X is taking the subsequent steps to advance past its short-form content material roots, with the introduction of X Articles, which is actually a running a blog platform constructed into the X system.

As you may see on this instance, X Articles consists of all the fundamental components of a running a blog device, together with a title and header picture to your publish, and varied in-stream formatting choices (like daring, italics, numbers lists, hyperlinks, and so on.)

Customers will even be capable to embed photos and movies into their Articles, offering extra methods to distinguish Articles from long-form posts within the app.

Which have additionally had a number of upgrades to carry them up to the mark with different running a blog instruments. However Articles is a extra devoted choice for long-form content material.

X Articles will seem in your profile in a brand new Articles tab, in addition to in your followers’ timeline, similar to common X posts.

“Articles will even be simply distinguishable because of a singular icon and format, guaranteeing that your long-form content material stands out.”

X is hoping that the brand new format will see extra publishers and creators share their content material direct to the app, which is what X proprietor Elon Musk actually desires.

Musk, in fact, is pushing to transform the platform previously generally known as Twitter into his imaginative and prescient for an “every little thing app”, which might allow every kind of various features and processes in-stream.

Lengthy-form content material, particularly, has been a key focus for Musk’s “freedom of speech” push, with Musk repeatedly calling on “citizen journalists” to share their views on X, as a way to problem the mainstream media.

Whom Musk is satisfied is biased, typically in opposition to him, and as such, Elon’s hope is that by giving extra individuals extra methods to share their ideas within the app, that can assist to determine a brand new info ecosystem, free of outdoor interference.

Although that’s probably not true, on condition that Musk has additionally penalized or suspended varied publications and journalists that he disagrees with. However that bias, at the very least from Elon’s perspective, is definitely extra balanced, as a result of he’s the one who controls it. So all good, I assume.

So, will this see extra individuals posting long-form content material within the app?

Properly, it’s restricted to Premium+ and Verified Organizations subscribers, so not everyone can use it, solely these which are keen to pay at the very least $16 per thirty days for the app.

Which is generally Elon superfans, and for that cohort of customers, it may very well be a precious strategy to doc their love of Tesla, or SpaceX, or simply to publish long-form Elon Musk fan fiction.

Yeah, it’s tremendous bizarre, however for that group, I can see X articles being of worth. However I don’t see many publications or journalists truly paying to make use of the choice.

Perhaps, for media organizations which are already paying for Verification for Organizations, they might strive it out, and X will doubtless additionally look to offer some type of monetization potential in future. That’ll draw some curiosity, but it surely stays to be seen whether or not customers truly wish to eat long-form content material within the app.

As a result of that’s a big behavioral shift, although Elon Musk did report again in September that longer posts within the app have been seeing 3 billion views per day.

I imply, the specifics listed here are related. Are longer posts truly seeing 3 billion views, or are individuals simply tapping on the “Extra” CTA that many instances? Is X measuring time spent studying?

It’s tougher to measure as a result of it’s essential to consider consumption time inside the app, versus time spent after tapping a hyperlink. However mainly, as with all the metrics that X shares, it doesn’t actually, definitively say that that is reflective of recognition and/or engagement.

However possibly it’s, and possibly X Articles will even draw curiosity.

It’s exhausting to see why publishers would publish direct within the app, however over time, X might develop extra incentives on this entrance.