Elon Musk has transformed Twitter in five ways that are beneficial to users
Since Elon Musk stormed into Twitter’s San Francisco offices three months ago, the firm has hardly been out of the news.
There are a lot of opinions about his views on the social network and some of his more contentious business choices, including firing 50% of the staff, but not as much about how 237 million monthly active users are really utilising the platform now.
- Disabling alternate Twitter viewing options
The most recent modification appears to be Twitter’s suspension of API access, which other platforms rely on to interact with it. Therefore, you might discover that Twitter isn’t currently compatible with it if you’re using a social media manager rather than the Twitter app or website to access your account, for example.
- Curation
The sequence in which tweets show up on people’s timelines has perhaps seen the most visible alteration. The most recent tweets from the people you follow and Twitter’s suggested tweets are both available to you in a new tab.
On an iPhone, the words “for you” and “following” are displayed in two columns at the top of the screen; on an Android device, you must tap the star icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Reopening contentious accounts
Mr Musk began with a few prominent accounts that had previously been suspended from Twitter for breaking its rules. They included Ye (rapper Kanye West), who was expelled for sharing anti-Semitic material; influencer Andrew Tate, who is currently detained in Romania on charges of people trafficking; and former US president Donald Trump, whose tweets are alleged to have sparked the Capitol Hill riots in January 2021.
- Twitter Blue
Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service, launched at the end of November after a few failed starts. The $8/$11 (£6.50/£9) monthly charge guarantees access to extra features including an edit button, more exposure, and fewer advertisements. Interestingly, it appears that it has drawn a respectable but modest number of subscribers, though, as always, there has been no official announcement of its success so far.
- Silver and gold tick
The “blue tick” on Twitter, which now indicates a subscriber, was formerly an indication of a verified account. It was given by Twitter itself to the accounts of carefully chosen journalists, brands, and celebrities as proof that they were authentic.
However, it has since been replaced by a gold or silver tick for businesses and the public. As an example, Coca-Cola’s logo is now gold and has the explanation that it is “official business,” while Rishi Sunak, the UK prime minister, now has a silver mark.