Chinanews.com, October 10 (He Luman, Yue Jieyu) Comprehensive report, a year ago today, American entrepreneur Elon Musk acquired the social platform Twitter (Twitter) for $27 billion. At the time, his vision was to make the platform an "all-encompassing app."

Now that "Twitter" has been renamed "X" and "Little Blue Bird" has flown away, has Musk achieved his vision of a "super app"?

[From "Twitter" to "X", what has changed?] 】

Data map: In October 2022, after acquiring Twitter, Musk posted, "This little bird is free." Image source: Screenshot of Musk's social media.

"This little bird is free." A year ago, after buying Twitter, Musk immediately posted on the social media. A year has passed, what has happened without the "X" platform of Little Blue Bird?

- The number of active users has declined

In August 2023, Musk posted that the "X" platform had set a record for "active seconds of users" in recent months. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "X" platform announced in September that it had 8 million daily active users, down from the 9.2 million released by Musk in November 45, but higher than the 2022.11 million users on the Twitter platform in the second quarter of 2.

However, an analysis by research firm Sensor Tower shows that the number of mobile daily active users on the "X" platform fell by 2022% in September 10 compared to October 2023, the month of Musk's acquisition.

The report pointed out that although the user indicators of the "X" platform have declined, its user volume is still in the leading position in the market. Sensor Tower pointed out that Meta's Threads platform, a competitor to the "X" platform, has attracted a lot of attention after its launch in July, but its user count is still nowhere near that of "X".

- The aftermath of the layoffs

A year ago, Musk fired several executives immediately after completing his acquisition of Twitter. After that, he made a massive cut of jobs at the company. "When companies are losing more than $400 million a day, layoffs are the only option," he said. ”

The Wall Street Journal quoted current and former employees on the 27th as saying that the platform's engineers are currently tight. In addition, many users have recently complained that there are more glitches while using the platform.

However, there are still some users who appreciate Musk's management of the "X" platform, which also had frequent technical problems before Musk took over.

Data map: Twitter changes its logo. Image source: Screenshot of Musk's social media

- Are advertisers churning?

Foreign media pointed out that the Twitter platform had previously relied on advertising revenue, but after Musk took over, many advertisers lost.

The Wall Street Journal bluntly said that the "X" platform is still weak in the U.S. advertising market, and executives of several large advertising agencies said that they have not yet seen a large-scale return of advertisers to the "X" platform, and some advertisers who have returned to the platform have cut back on ad spending. Musk also said in September that the "X" platform's advertising revenue in the U.S. has shrunk by 9% since the acquisition deal.

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of the "X" platform, said in September that 9% of the top 2022 advertisers in 100 had returned. Although the platform has also struggled to increase revenue from other businesses such as subscriptions, advertising is still the company's main source of revenue.

- The quality of the content needs to be evaluated

A study by Tufts University in the United States pointed out that the quality of content communication on the "X" platform "has declined" after it was acquired by Musk, and that "more disseminators of extreme and hateful content are challenging the boundaries of content licensing on the platform."

In this regard, Jacquerino said, "The platform is taking the trustworthiness and security of its information very seriously. ”

["Omnipotent"? Can Musk's vision be realized].

Musk wants his employees to be ambitious. His long-term vision for "X" is much more than just a social media company – he wants "X" to be "a one-size-fits-all app."

"Our goal is for Twitter to be the best, most timely, and most accurate source of truth, even if it's something we don't want to hear or don't like." In March 2023, Musk elaborated on his vision in a meeting.

Data map: Elon Musk.

Jacquerino described Musk's goal more specifically in July: "X" is the future of infinite interaction, which will create a "global market" of ideas, goods, services and opportunities centered on audio, video, messaging, payments and banking (and other services).

User churn, weak advertising business, difficult content moderation... The BBC notes that the challenges facing the future of "X" abound. But those challenges don't seem to dampen Musk's ambitions. In a post pinned to the top of the "X" platform, he wrote, "X is the collective consciousness of humanity."

"He (Musk) always had a grand vision, but in this case, the details are a quagmire for him." This is stated by Michael Vlismas, author of Musk's personal biography "Risking Everything". (ENDS)