December 26, 2023
Twitter's rebranding was aimed to reflect its changing identity beyond just a social media platform. Musk acquired the company in 2022 to A) fulfill his long-held desire to run a company named ‘X’ and B) to turn it into an everything app. The rebranding is just another step in the ongoing transformation of Twitter to make it into an everything app. The company's idea for Twitter is something similar to that of an app in China called ‘WeChat’.
The rebranding had both positive and negative consequences. While it showed change and aimed to address issues, it also reduced engagement, brand mentions, and search visibility. Musk bought the company for $44 billion. The company incurred a loss of around more than half of that amount after the rebranding. Analysts consider this move by the company to undo years of branding behind Twitter’s blue bird. In a study conducted by Tracksuit in Australia, the UK and the US the users did not react well to the new logo, they thought the new logo was authoritarian and misaligned as compared to the old logo.
Elon Musk’s vision to turn ‘X’ formerly known as Twitter has the potential to revolutionize the way we use the internet. Many issues stand in the way of executing that vision, including the lack of trust among the users and the failure of the company to give a clear picture of the new value the rebranded platform provides. The company aims to move forward with it's plan to make Twitter an everything app.