Twitter’s “Musk” Era Pt. 2: What’s Changed So Far

Since we last touched on where all things Twitter stand, we’ve seen several new developments. And while we hoped for things to gradually become smoother—we’re wishful thinkers here—the chaos surrounding Twitter and its newfound ownership continues to ensue.

How platform features are evolving.

It began with the initial launch of Twitter Blue, which not only brought immense amounts of entertainment for users across the platform, but also resulted in major stock losses for Lockheed Martin and Eli Lilly and Company, among others, after users impersonated these brands and tweeted out some seriously unexpected (and untrue) announcements. Even Doja Cat got in on the joke. It was a day in social media history that will definitely be remembered by us digital professionals.

Though, as a result of the unexpected sh** posting, Twitter Blue 1.0 was temporarily sunsetted after just eight hours as Musk and employees took to ideating and developing parameters to prevent any further impersonation. Since then, Musk has launched an updated version of the subscription-based model, this time with better safeguards and an additional cost to iOS users. Yes, you read that right! If you’re an iPhone user, you’ll be charged $3 more per month than others buying into Twitter Blue, as the social platform looks to avoid fronting the cost of Apple’s 30% in-app payment tax. Twitter Blue also currently only limits half the ads for subscribers, and Musk recently confirmed that he plans to launch a higher tier in 2023 that would eliminate all ads for subscribers willing to invest more per month.

On top of the evolution of Twitter Blue, we’ve also seen commitments to expand character limits from 280 all the way up to 4,000 characters, as well as an expressed interest in incorporating the ability to share more long-form video, similar to YouTube. Twitter’s also revamping its Community Notes feature, making them visible to all and allowing users to now rate notes.

In the coming weeks, we can also expect to see a ton of freed up handles—1.5 billion to be exact—and tweet view counts. While the latter has been tested by Twitter several times over the years, most recently in September, it seems that Musk is eager to bring it back, noting, “Twitter is much more alive than people think.”

Advertisers’ continued response.

Twitter has become quite the volatile space since Musk’s acquisition, and brands are taking note. Most recently, on Dec. 15, Musk banned several high-profile journalists, as well as social media platform up-and-comer Mastadon, from Twitter after claiming these profiles violated his new “doxxing” policy by sharing Musk’s exact location, resulting in “assassination coordinates.” This not only speaks to the unstable nature of the platform, but also indicates that Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech advocate, is open and willing to censor prominent users when it’s convenient.

Additionally, a recent survey conducted by Capterra surveying 300 U.S. advertising and marketing professionals, found that 53% of brands say they’re unlikely to pay $8 per month for verification on Twitter, though 51% say verification is very important for their social media accounts. Additionally, nearly 67% of current Twitter advertisers noted advertising on the platform is risky for their brand at this time.

Unsurprisingly, 50 of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers have pulled the plug on their paid spends and seven additional advertisers have slowed their efforts to an almost-full stop, according to a recent report from Media Matters for America. This followed the initial call for Twitter’s advertisers to hit pause on any paid efforts as users and professionals alike wrapped their heads around what Musk’s new ownership could mean for the state of the platform and the ad money they were investing into it.

(Former) employees are making their positions known.

Shortly after Musk bought Twitter, he laid off nearly two-thirds of newly acquired staff, which was formerly made up of close to 7,500 people. While Musk confirmed the layoff period had concluded and the company was ready to begin hiring again, hundreds more employees resigned after expressing disinterest in being a part of Musk’s new vision for the platform—what he deemed Twitter 2.0—and the company’s culture as a whole. Moreover, some employees shared with The Verge that, given the scale of resignations, they fully expect the platform to “start breaking soon.” Despite this, Musk tweeted following the resignations that “the best people are staying” and he isn’t worried.

Though maybe he should be (at least just a little). A judge recently ordered that Twitter alert all laid off staff of a pending lawsuit spearheaded by a group of former employees looking to sue Musk. CNN noted, “The move ensures workers will be better informed before they are required to sign a severance agreement that includes a release of legal claims.” As for the lawsuit in question, this group of former employees is accusing Twitter of going back on promises that allowed for remote work and provided consistent severance benefits after Musk’s acquisition. This is one of four total lawsuits filed on behalf of Twitter employees—the others focus on alleged gender and disability-based discrimination claims, as well as one filed on behalf of contractors working with Twitter who were also laid off.

Where does that leave us?

Believe it or not, overall platform usage and daily downloads saw a major spike upon Musk’s purchase in early November, with active daily users hitting an all-time high on Nov. 6 at 245.4 million people. Though it’s important to note that this can likely be sourced back to the world’s response to the news of the purchase, rather than actual excitement for and approval of Musk now owning Twitter. In fact, just this past weekend, we saw 57% of responses on a poll from Musk himself say “yes” to whether Musk should step down as Twitter’s owner.

That being said, brand safety on Twitter continues to be a bit of a question mark. While Musk is adamant that there’s nothing to be concerned about, for now it’s best to continue to operate as you see fit for your brand, but also continue to proceed with caution. It’s important that your brand presence, as well as monetary investment on the platform, remain in line with your company’s overall mission and values. Users are always quick to call out brand inconsistencies, and given the questionable nature of some of Musk’s moves since the purchase, things can get dicey quick.  

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