could lead to quick business decline.
• White from Vanderbilt mentioned the difficulty of building trust with a new name, especially for payments.

But, were these concerns valid or just hot air?

Twitter’s revenue in 2023 was $3.4 billion, marking a 22% decrease from the previous year.

This data suggests that the rebranding move indeed had a negative impact.

Image Source

Moreover, Twitter’s financial health took a hit in 2023 due to a nearly 50% decline in advertising revenue and significant debt.

Here is the source confirming the information stated above.

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Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron