Twitter Introduces New 'X' Logo to Replace Blue Bird
2023-07-25
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1Twitter owner Elon Musk has launched a new logo - the single letter "X" - to replace the social media service's famous blue bird.
2The X design started appearing at the top of Twitter's computer version on Monday.
3But the old bird logo could still be seen across areas of the service.
4Musk announced in a Twitter message Sunday that he had decided to change the company's logo.
5He said he had asked his millions of followers to provide logo ideas and if they would favor a change in the service's colors from blue to black.
6When asked what tweets would be called without the blue bird logo, Musk said they would now be known as "Xs."
7The latest change is one in a series Musk has carried out since buying Twitter for $44 billion last year.
8The billionaire businessman dismissed about 75 percent of the company's workforce soon after the deal closed.
9Musk said the move was necessary to make Twitter more effective and increase profits.
10He also announced plans to start charging Twitter users eight dollars a month to keep a verified account.
11As Twitter chief, Musk also lifted some existing restrictions on user content.
12He said those changes were part of a larger effort to protect the free speech of Twitter users.
13Critics said his plans were likely to increase the amount of harmful content and hate speech appearing on the service.
14Musk's changes led to drops in the number of Twitter users.
15Some advertisers stopped doing business with the company, as well.
16In a message on Twitter Monday, chief executive Linda Yaccarino wrote, "X is here! Let's do this."
17Along with her message, she published a picture of the logo projected onto the building's headquarters in San Francisco
18Musk also commented on the logo change, writing, "And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds."
19Musk said the X.com web domain was already redirecting users to Twitter.com.
20A three-member team designed the first Twitter logo in 2012.
21One of those designers, Martin Grasser, described the blue bird logo as "simple, balanced" and easy to read at very small sizes.
22Matt Rhodes is with the British creative agency House 337.
23He told news agency Reuters that making changes to such an established brand presents big business risks.
24"Anything that makes it harder for people to find, or want to open the app on their cluttered phone screens risks harming usage," Rhodes said.
25However, Paolo Pescatore, a technology and media specialist who founded advisory company PP Foresight, said the change could be good.
26He spoke to the Associated Press.
27Pescatore said social media users currently can get confused by too many apps and messaging services to choose from.
28Driving users to one central place will "engage" more users and could make Twitter easier to use, he said.
29Musk has long been interested in the letter X. He had already changed Twitter's official name to X Corp after buying the company.
30The billionaire is also CEO of rocket company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, commonly known as SpaceX.
31He started an artificial intelligence company this month called xAI to compete with OpenAI.
32And in 1999, he founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company now known as PayPal.
33Musk's Twitter purchase and rebranding effort are seen as steps toward his stated plans to create what he has called an "everything app."
34Such an app would be similar to China's WeChat, which combines video, messaging, streaming and payments.
35Yaccarino wrote on Twitter that she sees X becoming "the future state of unlimited interactivity - centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking - creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities."
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Twitter owner Elon Musk has launched a new logo - the single letter "X" - to replace the social media service's famous blue bird. 2The X design started appearing at the top of Twitter's computer version on Monday. But the old bird logo could still be seen across areas of the service. 3Musk announced in a Twitter message Sunday that he had decided to change the company's logo. He said he had asked his millions of followers to provide logo ideas and if they would favor a change in the service's colors from blue to black. 4When asked what tweets would be called without the blue bird logo, Musk said they would now be known as "Xs." 5The latest change is one in a series Musk has carried out since buying Twitter for $44 billion last year. 6The billionaire businessman dismissed about 75 percent of the company's workforce soon after the deal closed. Musk said the move was necessary to make Twitter more effective and increase profits. He also announced plans to start charging Twitter users eight dollars a month to keep a verified account. 7As Twitter chief, Musk also lifted some existing restrictions on user content. He said those changes were part of a larger effort to protect the free speech of Twitter users. Critics said his plans were likely to increase the amount of harmful content and hate speech appearing on the service. 8Musk's changes led to drops in the number of Twitter users. Some advertisers stopped doing business with the company, as well. 9In a message on Twitter Monday, chief executive Linda Yaccarino wrote, "X is here! Let's do this." Along with her message, she published a picture of the logo projected onto the building's headquarters in San Francisco 10Musk also commented on the logo change, writing, "And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds." Musk said the X.com web domain was already redirecting users to Twitter.com. 11A three-member team designed the first Twitter logo in 2012. One of those designers, Martin Grasser, described the blue bird logo as "simple, balanced" and easy to read at very small sizes. 12Matt Rhodes is with the British creative agency House 337. He told news agency Reuters that making changes to such an established brand presents big business risks. "Anything that makes it harder for people to find, or want to open the app on their cluttered phone screens risks harming usage," Rhodes said. 13However, Paolo Pescatore, a technology and media specialist who founded advisory company PP Foresight, said the change could be good. He spoke to the Associated Press. 14Pescatore said social media users currently can get confused by too many apps and messaging services to choose from. Driving users to one central place will "engage" more users and could make Twitter easier to use, he said. 15Musk has long been interested in the letter X. He had already changed Twitter's official name to X Corp after buying the company. 16The billionaire is also CEO of rocket company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, commonly known as SpaceX. He started an artificial intelligence company this month called xAI to compete with OpenAI. And in 1999, he founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company now known as PayPal. 17Musk's Twitter purchase and rebranding effort are seen as steps toward his stated plans to create what he has called an "everything app." Such an app would be similar to China's WeChat, which combines video, messaging, streaming and payments. 18Yaccarino wrote on Twitter that she sees X becoming "the future state of unlimited interactivity - centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking - creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities." 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20Reuters and The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 21_____________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23logo - n. to interest someone in something and keep them thinking about it 24verify - v. to prove something is true 25content - n. information or ideas that appear in books, movies or on the internet 26bid adieu - v. say goodbye 27brand - n. a kind of product made by a particular company under a particular name 28clutter - n. a state of being messy 29confuse - v. to mix up someone's mind or ideas 30engage - v. to interest someone in something and keep them thinking about it 31gradually - adv. moving forward in steps or degrees 32app - n. a computer program that performs a special function, usually found on mobile phones 33streaming - n. the continuous transmission of video files from a server to a viewer 34What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.