Thread by @aakashgupta

𝕏 moves at the speed of light

In just the last 7 days 🤯:

New Logo
No Follower Ads
Prof G Censored
CEO's 1st Interview
LinkedIn Competitor
Subscriber-Only Replies
Option to Hide Checkmark
Zuck's App Now 1/10th DAU
15→5M Impressions for Rev Share

Here's what you need to know:

1. New Logo

𝕏 continues its ongoing rebrand with an edgier, harsher look for its new icon:

Elon said the "cracks and scratches" better represent the product he loves:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1691403474574168064

2. Removed Follower Ad Type

𝕏 is shutting down an ad revenue line that was generating, $100M in revenue a year:

Ads that were going after the follower objective.

Video: @axios

@axios That means of those ads that looked like this:

3. Prof G Censored

The controversial creator @profgalloway has been locked out of the site for 2 weeks.

Here's a screenshot from his threads account:

Although it happened weeks ago, It was made public & corroborated by @edels0n today

Apparently Galloway doesn't want to be off the platform that he's cultivated 563K followers on. He's locked out.

This is a surprising twist for a platform that let Kanye West & Andrew Tate back.

@edels0n It's not impossible to believe.

@profgalloway also doesn't show up in search.

In a similar circumstance of 𝕏 exercising its power, 2 weeks ago @music lost its handle.

4. CEO's 1st Big Interview

After 8 weeks on the job, Linda Yaccarino had her first big interview. It had some news bombs.

First, Cash flow is “pretty close to break even”, thanks to incredible cost discipline (layoffs)

Video: @CNBCTechCheck

Second, Video calls are coming.

Soon you'll be able to make video chat calls on the platform without giving out your phone number to anyone.

Video: @SquawkStreet

PSST... If you're enjoying this, you'll LOVE my breakdown of the Twitter algorithm:

news.aakashg.com/p/the-real-twi…

5. LinkedIn Competitor

First @oshea posted that "LinkedIn has reached peak cringe. Help us build something better @x"

Then it got better when Elon chimed in and said they need to hustle to build get their recruiting product available at scale:

(LinkedIn's largest revenue line is recruiters)

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1689730697219506176

6. Subscriber-only replies

𝕏 has quietly released a brand new post type.

You can now post to everyone, but only subscribers can reply.

This is a really interesting feature because:

1. The Algorithm boosts replies (13.5x & 75x)
2. Ads shown in replies are what drive ad rev share

But for creators who want to control the discourse, they can.

7. Option to Hide Blue Checkmark

Xblue subscribers can now hide the fact that they are paying users if they would like.

Video: @TechCrunch

The option shows up in the Profile Customization section of Account Settings.

8. Zuck's App down to 1/10th DAU

The other app that shall not be named has seens its Android DAU drop from a peak of 50M to 10M.

This is less than 1/10th 𝕏's 110M Android DAU.

@Similarweb However, not everything is rosy for 𝕏's growth.

It's ranking on the app store charts have fallen precipitously since the rebrand.

"Twitter" had enormous brand value.

@Similarweb 9. 15 → 5M impressions for rev share

The biggest product feature launch since Elon's tenure is undoubtedly creator revenue sharing.

And in addition to a second round of checks, the Twitter team also is reducing the barrier to join the program from 15M impressions to 5M.

That's a lot less than the 15M over three months or 5M per month over the last 3 months that were the prior requirements.

In addition, the monetization threshold was lowered from $50 to $10.

This effectively makes premium free for accounts with >5M views.

Video: @mashable

Bonus: If you like following 𝕏 news, a really cool new Twitter account started.

It tracks code changes in Twitter for you - even for non-public commits: @xUpdatesRadar

(No affiliation)