So, ‘Larry’ is gone and been replaced by a “minimalist art deco” X. Larry, of course, is the name of Twitter’s famous blue bird logo but, like so many little birds before him, including the dodo, he is now extinct.
Elon Musk, who bought Twitter for $44bn last October, has decreed that the social media platform will retire the blue bird logo — and eventually the Twitter name — with ‘X’ becoming the company’s new identity.
He has repeatedly spoken of his desire to make the global conversation platform an “everything app” that would include a payment system as well as communications. The X concept is modelled on the Chinese WeChat app which allows users perform multiple functions from messaging to ordering a taxi and paying bills.
In June 2022, Musk reportedly told staff: “You basically live on WeChat in China. If we can recreate that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.”
Like many of his claims, it seems outsized, especially as the company has a negative cashflow and advertising revenue is down 50% since he took control.
Given that he has shed three-quarters of Twitter’s staff since taking over, as well as throwing out past rules on disinformation campaigns and personally engaged with accounts previously suspended for hate speech, his latest move smacks somewhat of desperation as the company seemingly moves towards cold, hard functionality rather than the softer associations it enjoyed.
But the move reflects a greater global trend away from social media and the sudden stagnation of the so many platforms is symptomatic of the growing stasis in the sector. That people are increasingly tuned into “real” issues such as climate change has also contributed to its lack of muscle.
A rebranding exercise may not stop a seemingly inexorable slide.
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