Elon Musk, the new owner of X, has announced another
significant change coming to the platform - the removal of like, reply, and
retweet buttons from posts in the feed. This latest move aims to create a
"cleaner" user experience but is likely to impact engagement on the
site. Many are questioning Musk's strategies as usage and revenue continue
declining at X despite claims of record activity.
This potential change comes after Musk completed his lengthy
$44 billion acquisition of X in October. As the sole owner, Musk is now
implementing his vision for the site, which includes fewer restrictions on
content alongside various experiments. The removal of the core engagement
buttons from in-stream posts is another substantial alteration that aims to
simplify the interface. However, it also risks reducing how users interact with
content on the platform.
Past experiments provide clues on the likely effects. In
2020, Twitter saw a 20% drop in retweets when it removed the button for a
period around the US election. Engagement is critical for sites like X - around
300 million of its 500 million daily posts are retweets, quotes, or replies.
Losing the prominent placement of these options is almost certain to decrease
sharing and commenting. Content creators and those in X's revenue-sharing
program may see lower participation as well if replies become less common.
There are also concerns about how the changes will impact
important metrics. X's usage and ad revenues have already declined
significantly since Musk took over, dropping over 50% according to reports. If
user engagement follows suit after the button removal, it will add further
pressure. Musk and X leadership continue claiming record activity levels, but
the platform has not added any new users in a year. Stagnating growth and
financials will become tougher to overlook the more the numbers slide.
While a cleaner interface may be the goal, removing core
tools seems an unnecessary risk given X's current struggles. As the sole owner,
Musk has full control over the site's direction. But his brash strategies,
including mass layoffs, have done little so far to solve underlying issues.
Whether this latest move improves the experience or further damages user
participation and X's business remains to be seen. It's a bold gamble that may
not pay off.
Elon Musk's removal of the like, reply, and retweet buttons
from in-stream posts seeks to create a simpler X interface but will likely
reduce user engagement on the site. This experiment comes at a precarious time
as X grapples with usage declines, flat growth, and massive drops in ad revenue
since Musk acquired the platform. Only time will tell if removing core tools is
the change that X needs or another misstep for the beleaguered social site.
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