The social media platform formerly known as Twitter has undergone a significant change as it switched its domain name from "twitter.com" to "x.com". This change marks the end of an era, with the majority of what Twitter once was now gone.
However, X, as it is now known, remains the same in terms of functionality, providing real-time updates on a wide range of topics. Despite various challengers, X remains a leader in the social media space, maintaining its user base of 250 million daily active users since November 2022.
The platform's owner, Elon Musk, has made several changes to the app, some of which have been controversial. One positive change has been the introduction of Community Notes, a crowd-sourced fact-checking system formerly known as "Birdwatch". This system allows users to add fact-checks and moderate themselves, reducing X's reliance on moderation staff and acting as a cost-saving measure. However, it's not a complete solution to misinformation as it still takes time for notes to appear.
Despite these changes, X faces challenges. Reports indicate that hate speech and abuse are increasing on the app. Furthermore, despite massive staff cuts, X is not on track for profitability. The platform's parent company, X Corp, is under a huge debt burden, with interest repayments of around $1.5 billion per year. In 2023, X brought in $2.5 billion in total revenue, but operating expenses put the company in a difficult position.
Musk's vision for X includes a more advanced online banking portal that would revolutionize the financial industry. X.com is currently in the process of securing money transmitter licenses in each U.S. state, a first step towards this vision. Despite the challenges, Musk's past successes make it hard to bet against him. However, X.com and Twitter.com are not the same platform and are not aiming for the same things.
