The bonny blue bird of Twitter will no longer spread its wings and welcome you the next time you sign in to this social network. Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, who bought Twitter last year, has gone for a major rebrand and replaced the bird logo with a stylised Unicode-like character.

It all started on a Sunday morning when Elon Musk tweeted, “And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” He took this drastic step in the hope of transforming Twitter into an “everything app” called X. Mr. Musk says that soon the app will extend its boundaries beyond social networking and encompass banking and shopping. It seems his vision is to create a “super app” akin to China’s WeChat.

A stream of mixed reactions followed as Tweeters wondered what can the reason be. Today as we take up this buzzing topic, let’s hear everything about it.

What’s X All About?

As the photo of a gigantic X projected on Twitter’s San Francisco corporate tower flashed on the social networking site with the caption “Our headquarters tonight”, users were left surprised by the move. So, what’s happening?

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino unveiled, “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”

Mr. Musk continued by saying, “The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140-character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video.” This businessman claims that his team will soon include detailed communications, enabling consumers to manage their entire financial world via Twitter. From that perspective, the name obviously makes little sense.

What Stays Unchanged in Twitter After Rebranding?

Thankfully, not everything has been X’d out. Here are a few things that will remain untouched:
• The term ‘tweet’
• x.com still redirects to twitter.com
• The button ‘Tweet’ on the networking site to create a post
• The search bar “Search Twitter”
• The blue bird logo on tweets embedded on third-party sites
• The iconic blue bird on Twitter’s Android and iOS apps

We insist all sign in and check it for themselves!

What May Have Prompted X?

Of the things that have changed, the official corporate name is one, and it’s now X Corp. A reason why it happened is his long-time obsession with the alphabet X. After his Tesla car Model X, rocket company SpaceX, AI firm xAI, the original name of PayPal – X.com and the name of his children – Exa Dark Sideræl and X Æ A-Xii, this was much anticipated.
Another possibility, according to app development companies, is that Mr. Musk was dying to seize the headlines once again to deviate people from Instagram Threads – a close and direct competitor of Twitter that debuted a month ago. The tech billionaire, however, believes that X will achieve far more than just a text-based conversation app with its massive transformation to a platform that delivers all.

How Has the Twitter Crowd Reacted?

It’s safe to say there has been a mixed bag of reactions among Twitter users. However, it was mostly criticism. One user tweeted, “I confess that I miss the little bird already.” To this comment, Fernando Machado, who has been the chief marketing officer of Burger King, Activision Blizzard and Restaurant Brands International, said that rebranding usually takes time to sink in and that he feels a bit cold and impersonal about the new approach.

Others criticised Mr. Musk’s decision, and it’s pretty evident from the trending hashtag #GoodbyeTwitter. Paul Stollery, the co-founder of marketing agency Hard Numbers, reacted by saying, “I think it’s baffling, frankly”. Another user by the name of Drew Benvie, the CEO of Battenhall – a social media consultancy, said that it’s less about reinventing Twitter and more about setting up a brand around the empire of Elon Musk. Others like Richard Michie, renowned as the founder of The Marketing Optimist responded to the initiative as “Absolute marketing suicide.”

Final Thoughts:

App development companies feel Twitter’s rebrand without adding significant features appears more like a desperate attempt at seeking attention. It’s more so in the wake of Instagram Threads. However, the vision to expand the functionalities of the platform seems promising. As we all acknowledge, time holds the answer. So, let us wait up and find out if his visions translate to reality.