Final week marked the tip of an period in social media, and it’s fairly possible that you just didn’t even notice it.

On Friday, X, the platform previously generally known as Twitter, converted from the “twitter.com” area identify to “x.com” for all of its major techniques.

No, that’s not the brand new X emblem, that’s an previous design that X proprietor Elon Musk got here up with again in 1999, when he first began engaged on what he wished X to be.

Sure, Elon has been engaged on X, and has wished to launch a website beneath the X.com URL. for 25 years.

And now, it’s a step nearer, not less than in identify, which additionally means that almost all of what Twitter as soon as was is now gone, in presence, in spirit, and so on.

Although successfully, Twitter nonetheless stays. For many common customers who don’t pay an excessive amount of thoughts to the broader possession particulars of social apps, X is identical because it ever was, offering a direct feed of real-time updates, on a variety of matters, every single day.

And it’s nonetheless the chief on this area. If there’s a significant world information occasion, X is the place most individuals nonetheless flip, whereas for sports activities protection and engagement, dwell TV present dialogue, leisure business information, and so on., X continues to be the place to be.

Numerous challengers have tried to step in to assemble up forged offs who’ve been lower than pleased with Elon’s adjustments on the app, however none have caught as much as X as but. And whereas X itself isn’t rising (X has been sitting on 250 million each day energetic customers since November 2022), it’s additionally not shrinking, which means that none of its numerous challengers have really taken its place as but. Some have seen relative success, most have collapsed. However X, whether or not you prefer it or not, whether or not you utilize it or not, stays a related consideration.

And whereas Elon’s numerous adjustments on the app have been controversial, there have been positives as effectively.

Group Notes has been a key spotlight, with Elon shortly shifting to make the crowd-sourced fact-checking system, previously known as “Birdwatch”, into a much bigger moderation factor.

The advantage of this for X is two-fold. For one, it gives a way for customers so as to add fact-checks, and to basically reasonable themselves, versus X administration having to make calls on what’s and isn’t acceptable within the app.

It additionally reduces X’s reliance on moderation employees, and with Musk seeking to minimize employees as a lot as completely doable, this acts as an essential cost-saving measure.

And it’s helpful. Posts with Group Notes see much less engagement, and fewer general amplification, so it’s an efficient instrument in decreasing the unfold of misinformation, not less than to some extent.

But, on the identical time, it nonetheless takes some time for Notes to look, and if any platform really wants real-time, rapid moderation to restrict the unfold of misinformation, it’s X. Which signifies that Group Notes is just not an answer, as such, however one other factor. But Elon and Co. appear to be placing extra reliance on it than they in all probability ought to.

Nevertheless it has been a optimistic enlargement, whereas it’s additionally superb that X continues to perform comparatively easily, with 80% fewer employees.

That, in itself, is a formidable feat, so whereas there have been controversies, the shift to X has additionally seen positives, which have modified the platform for the higher.

In some methods.

In others, X has turn out to be rather a lot worse.

Numerous stories have indicated that hate speech and abuse are on the rise within the app, and presently, regardless of Elon’s large employees cuts, X continues to be not on monitor for profitability.

It had been, in line with Elon and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, at one stage earlier this 12 months. However Musk’s controversial stances and opinions proceed to push advertisers away, and with X Premium sign-ups nonetheless stagnating, and X beneath big debt burden on account of Musk’s buy, it’s arduous to see the way it’ll get itself again on monitor.

For context, X Corp, the dad or mum firm of X, is presently on the hook for curiosity repayments of round $1.5 billion per 12 months. X introduced in $2.5 billion in complete income in 2023, so you may see how, mixed with working bills, X is already up in opposition to it.

However Elon has a plan, and given his previous successes with seemingly unattainable enterprise ventures, no one’s keen to totally guess in opposition to him simply but.

Again in 1999, when Musk initially got here up along with his X.com imaginative and prescient, he outlined a extra superior on-line banking portal, which might basically take all components of a daily financial institution, and convey them on-line. Musk’s view was that this may revolutionize all the monetary business, increasing PayPal (of which Musk was additionally a founding associate) to the following stage.

Nevertheless it by no means occurred, although that is still the important thing focus of Musk’s broader X plan occasion at this time.

Certainly, final October, Musk reiterated his on-line banking plan:

“After I say funds, I really imply somebody’s complete monetary life. If it entails cash, it’ll be on our platform, cash or securities or no matter. So, it’s not identical to ship $20 to my buddy. I’m speaking about, like, you gained’t want a checking account.”

X.com is presently within the strategy of securing cash transmitter licenses in every U.S. state, which is step one in direction of this grand imaginative and prescient, although it nonetheless has a protracted method to go earlier than X.com turns into the banking framework that Musk envisions.

However perhaps X can do it. Possibly, all of those components will come collectively at some stage, and Elon will deliver his grand plan to fruition, regardless of the doubters.

And perhaps, too, his “free speech” aligned method will catch on, and X will acquire extra traction, and perhaps the upcoming U.S. election would be the occasion that swings extra individuals in X’s favor, and issues will flip for the app.

However regardless, X.com is now right here, rather than what Twitter.com had as soon as been. They don’t seem to be the identical platform, and they aren’t aiming for a similar issues.

And whereas you should still discover some chicken references within the app, Elon appears to decided to stomp out its historical past, versus paying homage to what turned one of the vital recognizable manufacturers on this planet.