Your Tech Story

Elon Musk

Twitter

Is Twitter changing its logo to an ‘X’?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

After recognizing that sponsors have been hesitant about coming back, Twitter Inc. owner Elon Musk sent an indication on Sunday that he would be doing more to steer the social networking firm on a fresh path with a makeover that would change its widely recognized blue bird logo by a letter X.

The adjustment was made as a result of Elon Musk’s latest revelation that marketing revenue is still only about half what it previously was; however, it was not immediately apparent on the site’s homepage on Sunday evening. And as a consequence of it and its high debt level, the platform’s financial performance has been negative.

Twitter
Image Source: techcrunch.com

The decision, according to Mike Proulx who is a research director at Forrester, would even more disturb Twitter’s setting down and once highly devoted user base.

 “On the one hand, you can make the argument he would be getting rid of an iconic brand. On the other hand, he is signaling it is a new day for what was once Twitter and that the company is heading in a different direction with a different user base.”

Source: reuters.com

In a message published on Sunday, billionaire businessman Musk expressed his desire to alter Twitter’s logo and asked his millions of supporters if they would support switching the website’s blue color palette to black.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2023: Everything to expect

He shared a photo of a stylized X on a black backdrop with an astronaut motif.

“And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” he said.

Source: reuters.com

On a late Sunday afternoon, Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino in a tweet stated that it is an exceptionally difficult thing to get a second chance, whether it is life or business. Twitter left a lasting effect and revolutionized communication. The global town square will now go through an additional modification which was only possible because of X.

The firm has modified its name to X Corp according to Musk’s turbulent leadership since he purchased Twitter in October, symbolizing the billionaire’s desire to become a “super application,” similar to China’s WeChat.

Twitter’s iconic blue bird logo in April was momentarily substituted by “The Shiba Inu dog” from Dogecoin which contributed to a hike in the cryptocurrency’s value on the market.

When Musk revealed at the beginning of the month that Twitter will limit the number of tweets per day different accounts may view, the business received harsh criticism from consumers and marketing experts.

xAI

Elon Musk launches AI firm xAI as he looks to take on OpenAI

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has introduced his highly anticipated artificial intelligence startup called xAI.

The team behind xAI consists of engineers from major U.S. technology firms, which Musk aims to challenge in his quest to create an alternative to ChatGPT. Musk, already serving as the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and the owner of Twitter, has been vocal about his concerns regarding AI and has advocated for its regulation.

xAI
Image Source: arabnews.com

He has expressed worries about the potential “civilizational destruction” that AI could bring. In a recent Twitter Spaces event, Musk outlined his strategy for developing a safer AI. Instead of directly programming morality into the AI, xAI plans to create an AI that is “maximally curious.”

According to Musk, AI should strive to understand the true nature of the universe, as this approach is crucial for ensuring AI safety. He believes that an AI that is focused on humanity is more interesting and beneficial than one that is not. Musk also predicted that superintelligence, which refers to AI surpassing human intelligence, will emerge within the next five to six years.

Also Read: Meta now lets you make video calls using a cartoon avatar

While Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT, he stepped down from the board in 2018. Interestingly, Microsoft is one of the investors in OpenAI. The xAI website announced an upcoming Twitter Spaces event scheduled for July 14.

The xAI team comprises experienced engineers and researchers, including individuals such as Igor Babuschkin, formerly of Google’s DeepMind; Tony Wu, who previously worked at Google; Christian Szegedy, a former research scientist at Google; and Greg Yang, previously associated with Microsoft.

In March, Musk registered X.AI Corp as a separate company in Nevada, where he serves as the sole director and is accompanied by Jared Birchall, the managing director of Musk’s family office, as the secretary.

Musk had previously mentioned his intention to develop TruthGPT, an AI-focused on seeking maximum truth to rival Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing AI, both of which aim to comprehend the nature of the universe.

Generative AI gained significant attention with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which preceded the introduction of Bard and Bing AI. Dan Hendricks, the director of the Center for AI Safety, will provide guidance to the xAI team, focusing on AI risks.

Although xAI is a distinct company from X Corp, it plans to collaborate closely with Twitter, Tesla, and other companies, as mentioned on its website. xAI is currently seeking skilled engineers and researchers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Twitter

What does Twitter ‘rate limit exceeded’ mean for users?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Twitter has implemented a temporary limit on the number of tweets users can view each day, causing some controversy and potentially affecting the platform’s advertising prospects.

The move is aimed at addressing excessive data scraping and system manipulation. Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal last year, has made several changes to the platform since then.

Twitter
Image Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Under the new restrictions, users must log in to view tweets. Verified accounts are permitted to read up to 6,000 posts daily, unverified accounts are limited to 600 posts, and new unverified accounts are restricted to 300 posts. Once users reach these limits, they receive a message stating that they have exceeded the rate limit.

However, Musk has announced plans to increase the limits to 10,000 for verified accounts, 1,000 for unverified accounts, and 500 for new unverified accounts in the near future.

Musk’s objective is to make Twitter’s revamped verified service more appealing. He introduced paid subscriptions for verified badges, which were previously awarded to notable profiles. Different tiers of badges, including gray, blue, and golden, were also introduced.

Musk claims that these limits will help combat the extensive data scraping conducted by a wide range of entities, from AI companies and startups to large tech companies. He expressed frustration at having to allocate significant resources to accommodate the valuation demands of certain AI startups.

Also Read: Is Spotify considering full-length music videos on its app?

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which utilize massive amounts of internet data to generate various outputs such as poems and images, rely on training data from platforms like Twitter. Consequently, several Twitter users expressed their discontent with the limits, leading to hashtags like “#TwitterDown” and “RIP Twitter” trending on the platform in recent days.

These restrictions disproportionately impact accounts operated by information agencies, journalists, and monitoring services, as they rely on reviewing thousands of tweets daily.

The backlash against the limits stems from concerns about hindering the flow of information and impeding the work of these entities. However, Musk’s aim is to strike a balance between addressing data scraping concerns and ensuring a functional and valuable platform for users.

Following Elon Musk’s announcement of limits on Twitter, alternative platforms such as Bluesky and Mastodon experienced a significant increase in user activity. Bluesky, a platform initiated by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and currently in beta mode, reported a surge in traffic, reaching “record high” levels on Saturday. As a result, Bluesky temporarily halted new sign-ups to manage the influx of users.

Similarly, Mastodon, another alternative platform, witnessed substantial growth in its active user base. Eugen Rochko, the creator and CEO of Mastodon, stated that the platform saw a rise of 110,000 users on the same day.

In summary, the limitations imposed on Twitter prompted a notable migration of users to alternative platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon, resulting in increased activity and engagement on those platforms.

Fidelity

Fidelity marks down the value of Twitter stake again

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

According to a monthly declaration released by the investment company on Sunday, a Fidelity fund has reduced the worth of its holding in Twitter for the third time after Elon Musk paid a total of $44 billion to acquire the social networking site in October.

As of April 28, the market value of the interest of Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund in Twitter, which is currently managed by Musk’s X Holdings Corporation, was close to 6.55 million dollars, down from 7.8 million dollars on January 31 and relatively close to 8.63 million dollars at the end of November.

Fidelity
Image Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

As Twitter is struggling to recover from a decline in revenue from advertising alongside navigating a reorganization that entailed large job cuts, Musk selected previous NBCUniversal advertising head Linda Yaccarino as the brand’s new chief executive officer of Twitter a few weeks ago.

Also Read: Will startups have a shot in the enterprise AI race?

Elon Musk would be shocked to learn that over fifty percent of the original Twitter Blue customers who paid eight dollars each month are currently not subscribing and have stopped using the Blue Ticks.

Out of the initial 150,000 or more Twitter Blue users, merely around 68,157 have persisted in keeping their paid memberships as of April 30 based on a Mashable report.

According to the study, few Twitter Blue subscribers continue about after signing up, using data gathered by freelance researcher Travis Brown.

The report’s statistics have not yet received any comments from Musk or Twitter.

A total of 150,000 people initially subscribed to Twitter Blue during a short period after its November rollout, according to reports from the previous year.

The micro-blogging platform also temporarily disabled new signups for about a month “shortly after those users subscribed as a result of accounts signing up for Blue with the intent to impersonate major brands on the platform”.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

The survey concludes that around 81,843 people, or 54.3 percent, of those using Twitter who first enrolled for Blue, have terminated their subscriptions.

Also Read: Windows 11 finally gets native RAR support

Additionally, 2,270 premium Twitter Blue members who have no followers at all were counted.

As reported by Brown, there are at present 444,435 paid customers to Twitter Blue. Nearly 220,132 people, or roughly fifty percent of all paid Twitter customers, have fewer than 1,000 followers.

On April 20, when Musk eventually deleted all historical, verified profiles with blue tick marks but permitted select celebs to keep them, chaos reigned on Twitter.

Twitter

New Twitter CEO discloses plan to build ‘Twitter 2.0’

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By

Newly appointed Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino emphasized her enthusiasm for making a contribution to the social networking platform’s transition in a tweet made on Saturday. She also discussed how the owner Elon Musk’s vision for a brighter future has encouraged her.

It was Yaccarino’s first public statement following Thursday’s revelation that she was being considered as the successor to Jack Dorsey’s position as CEO of Twitter. since purchasing the company, Musk, who has been the platform’s CEO for $44 billion in October, made the announcement of her hiring on Friday.

Twitter
Image Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

“I’ve long been inspired by [Musk’s] vision to create a brighter future. I’m excited to help bring this vision to Twitter and transform this business together!” Yaccarino tweeted.

Source: indianexpress.com

Linda Yaccarino, who devoted a long time modernizing NBCUniversal’s marketing business while serving as the company’s advertising executive for Comcast Corporation., stated she has a dedication to the future of Twitter and that feedback from users is essential to creating Twitter 2.0.

Also Read: Twitter to soon allow calls and encrypted messaging

Linda Yaccarino serves on the WEF’s Media, The Entertainment Industry, and Cultural Industry Supervisors steering group and is the Taskforce on Future of Work Chairman.

Prior to joining NBCU, Linda was Turner’s Executive Vice President and COO (Chief Operating Officer) in the Advertising Sales, Marketing, and Acquisitions divisions. Turner was formerly known as Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. She completed her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania.  

In her other roles, the profile says she “rallied support from the business community, the White House, and government agencies to create a vaccination campaign, featuring Pope Francis, reaching more than 200 million Americans.”

Source: indianexpress.com

Yaccarino is going to take control of a social networking site that has been struggling to recover from a decline in advertising revenue and is heavily indebted.

Because the company fired off nearly 80% of its staff after Musk acquired Twitter, marketers stopped using the service out of concern that their adverts would be shown next to harmful content. Musk acknowledged the sharp decline in Twitter’s advertising earnings earlier this year.

Despite Musk’s claim that Yaccarino would be helpful in the development of the “everything app,” which he had previously stated could offer a variety of services like collaborative money transfers, his selection of an expert in marketing indicated that online advertising would still be the primary objective of the business.

Musk has previously revealed his desire to appoint a new Twitter CEO.

The appointment of Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s newest CEO, according to Musk, who also serves as the CEO of electricity-powered vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc., will allow him to spend more time working on Tesla.

Elon Musk

Did Elon Musk unwittingly expose his alt-Twitter account?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Elon Musk on Twitter recently introduced a feature that allows content creators to request that Twitter users subscribe in order to access their unique content. The chosen account must be subscribed to on a monthly basis by each user.

Elon Musk
Image Source: gizmodo.com

Elon Musk stated in a message to content creators, “Content creators may wish to enable subscriptions on this platform. Just tap Monetization in Settings.” The profile photo next to Musk’s, though, was what got people’s attention online. This profile photo showed that Musk had multiple accounts open on his personal device.

Also Read: Why is Amazon shutting down Halo Division?

When internet users started looking around, they discovered an account with the exact same profile picture as the one in Musk’s tweet. The username of the account is @ErmnMusk, and the profile image is of Musk’s son. It is obvious from the account’s Twitter bio that it was set up in November 2022. Even though the account only occasionally tweets, there are a lot of responses. and frequently lack logic.

Elon Musk pretends to be his son, who is close to three years old, in a few tweets from the account. “I will finally turn 3 on May 4th!” the most recent tweet reads. On December 6 of last year, another tweet reads, “For the love of God, can someone follow me.”

The majority of the tweets are completely meaningless and arbitrary, though, thus it’s possible that this account was formed with the express purpose of shitposting, according to a brief peek at the “Replies” section.

The account additionally responded to a tweet that included Caroline Elliso, the former CEO of Alameda Research, in its image. Alameda Research was a trading firm that specialized in cryptocurrency. The company suffered severe losses in October 2021.

According to reports, a cryptocurrency market crash cost Alameda Research about $2.8 billion in losses in a single day. The trading company submitted a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in November 2022.

People are responding to the tweets as the account steadily attracts the curiosity of a growing number of online users. One person suggested, “Ask dad to give you $8 for a blue cheque,” and another said, “Can you ask your father when Tesla is going to buy more Dogecoin?”

Also Read: How to send a secure email in Gmail?

Elon Musk’s purported alt account has about 48,000 followers. It should be emphasized that Musk has not formally asserted that he is the one uploading offensive content from this account.

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, is known for his frequent online shenanigans. His Twitter page is a regular topic of attention, with posts ranging from contentious statements to updates and announcements on what is happening at his numerous firms.