It must be nice owning a commonly-used social media app where changes can be made at your behest. That's what it's like for the Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and some would argue that this kind of control is what's leading the platform to ruin.
Guess the Title
X, formerly known as Twitter, has undergone a series of changes under Elon Musk's ownership. Many would say that the tech billionaire shifts on policies and features on a whim is what's killing the app, and they might just be right about that.
So far, the missing headlines only affect iOS apps and X on the web for select users. Instead of adding a subheading in the post since the title is already indicated in the link preview, posts on X will now have to state the title of the content as part of the post.
The image has a small text on the bottom left that indicates the website the link comes from, as shown in The Verge, but that's not really the element in a post that a user looks for when scrolling through posts, especially since the account that posted it already shows that.
The format makeover was already reported back in August, wherein the X owner stated that the change was coming form him directly as it would "greatly improve the esthetics." It's easier to think that people would prefer function over aesthetic.
Since the switch is already visible for the iOS X app and X on the web, users can expect it to happen to the Android X app and desktop version as well. For the sake of it looking cleaner, if that's what Musk intended, people might choose to look for news elsewhere.
This is the exact opposite of what the company is aiming for, as a matter of fact. Musk says that users should post long-form news directly on X since the platform's algorithm favors them more as opposed to the provided links.
Not What it Used to Be
X has become a mirror of the tech billionaire's mind, reflecting his vision of free speech for its users. Ironically, he has also been vocal about his dislike of news publications, even delaying links to other sites that he publicly dislikes.
His absolutist ideals also resulted in several advertisers fleeing the social networking site, greatly affecting the company's ad revenue, which is its main source of income. Musk said himself back in July that ad revenue dropped by 50%, as per Engadget.
The social media site is a shadow of the platform that everyone has gotten used to. Musk effectively got rid of the Twitter brand and replaced the iconic blue bird with a simple X, wasting all the years that was spend building an image that everyone recognizes.
Musk even said that he plans on removing the "block" feature on X except for DMs. This was in response to a user asking why others should block instead of mute, saying that it "makes no sense." Those who have used Twitter for years know well enough that there is a significant difference.
