Difference between revisions of "Twitter changes under Elon Musk"

Revision as of 03:10, 25 January 2023

Twitter changes under Elon Musk is the summation of the controversial alterations made to the prominent social media company Twitter, Inc. and its user interface after billionaire business magnate Elon Musk acquired it in October 2022.

History

Twitter is a social media platform that allows users to send and receive short messages called tweets. It was launched in 2006 and has since become one of the most popular social networks in the world, with over 368 million monthly active users ^[1]. Twitter allows users to share text, images, and videos, and also supports live streaming. The platform also has a feature called "trending topics" which highlights popular keywords or hashtags that many users are tweeting about. The tweets are short and limited to 280 characters, which makes it easy for users to consume and share large amounts of information quickly ^[2]. Twitter has been used for a wide range of purposes, including sharing news, promoting businesses, and connecting with friends and family. It has also played a role in political and social movements, as it allows individuals and organizations to quickly disseminate information to a large audience.

Early Years

Twitter was founded in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams, and the company launched to the public in July of that year. The original concept behind Twitter was to create a platform that would allow people to send short, text-based updates, known as tweets, to a network of contacts. In 2007, Twitter received its first investment from venture capitalist firm, Union Square Ventures. The following year, in 2008, the company received additional funding from other venture capital firms and angel investors, which allowed them to expand the platform and hire more employees. In 2009, Twitter was incorporated and moved its headquarters to San Francisco. The company continued to grow and expand its user base, and in 2010, it received a significant investment from digital media company, Digital Sky Technologies. This investment helped Twitter to expand its international presence and develop new features, such as the ability to include photos and videos in tweets.

Initial Public Offering

Twitter's initial public offering (IPO) took place on November 7, 2013. The company offered 70 million shares at $26 per share, which raised $1.8 billion. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "TWTR." The offering was one of the most highly anticipated technology IPOs in recent years, and the stock opened 73% above the offer price. However, the stock price quickly fell and never reached the initial price again. In the following months and years, Twitter struggled to maintain its growth and user engagement, leading to a decline in its stock price and a change in leadership.

Leadership

Jack Dorsey co-founded Twitter in 2006 and served as CEO from the company's launch until 2008. He then returned to the company as CEO in 2015, taking on the role of trying to turn around the company's fortunes after a period of slow growth and declining stock prices following its 2013 initial public offering (IPO).

During his initial tenure, Dorsey oversaw Twitter's growth from a small startup to a publicly traded company with hundreds of millions of users. However, he was criticized for his management style and was eventually forced to step down as CEO in 2008.

Upon his return as CEO in 2015, Dorsey set out to revamp the company's strategy, focusing on improving user engagement and expanding the platform's capabilities. He also worked to make the platform more accessible to new users and to increase revenue through advertising and data licensing.

Under Dorsey's leadership, Twitter launched new features like live streaming, expanded its advertising capabilities and introduced a 280 character limit to tweets. He also sought to improve the company's relationship with developers, and worked to improve the company's transparency and accountability. Despite these efforts, Dorsey faced criticism for Twitter's slow growth and inability to address issues of harassment and misinformation on the platform.

In 2021, it was announced that Dorsey would be stepping down as CEO of Twitter and would be succeeded by Parag Agrawal.

Agrawal served as CEO from November 2021 until October 27, 2022, when he was fired by Elon Musk, who took over as CEO after purchasing the company.

Musk Acquisition

Ethical Controversies

Timeline of Musk's Changes

References

1. ↑ Lebow, S. (2022, December 13). Twitter to lose more than 30 million users in the next two years. Insider Intelligence. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/twitter-lose-more-than-30-million-users-next-two-years
2. ↑ Perez, S. (2018, October 30). Twitter's doubling of character count from 140 to 280 had little impact on length of Tweets. TechCrunch. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/30/twitters-doubling-of-character-count-from-140-to-280-had-little-impact-on-length-of-tweets/