The X-tinction of Tweets…
Why did Elon Musk break up with Twitter? Because he wanted an (e)X. Sorry, I tried.
In a bid to transform into a ‘super app’, Larry, Twitter’s iconic blue-bird has flown the nest, and ‘tweets’ are officially dead. Tweeting is a thing of the past, now it is simply posting…and who knows, it may eventually become ‘x-ing’. Whatever happens, the verb ‘to tweet’ is migrating for the forseeable, which is sure to rustle some feathers in the social media world.
On the 30th July, the Google Trends reports that over 10,000 searches occured in the UK relating to ‘Twitter X’. It’s not Barbie but it’s a very big deal.
Why X, X-actly?
X is Elon Musk’s favourite letter. It is also seen to be one of the most powerful letters (although also reported to be becoming a bit of cliche…). The letter X is already ingrained into many brands, think the X-Factor, Apple’s iPhone X, Sony’s Xperia or Microsoft’s Xbox. And we all know that the letter X is nothing new for Musk. The letter X symbolises something futuristic, something unknown, full of possibility, which is very fitting for the unknown possibilites of this super app we keep being told about.
What is a Super App?
Imagine a single app that combines all the features of your most used apps (Facebook, WhatsApp, Amazon, Uber, Apply Pay, and maybe Tinder). A metaphor that has been used around super apps is that it is like a digital Swiss Army knife that can do everything under one password. China’s WeChat is the embodiment of just that, and has become an app for everyday daily tasks and Musk wants to X-tract this phenomenon into the western world through his rebrand from Twitter to X.
In fact, in the app store, the promise is that:
“The X app is the trusted digital town square for everyone.”
You should be able to write emails, use memes, do personal banking, play mp3 files, get an Uber, be a Shazam knockoff and have a delivery tracker for your takeaway pizza… maybe it will go to work for you too! The possibilities of the super app aren’t yet completely known, neither by the public nor the creators, but it promises to be an app that does it all…apparently.
X might mark the spot, but does X hit the branding spot?
“Anyone else look at the 𝕏 icon and not even want to open this app?” the Chicago-based product designer Chad Ashley tweeted, sorry, posted, on X.
The rebranding wasn’t exactly done in the way you would have expected . The new sans-serif logo was plucked out after an appeal to Musk’s some 149 million followers for a design commission.
“If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make [it] go live worldwide tomorrow”
This didn’t particularly bode well in the design community, with one graphic designer describing the new logo sourcing as ‘random’ and ‘disrespectful’, maybe Elon is feeling the cost of living too. The design, however, wasn’t a unique creation for the super app, in fact it was a logo that had been created for a separate project but never used.
Towards the end of July, Musk put out a poll around the platform’s palette, so again, it was Twitter users that decided black is the new blue.
It would seem that back in the Twitter hayday, they also tested the waters for alternative logos. You might not have known it but a Shiba Inu dog logo was tested back in Spring, but didn’t stick around funnily enough.
There haven’t been too many compliments on the new branding. The rebrand has been considered by many in the creative space as being possibly the worst rebrand as of late. This new X logo is described as only suitable for use by a ‘dating app for robots’. Glasgow-based designer Chris Wilson agrees: “It feels rather soulless and unconsidered when compared to the memorable, playful bird.
And it wasn’t just creatives that were turned off, App store users where downrating X to 1 star reviews after the rebrand, in fact, 78% of those left since the 24th July have been 1-star. Oh dear. Surprisingly, Musk tells us that they have seen record user engagement in August so maybe people have come round to the idea of living with an X.
There has been a bit of mockery around the use of the logo too. Take the wildlife charity, WWF, for instance. They’ve played on the imagery in creating awareness around the threat of extinction. You can read more about that here. Well played, WWF.
And we all know Gregg’s had to have a take on it, of course.
Impact on business
Twitter was never the hottest ad platform in the social media world but brands knew what they were getting for their ad dollars. With X there is still just mystery and weird Elon stuff – and advertisers don’t like mystery and weird Elon stuff when it comes to brand safety and media investments. The ad labels are considerably less noticeable since the change from Twitter to X, is this going to make a difference? Only time will tell, however it has been seen as a sneaky move, one that is leaving an air of untrust.
Whilst Musk has X-terminated his birdy from the app’s logo, and the platforms handle is now @X, the bird icon has still been fluttering about in the app. This could add to X’s demise, as the mixed message of logos is resulting in a decline of trust in the platform. The Chief Exacutive of Iconic says of the not so super app, “we all want a one-touch frictionless life. But to do this, you need a brand that feels trustworthy and premium.” And trustworthy isn’t exactly the buzz word around X at the moment. Neil Cooper, head of design, Wolff Olins London said “all of us have purchased domain names with the dream of one day using them to start a business. Elon Musk has done exactly this. But in doing so, he has destroyed one of the world’s best-known brands”.
Should I use Threads instead of X?
Remember what we said about Threads in our blog post? Well, Threads (the wannabe Twitter) COULD be set to overtake X, we salute the Meta platform’s move to add a much-needed search bar. The wheels are in motion to create a web version too and allow the use of hashtags. Buuut…as marketers we’d really appreciate some analytics and perhaps the ability to advertise!
Although Instagram’s director of brand design indicates that Threads is like
a former marketing professor argues that:
SimilarWeb reported at the end of July that Twitter traffic had dropped by 10%, and Threads users had declined by 60% since the launch.
They definitely both have their pro’s and cons, but it is early days for both apps. Is there a second chance for Twitter/X to make another big impression?