Musk says Twitter to change logo to 'X' from the bird. Changes could come as early as Monday
New York (AP): Elon Musk said Sunday that he plans to change the logo of Twitter to an "X" from the famous blue bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for
44 billion last year.
In a series of posts on his Twitter account starting just after 12 a.m. ET, Twitter's owner said that he's looking to make the change worldwide as soon as Monday.
"And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds," Musk wrote on his account.
The change isn't surprising given Musk's long history with the name "X," says Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce. The billionaire Tesla CEO tweeted last October that "buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app."
Musk's rocket company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is commonly known as SpaceX. And in 1999, Musk founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company now known as PayPal.
"Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X," Musk tweeted Sunday.
Hours later on Sunday, Linda Yaccarino, the longtime NBC Universal executive Musk appointed as Twitter CEO in May, weighed in on the move.
"It's an exceptionally rare thing in life or in business that you get a second chance to make another big impression," she wrote on her Twitter account. "Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square."
Yaccarino wrote on Twitter that X would be "the future state of unlimited interactivity centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities."
But the change on Twitter was met with skepticism on the social media platform.
The change will be very confusing to a huge chunk of the Twitter's audience, which has been already souring on the social platform given a slew of other major changes Musk has made, Adamson said.
"They won't get it," he said. "It's a fitting end to a phenomenal unwinding of an iconic brand and business."
Earlier this month, Musk put new curfews on his digital town square, a move that met with sharp criticism it could drive away more advertisers and undermine its cultural influence as a trendsetter.
The higher tweet-viewing threshold is part of an 8-per-month subscription service that Musk rolled out earlier this year in an attempt to boost Twitter revenue. Revenue has dropped sharply since Musk took over the company and laid off roughly three-fourths of the workforce to slash costs and avoid bankruptcy.
Luring advertisers is essential for Musk and Twitter after many fled in the early months after his takeover of the social media platform, fearing damage to their brands in the enveloping chaos. Advertisers have cut back on spending partly because of changes Musk has made that has allowed for more hateful content to flourish and that has offended a wider part of the platform's audience.
Musk said in late April that advertisers had returned, but provided no specifics.
Musk's move to change Twitter's logo to an "X" also comes as Twitter faces new competition from Meta's new app, Threads, launched earlier this month. It has been seen as an alternative for those who have been upset with Twitter.
Threads is being billed as a text-based version of Meta's photo-sharing app Instagram that the company has said offers "a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations."
In the first five days of its launch, 100 million people had signed up for Threads, according to a post on Threads by Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
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Dalit nurse dies by suicide in Jodhpur after alleged caste-based assault
Jodhpur — A 26-year-old Dalit nurse died by suicide on May 2, reportedly after being assaulted and harassed by her upper-caste neighbours in a caste-related incident in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district. The incident has triggered widespread protests demanding justice.
According to the victim’s family, the violence broke out on April 30 after a few drops of water from their courtyard cleaning fell on a neighbouring car. This minor issue allegedly led to a violent and casteist attack by Shankar Lal Bishnoi, his wife, and their sons, Rajendra alias Raj and Vikas alias Vicky. The nurse, along with her mother and younger brother, was allegedly beaten during the attack.
The family claims that the attackers scratched the victim on her chest and face, humiliating her and targeting her caste identity.
In a suicide note left behind by the victim, she clearly named the accused and described the assault as caste-driven. “They scratched my chest, insulted my dignity. I don’t want a life filled with casteism and people’s filthy gazes,” the note read.
The letter also pointed to police negligence. The family said they waited for over nine hours at the Mata Ka Than police station, but only minor charges were filed against the accused, who were released soon after. The note mentioned the name of the Station House Officer (SHO) Bhanwar Singh Jakhad and local councillor Jani Devi. The nurse alleged that the SHO told them, “Nothing will happen to them,” and the councillor claimed the accused had “high-level connections.”
In her final words, the nurse wrote: “No one stood by me. Not the police. Not the system. Not even my own.”
The incident has led to angry protests in the area. Demonstrators gathered outside the police station and blocked Bhadwasiya Road, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused and the suspension of the SHO. The protesters have refused to allow the post-mortem of the victim until their demands are met.
Following the protests and public outrage, the police have now registered a case of abetment to suicide against the four accused.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
