It is staggering to see traffic drop from hundreds of countries, and it could well be Twitter’s behind-the-scenes efforts to combat bots…reports Asian Lite News
X Corp (Formerly Twitter) lost over half a billion user visits last month, and the Elon Musk-run platform has now dropped to seventh place on the global ranking, behind Instagram.
In September, X’s traffic dropped from 6.4 billion to 5.8 billion, a loss of 10 per cent, according to new SimilarWeb data. Of the 176 countries that visited Twitter in September, 83 per cent saw a month-on-month decline in visits.
The analysis of the data by Venture Smarter revealed that X has now dropped to seventh place on global rankings behind Meta-owned Instagram. Of the 176 countries that accessed Twitter in September, over four-fifths (83 per cent) saw a decline in month-over-month traffic to the website.
Google data also revealed that global searches for Twitter have dropped since Musk’’s takeover of the company last year, down from 14 million monthly searches to 11 million a year later, the lowest since November 2018.
“SimilarWeb traffic shows that Twitter is quickly losing traffic and has already slipped in global rankings. Since Musk took over, its popularity appears to be declining,” a Venture Smarter spokesperson said.
It is staggering to see traffic drop from hundreds of countries, and it could well be Twitter’s behind-the-scenes efforts to combat bots.
“However, as Musk has said recently, the 1$ charge may be the ‘only way to fight bots,’ it looks more likely that users are switching off from the platform,” the spokesperson added.
Musk on Friday said that X will soon roll out two new paid premium tiers and one of that tier with ads will cost lower than the current $8 a month. Earlier this week, the tech billionaire said that in order to tackle bots, new X users will need to pay $1 per year to post on the platform, although they can read other posts for free.
After the acquisition, Musk laid off more than 80 per cent of 7,500-strong Twitter staff, including its Indian-origin CEO Parag Agrawal, and even dissolved the trust and safety council….reports Asian Lite News
Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October last year after a months-long tumultuous phase.
One year on, controversies associated with the platform (now called X), amid the non-stop spread of disinformation, is far from over.
From a surge in anti-semitic tweets that more than doubled over the months since Musk took charge to the European Commission formally opening a probe into X over spreading of illegal content and disinformation, the Twitter bird is yet to be freed.
On October 26, 2022 as he bought Twitter, Musk arrived at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco carrying a bathroom sink, while sharing a post: “Let that sink in!”
After the acquisition, Musk laid off more than 80 per cent of 7,500-strong Twitter staff, including its Indian-origin CEO Parag Agrawal, and even dissolved the trust and safety council.
Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Agrawal, former policy lead Vijaya Gadde and other executives finally won $1.1 million in legal fees from the Musk-run company.
In November last year, he said that “people have spoken and former US president Donald Trump will be reinstated” on Twitter.
In August this year, Trump signalled his return by posting his mugshot from Fulton County Jail in the US on charges of election interference.
Musk retweeted his post, saying “Next-level”.
In February, amid reports that Twitter was losing $4 million a day, the tech billionaire said that the platform will soon share ad revenue with creators for ads that appear in their reply threads.
The social media platform finally started paying creators in July for a share of the ad revenue they earned from ads served in the replies to their posts to other verified users.
Last month, X CEO Linda Yaccarino revealed that the platform paid nearly $20 million (more than Rs 166 crore) to creators.
In April, Twitter announced it would remove the verification badge from the legacy accounts to promote its Twitter Blue subscription.
Elon Musk.(photo:IANS/Twitter)
It now charges $8 a month from verified users, and is soon launching other paid membership tiers.
In June, Musk created a sensation by posting that he is up for a cage match with Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg — a fight that never took place.
Zuckerberg later launched a competitor to Twitter called Threads on Instagram.
In July, Twitter announced a name change to X.com, to make the platform an “everything app” from live-streaming events and movies, live sports, digital payments and more.
“Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app,” said Musk.
This month, the European Commission opened an investigation into the X owner Musk over an alleged spreading of illegal content and disinformation, in particular, the spreading of terrorist and violent content and hate speech in the wake of an ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Yaccarino responded, saying the company is actively working with partners, governments, regulators and policymakers to combat misinformation.
Last week, a new study claimed that verified users with Blue badges are the ones spreading the vast majority of misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war on X.
During the first week of the conflict (October 7-14), US-based for-profit organisation NewsGuard analysed the 250 most-engaged posts (likes, reposts, replies, and bookmarks) that promoted one of 10 prominent false or unsubstantiated narratives relating to the war.
The results revealed that 186 out of these 250 posts — 74 per cent — were posted by accounts verified by X.
X Corp lost over half a billion user visits last month, and the platform dropped to seventh place on the global ranking, behind Instagram, according to new SimilarWeb data.
A few days later, she was fired and told that she violated an unspecified company policy, according to the legal document…reports Asian Lite News
The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has alleged in a complaint that Elon Musk-run X violated labour laws when it fired an employee who criticised the company’s return-to-work policy.
The X (formerly Twitter) employee Yao Yue encouraged others in the company’s Slack group to let it fire them instead of quitting, she was fired for breaking an unspecified company policy.
“After 12 amazing years and 3 weeks of chaos, I’m officially fired by Twitter. Never expected I would have stayed this long, and never expected I would be this relieved to be gone,” she posted on Twitter in November last year.
Now, the NLRB has alleged in a complaint that Musk’s X broke the law in firing her, reports CNBC. A hearing on the case is scheduled for January 30 in San Francisco.
“If you can physically make it to an office and you don’t show up, resignation is accepted,” Musk had told Twitter employees after acquiring the company for $44 billion.
Yue alleged that the social media platform laid her off “in retaliation for her attempt to organise her co-workers not to resign, so they would have better legal footing”. Several employees had expressed “concern and outrage” over the directive to return to the office immediately.
Yue had tweeted: “Don’t resign, let him fire you. You gain literally nothing out of resignation.” She also posted in a company Slack channel a message saying, “Don’t be fired. Seriously.”
A few days later, she was fired and told that she violated an unspecified company policy, according to the legal document.
“Yue alleges that Twitter chose her for layoff in retaliation for her attempt to organise her co-workers not to resign, so they would have better legal footing to challenge any separation from Twitter,” the document read. Musk or X were yet to comment on the NLRB complaint.
X needs to provide the requested information to the Commission services by October 18 for questions related to the activation and functioning of the platform’s crisis response protocol, and by October 31 on the rest…reports Asian Lite News
The European Commission has formally opened an investigation into Elon Musk-owned X, over an alleged spreading of illegal content and disinformation, in particular the spreading of terrorist and violent content and hate speech in the wake of an ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The Commission said late on Thursday that it has sent a formal request for information to X under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Following its designation as “Very Large Online Platform”, X is required to comply with the full set of provisions introduced by the DSA since late August, including the assessment and mitigation of risks related to the dissemination of illegal content, disinformation, gender-based violence, and any negative effects on the exercise of fundamental rights, rights of the child, public security and mental well-being.
“In this particular case, the Commission services are investigating X’s compliance with the DSA, including with regard to its policies and practices regarding notices on illegal content, complaint handling, risk assessment and measures to mitigate the risks identified,” said the Commission.
X needs to provide the requested information to the Commission services by October 18 for questions related to the activation and functioning of the platform’s crisis response protocol, and by October 31 on the rest.
“Based on the assessment of X replies, the Commission will assess next steps. This could entail the formal opening of proceedings pursuant to Article 66 of the DSA,” the Commission said.
“In case of failure to reply by X, the Commission may decide to request the information by decision. In this case, failure to reply by the deadline could lead to the imposition of period penalties,” it added.
Earlier this week, EU commissioner Thierry Breton warned Musk, saying that his X platform “is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU” after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
In a letter addressed to Musk, Breton said that following the “terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel”, they have indications that “your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU”.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday said that the microblogging platform has removed hundreds of “Hamas-linked accounts” and “taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content” since the attack on Israel.
Separately, the company announced a new partnership with socialite Paris Hilton and her 11:11 Media company to begin experimenting with live shopping features…reports Asian Lite News
In an attempt to turn X into an “everything app”, Elon Musk is testing video game streaming and live shopping features on the micro-blogging platform.
Musk on Monday posted a video on X, saying:”Tested the X video game streamer system last night. It works! Will try to complete a Tier 100 Nightmare dungeon tonight live on this platform.”
After a few hours, he streamed the Nightmare dungeon game on X in an almost 40-minute-long video. “Testing video game streaming on X,” Musk captioned the video. Several users expressed their views on this development.
“Embarking on a journey with X live game streaming! It’s a whole new world of gaming, and I can’t wait to share my experiences with all of you. Expect some action-packed gaming sessions and interactive fun,” a user wrote. “This is gonna be my new favourite way to watch streams,” another user said.
Separately, the company announced a new partnership with socialite Paris Hilton and her 11:11 Media company to begin experimenting with live shopping features.
According to Variety, Hilton has signed on to “create four original video content programs per year that include live-shopping features”. “I’m excited to announce an official partnership with X today,” Hilton, chairwoman and CEO of 11:11, said in an audio post on the service.
“Together, we’re going to be exploring new ways to connect with all of you across video, live video, live shopping and even Spaces. And we’re just getting started. Loves it,” she added. Users will be able to watch, chat, and shop in the same window with X’s live shopping product.
Users will be able to browse a catalogue of products while watching a livestream with Hilton on X and then click through to the site to make a purchase using the service’s in-app browser.
The queen of pop culture, music, business, and TV is #Sliving on X. @ParisHilton welcome to the @X family, we're excited to launch an official partnership with you and your next-gen media company 11:11. Together we're going to create a launchpad for new initiatives in video and… pic.twitter.com/7ctohyn3Nb
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, posted:“The queen of pop culture, music, business, and TV is #Sliving on X. @ParisHilton welcome to the @X family, we’re excited to launch an official partnership with you and your next-gen media company 11:11.”
Elon Musk confirms Linda Yaccarino as new Twitter CEO
Yaccarino said that the company is at the verge of breaking even, after it went through a massive churn in the last few months including huge layoffs and platform changes…reports Asian Lite News
X Corp is planning to soon roll out audio and video calls to premium, subscription-only users, as X CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed last month that video calls will arrive on the platform as part of its transition into an “everything app.”
Tech veteran-turned-investor Chris Messina revealed the new code in X app which supports audio and video calls from other Verified users from people they follow, or from people in their address book.
“As hinted in Linda’s sizzle reel, X will be adding audio and video calls shortly,” Messina posted on X rival Threads.
“You will, of course, have to pay for that feature, because Skype is dead,” he added.
According to the feature’s description, “Take messaging to the next level with audio and video calls”.
“Turn the feature on and then select who you’re comfortable using it with”.
Last month, Yaccarino said that the company is at the verge of breaking even, after it went through a massive churn in the last few months including huge layoffs and platform changes.
In her first TV interview since she took over as X Corp CEO, Yaccarino said that video calls are arriving soon on the platform, as it aims to become an “everything app” like China’s WeChat.
“I’ve been at the company for eight weeks. The operational run rate right now… we’re pretty close to break even,” she was quoted as saying.
The X CEO informed that soon, “you’ll be able to make video chat calls without having to give your phone number to anyone on the platform”.
She also spoke about other features like long-form videos and creator subscriptions, along with future plans around digital payments.
Musk always wanted Twitter to become “an everything app” like China’s WeChat.
The CEO of X said she has “autonomy” under Musk as he focuses on new technology and “I am responsible for the rest.”…reports Asian Lite News
X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday announced to soon bring video calling on its platform, as it aims to become an “everything app” like China’s WeChat.
X Corp CEO Linda Yaccarino told CNBC that soon, “you’ll be able to make video chat calls without having to give your phone number to anyone on the platform”.
She also spoke about other features like long-form videos and creator subscriptions, along with future plans around digital payments. X designer Andrea Conway also hinted via a tweet: “Just called someone on X”. Musk-owned X is also working on a new feature that will allow users to sort posts on someone’s profile.
Last week, the company had announced that paid subscribers can choose to hide their checkmarks on accounts. Musk always wanted Twitter to become “an everything app” like China’s WeChat.
“Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” Musk said in October last year, as he took over the company after acquiring it for $44 billion. “Twitter probably accelerates X by 3 to 5 years, but I could be wrong,” he added.
During a podcast, he had said that the the world needs a super app. “It’s either convert Twitter to that, or start something new. It does need to happen somehow,” he said.
In his first direct call with Twitter employees last year, Musk briefed them about his plans, including making it more like TikTok and WeChat and allowing “outrageous comments”.
X close to breaking even
CEO Linda Yaccarino on Thursday said that the company is at the verge of breaking even, after it went through a massive churn in the last few months including huge layoffs and platform changes.
In her first TV interview since she took over as X Corp CEO, Yaccarino also said that video calls are arriving soon on the platform, as it aims to become an “everything app” like China’s WeChat.
“I’ve been at the company for eight weeks. The operational run rate right now… we’re pretty close to break even,” she was quoted as saying.
“Our data licensing and API with X is an incredible business. Our new subscription business is growing,” Yaccarino added.
The CEO of X said she has “autonomy” under Musk as he focuses on new technology and “I am responsible for the rest.”
On Meta’s Threads, she said that they may be building to what Twitter was, and “we are focused on what X will be.”
The X CEO informed that soon, “you’ll be able to make video chat calls without having to give your phone number to anyone on the platform”.
She also spoke about other features like long-form videos and creator subscriptions, along with future plans around digital payments.
On Musk vs Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s fight, she said: “We’ll see if that cage match really does happen. What I can say is that I’ve had a front row seat of witnessing that Musk is training.”
Musk always wanted Twitter to become “an everything app” like China’s WeChat.
“Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” Musk said in October last year, as he took over the company after acquiring it for $44 billion. “Twitter probably accelerates X by 3 to 5 years, but I could be wrong,” he added.
