Elon (Do I need to write his last name?) is definitely a smart dude. Politics aside, he may really transform Twitter in a positive way. But I have a couple of bones to pick with his efforts over the last few days. One, the rename. X is not ownable. It’s not language-friendly. It’s a letter, not a word. Or name. The second issue I have is the so-called positioning: the everything app. When you are everything, you are really nothing. Been there, done that with a start-up called Zude.
Maybe you can become the everything app — you just can’t position around it. Let the people make that distinction. The iPhone was the everything device but it wasn’t positioned as such. Or named as such. That was some serious restraint in branding.
I love Twitter. To borrow a quote from Thomas Friedman, Twitter (or X) makes the world flat. But it is a communication device, with amazing search aptitude. If it becomes payment app, fine. But this?…
“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” Linda Yaccarino, X CEO
It’s a chaotic position. Tech companies and tech entrepreneurs often bite off too much. This is another case. And you can X me on that.
Peace.