The report today starts with Elon Musk; CEO of Tesla and also SpaceX. The story here starts in March 2006 when Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Noah Gliss, and Biz Stone founded the social media app that would be Twitter. Dorsey explains in a 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times “ where the name originated from: “… we came across the word “Twitter” and it was just perfect… A short burst of inconsequential information and chirps from bird,” (Twitter creator Jack Dorsey illuminates the site’s founding document. Part I – Los Angeles Times). It was the perfect word to describe something that shows short information but is also quick-like a bird. Throughout the years, Twitter has become one of the most used and influential social media platforms of the modern age. Everybody knew of the app that hit the internet. Twitter experienced growth but also was the face of criticism. Then 2022 hit and this is when it all started.
In 2022, Elon Musk began buying shares of the company; becoming the biggest shareholder. Musk soon made an offer to buy the company, which was eventually accepted on April 25 with a $44 billion purchase. One of the main goals of this purchase was to promote free speech and to get rid of spambots. On October 27th, Elon Musk was officially named Twitter’s new owner and CEO. With this came a lot of massive changes in the workforce; Musk fired previous CEO Parag Agrawai and other high-top executives, laying off half of the workforce. Hundreds of employees resigned as a result of an ultimatum; have an “ extremely hardcore” work or leave ( Elon Musk’s Takeover of Twitter: Everything You Need to Know).
In a change of Musk becoming the owner of Twitter, there were changes in the platform as well. Musk changed the hate speech policies into being more lenient which in effect caused more hate speech to spread, also removing the policy of prohibition of Covid 19-misinformation. Shortly after its acquisition, Twitter wrote in a tweet the following: “ The reason why I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.” Musk stated that he did not acquire Twitter to gain more money but to “ help humanity, whom [he] loves” (Twitter ‘cannot become a free-for-all hellscape,’ Musk tells advertisers).
In December 2022, Twitter users took part in Musk’s poll in which he asked if he should step down as CEO. Well, as a result, more than 17.5 million votes were cast with 57.7 % in favor of Musk stepping down ( Twitter users vote for Elon Musk to step down as CEO in poll he launched). Previously, Musk has been in talks of stepping down as soon as he found someone “ foolish enough to take the job.” Officially, in June 2023, Musk stepped down with Linda Yaccarino replacing him. Former CEO, Jack Dorsey, tweeted out a tweet, “ Running Twitter is hard. I don’t wish that stress upon anyone. I trust that the team is doing their best under the constraints they have, which are immense. It’s easy to critique from afar… which I’m guilty of… but I know the goal is to see Twitter thrive. It will “ (Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey Breaks Silence Amid Elon Musk Setting Viewing Limits: “Running Twitter Is Hard” – Deadline).
However, what really prompted me to write this story was the fact that one day, a completely different logo was on the home screen of millions. Larry the Bird was gone. Personally, I use Twitter to go look up news and see what’s trending. That way, I can learn information in a quick, efficient way and can go through multiple news. I can see what people are saying about a specific event, but also see what’s happening in the news. Hopefully, that doesn’t change because it helps so many people stay informed and acknowledged. Honestly, I have not seen somebody call X “ X” only Twitter; I know I am gonna call it Twitter because that’s what it’s been known for. Just as I am typing this, I got a notification about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. I hope the heart of Twitter, the different news, different views, different opinions, lives on no matter who’s in charge. Keep in mind the purpose of Twitter- information quick as a bird.
