Before I delve into some of the major changes that happened to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter this summer, I want to first take some time to do a little mind experiment. I’m going to list three companies, and you’re going to think about the logo associated with each one: Apple, McDonald’s and Nike.
Pretty easy right? Respectively, an apple with a bite taken out of it, the golden arches and the ever-so-famous swoosh. Now I want you to think about Twitter’s logo. Until recently, it was a silhouette of a blue songbird. After the title “Twitter” was retired in favor of the name “X,” the internet’s favorite bird was replaced with a stylized “X.” Popular Mechanics noted that the new logo is just the unicode character 𝕏, a symbol used when typing out math.
Many of the traits that made (what was formerly known as) Twitter a useful tool for people to engage and connect with each other have degenerated since Musk’s acquisition of the platform. Elon Musk’s push to turn Twitter into X has been nothing short of baffling, changing not just the name and logo of the company, but the identity of the app itself. For some observers and online combatants, the change to X is a necessary step toward Musk’s grand goal to change the landscape of the Western internet.
This mission isn’t necessarily a bad one, and if he is successful, a new era of online connection could be willed into existence. However, Musk fails to recognize that he shouldn’t be trying to destroy Twitter and create a brand from the ground up, but should instead build off of how ingrained it already is in the cultural zeitgeist before others try to replace what was destroyed.
Musk’s overarching goal of engineering a one-stop shop for everything on the internet isn’t a new revelation. Musk stated this goal prior to the acquisition of the company, posting on X about each change he sought to implement. The rebranding of Twitter into X demonstrates nothing more than a failure on Musk’s part to recognize the value of the company he paid $44 billion for.
Twitter was more than just another social media site. As it attracted more and more users, it became a place so significant that when major leaders in the world created an account, it made world news. Through such growth and exposure to billions of people, Twitter was no longer just a social media site; rather, it was a part of a new global culture, earning its verbiage “tweet” a place in the dictionary.
Through obtaining the company, Musk was faced with the choice of how to use such a well-known brand while simultaneously molding the site to fit his social and political goals. Musk’s choice was not to use the brand, but rather to instead destroy it and forge a new one. Musk’s decision was controversial not least because it removed an estimated $20 billion of brand value from the company. However, others saw this change as making the way for the future of social media. While this change could make way for a future, it neglects the power that the Twitter brand held.
Musk’s decision essentially knocks himself down a large number of pegs from where he was when he obtained the site. Twitter’s brand recognizability was a selling point. By changing, it only makes it harder for the new brand to be seen by the public, who now needs to relearn the site instead of already understanding what it was. Musk may even realize this subconsciously through the examples of his own actions. A major showcase of this was the setting up of a giant lit X on top of X headquarters after the brand change, which was seen as nothing more than a publicity stunt.
Aside from dispelling an extremely well-known brand from his ownership, Musk’s move to change X into an “everything app” allows room for a competitor who can market themselves as a Twitter spoof since it no longer exists. Every change Musk makes to X that deviates from its original formula only emboldens the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, who by many accounts created Threads to work as a Twitter clone. While arguments can be made that Zuckerberg is just copying X, every change Musk makes to X strengthens the argument that Threads and similar apps are preservations of what Twitter was rather than a copy X.
Musk has seemingly thrown away the keys to the kingdom through his work to rebrand Twitter into X. Instead of building off of a well-established brand and working to make it even more popular, he has instead opted to disavow anything that doesn’t have his ideas or support tied behind it. This choice is dangerous for Musk and X for many reasons, but at its core, it’s the loss of an established brand for an unestablished one that could be dead in the water if too much is changed, too fast. Although the destruction of X can be seen as a positive for some and a negative for others, it is undeniable that it completely disregards the power and usefulness of Twitter’s established social clout. That, and it has given us a chance to see Musk and Zuckerberg duke it out in a cage for our enjoyment.
Thomas Muha is an Opinion Columnist. He writes about issues relating to social media and the internet. He can be reached at tmuha@umich.edu or on X @TJMooUM.