Elon Musk is changing Twitter. This much we know. If anyone missed it, the next phase was implemented by having a name change.
There is a major rebranding taking place. Twitter is now going by the name of "X". This stands for the Everything App, something that Musk has discussed on a number of occasions.
Is this a good move? And what does it really mean?
The answers are not exactly clear but it does have Twitter (or is it X) buzzing.
In this article we will drill down a bit to see if we can figure what is taking place.
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Most of the Twitter world is woefully unaware of what is taking place. There is a new reality taking place, something that Musk is helping to drive. It is the merging of social media and finance.
This is a big move, especially in the Web 2.0 realm. Elon's goal is to make his platform the largest financial institutions in the world. It is a target he set down for PayPal a couple decades back.
Twitter, to him, is not just a social media platform. He is looking at maximizing the value by taking the digital network into the area of finance. It is actually a natural transition.
Here is where we see the future of Web 3.0. It is the merging of social media and finance. However, what Musk is creation is still Web 2.0. Control of the database and network fully is under "X".
Twitter is a social media platform; X is much more.
I think most would agree it is a rather foolish name. Certainly if this was run through most marketing agencies, it would not be put fort by any of them as an option.
That said, we have to keep in mind Musk turned Tesla into one of the most recognized brands without doing any advertising. This is quite a feat in an industry where the competitors have more than $1,000 into each vehicle simply for advertising.
Also, what is a "google"?
The point of a name is to put forth something that people can remember. This is something that Musk is gravitating towards with SpaceX and X.ai. He must feel that it is going to help in totality. One of his earlier companies was also X.com.
This is the question everyone is wondering.
The answer is probably not much. Musk is dealing with something, at its core, was dead.
If we are honest, when he took over Twitter, it was a dumpster fire. The financial statements were horrible, something that showed up in the stock. It price on the market flatlined for 10 years.
We also had the same with the users. That was not growing. It is something that Musk is going to have to live with.
The likely reality is that everyone who is going to Tweet is already doing so. This platform is not going to garner much growth in users. Opponents to the change point out that it was a well known brand. That is correct.
It also exemplifies a major problem: if it is so iconic, where is the growth. Even before Musk, it was dead.
What this means it, name change or nor, the future had to be in a major revamp.
The entry into finance does this.
One of the reasons for major optimism with Web 3.0 is the value that is tied to financial platforms.
When we look at the digital platforms, the network effect is something that is focused upon. Those that can generate this carry a high market capitalization. None were more successful than Facebook.
The major part of the discussion moves to wallet. Here is where the money is at. If we dive into this, we see where Musk could be heading.
At the top of this list is PayPal, something he is familiar with. Let us look at the market cap of that company.
As we can see, it is worth over $80 billion. This is just shy of double what Musk paid for Twitter.
That platform had over 400 million users and merchants in 2022.
It is obvious payment networks are worth a lot of money. We saw all the attention that the Federal Reserve got with the rollout of FedNow.
What happens when this gets coupled with social media?
This is the question that Musk and Web 3.0 are seeking to answer.
Regardless of what Twitter is called, it is being rebranded because it is going in a completely different direction. Those attacking the moves are still looking at it as a social media network.
In the end, Musk as 200+ million users on that platform, all who are providing him with data. We cannot overlook his affinity for artificial intelligence. Then we is going to incorporate financial services into the mix.
Suddenly the competition is no longer Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok. Instead, he is looking to play with Bank of America, Visa, and Wells Fargo.
For a couple years, we discussed this concept for Web 3.0. It takes time to build infrastructure. However, the battle lines are being drawn.
Anyone who thinks there will be a separation of social media and finance will likely be surprised. We can already see the blending in a small way. Tokenization means that we are transforming these communities into economies.
This takes everything to a new level.
Will Musk be successful? That remains to be determined. In my view, one major impediment is Web 3.0.
