The social media landscape has been undergoing constant change and evolution, and one of the biggest players in the industry, Twitter, was recently acquired by Elon Musk for a whopping $44 billion. However, the owner of the newly named X, has given a hint of doubt about the platform’s future. In a statement on the platform, Musk confessed that “there are no great ‘social networks’ right now” and that X “may fail”.
The launch of Meta’s rival platform, Threads, has given X some strong competition. Within six weeks of its launch, Threads had more than 100 million signups, but those numbers quickly fell. Similarweb data revealed that the platform’s daily active users fell from a peak of 44 million after Threads launched to just 10 million over six weeks.
Musk had attempted to eliminate bots and rebrand X as a “super-app” to rejuvenate the platform. However, these efforts seem to have had limited success. Mashable journalist Matt Binder conducted an analysis that discovered 42% of Musk’s followers on X had no followers themselves, suggesting they were possibly bots.
The removal of the blocking feature on the platform has recently caused a stir among activists, who see it as a tool that should remain in place to combat harassment and bullying online. Anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky recently urged both Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino to reconsider the move, citing the feature as “a critical tool to keep people safe online”.
The platform may be suffering setbacks, but this has not dented Musk’s determination to make the social network work. His statement on X concludes on an optimistic note, stating that despite the potential for failure, “we will try our best to make there be at least one [great social network]”.
With Fidelity writing down the value of its stake in Twitter back in May, giving it a value of approximately $15 billion, the acquisition by Musk is still highly priced. X has yet to comment on Musk’s statement. However, it is clear that he will be pulling out all the stops to make the social network a success and leave a lasting legacy.
We also encourage industry experts to provide their recommendations based on their knowledge and experience in the social media landscape. How can X differentiate itself in a market saturated with social network options? What strategies should X adopt to regain momentum and increase its user base?
To share your suggestions or insights on the future of X, please comment below and let your voice be heard. Together, we can help shape the future of the platform and potentially contribute to the success of this ambitious endeavor.
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Gaurav Rajani
