# Now that Musk bought Twitter -- Breaking News only **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news, elon-musk\ **Created:** [November 29, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737 "2022-11-29T13:10:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/381 "2023-08-01T03:06:07Z")
> **[Giant glowing ‘X’ sign atop Twitter office in San Francisco removed](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/31/x-sign-lights-san-francisco-twitter-office-removed)** > > The city building department had logged 24 complaints after the new logo went up, with neighbors upset over its intrusive lights ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/382 "2023-08-01T15:56:49Z")
Glad to be at least mostly wrong about what it would take to get rid of this sign. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/383 "2023-08-01T16:06:02Z")
It’s possible that (a) Twitter’s lawyers made it clear that they had absolutely no viable legal defense to the City’s and the neighborhood’s objections, and (b) the big obnoxious sign had already accomplished all of Elmo’s trolling goals and was therefore no longer worth fighting for. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/384 "2023-08-01T19:31:27Z")
If the sign reappears in another form soon we’ll know the next round of trollosity has begun. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/385 "2023-08-01T19:48:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > There are currently over 900 existing trademarks for X. > > [https://www.reuters.com/technology/problem-with-x-meta-microsoft-hundreds-more-own-trademarks-new-twitter-name-2023-07-25/](https://www.reuters.com/technology/problem-with-x-meta-microsoft-hundreds-more-own-trademarks-new-twitter-name-2023-07-25/) Another one I stumbled across the other day is that Alphabet’s (Google’s parent company) innovation lab is also called “X”. The puzzling part is that one of Musk’s own companies is already called “SpaceX”. If he just wanted the X domain name to point to something he already owns, that would surely have been a more logical choice. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/386 "2023-08-01T20:27:55Z")
In the spirit of “SpaceX” and Tesla Model X I guess “BullshitX” was already taken? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/387 "2023-08-01T20:42:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > one of Musk’s own companies is already called “SpaceX” If he wanted an everything app, shouldn’t he first control both SpaceX _and_ Timex? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/388 "2023-08-01T20:51:47Z")
The whole purpose of Elon Musk buying Twitter was to destroy it and the entire brand. Because he can. That seems very evident to me. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/389 "2023-08-01T20:52:16Z")
There are worse things he could have done with his money. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/390 "2023-08-01T21:18:23Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The whole purpose of Elon Musk buying Twitter was to destroy it and the entire brand. He wanted a vanity project and thought it would be easier to buy the app, network, and users than to build that up. He has removed so much from Twitter it might have actually been cheaper and easier to build it from scratch (which is never the case). Ironically if he did that and kept his mouth shut he would still have all of the goodwill and respect he did before the buyout. > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > If he wanted an everything app, shouldn’t he first control both SpaceX _and_ Timex? Have to give you props; I missed this on first read. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/391 "2023-08-16T23:47:28Z")
Well, this thread is nowhere near as active as the other one, but I think it’s the appropriate thread for reporting factual items. Nature surveyed scientists on their use of Twitter/X and the results aren’t startling. [Thousands of scientists are cutting back on Twitter, seeding angst and uncertainty (nature.com)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02554-0) > Mark Carrigan, a digital sociologist at the Manchester Institute for Education, UK… > > “I’m 99% convinced that Twitter, as we know it, is dead, and the sooner academics accept that, the better, in terms of finding solutions to these problems.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/392 "2023-08-17T04:03:24Z")
X marks the Nazis. > **[Two brands suspend advertising on X after their ads appeared next to pro-Nazi...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/tech/x-ads-pro-nazi-account-brand-safety/index.html)** > > At least two brands have said they will suspend advertising on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after their ads and those of other companies were run on an account promoting fascism. The issue came less than a week after X CEO Linda... ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/393 "2023-08-19T01:21:58Z")
> The social media platform (which is now called X by Musk and seemingly no one else) will be scrapping the “block” feature and instead restricting it to DMs only, Musk announced Friday. > **[Musk Comes Up With What May Be His Worst Idea Yet for Twitter](https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musk-has-his-worst-idea-yet-scrapping-twitters-block-feature)** > > What happened to vox populi, vox dei? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/394 "2023-08-19T20:00:54Z")
Highly unlikely that will actually happen. It’s been widely reported that both Apple and Google require a block feature on all social media apps on their app stores. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/395 "2023-08-19T21:07:59Z")
More info: > **[Will Musk’s Removing X/Twitter User-Blocking Feature Get It Kicked Off Apple...](https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/x-twitter-remove-user-block-apple-google-app-store-ban-1235700310/)** > > Elon Musk set off a firestorm Friday by announcing that Twitter, now called X, would “delete” the service’s longstanding user-blocking feature — raising the prospect that, a… Apparently they have something “better” in mind to replace the basic block function. We will see. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/396 "2023-08-21T04:45:34Z")
> At this moment, Threads is #2 on the App Store’s top free downloads list, and X is #51. On the Play Store, Threads is #6 and X is (_scroll, scroll, scroll…_) #66 > **[Changing Its Name Tanked X’s Downloads in App Store and Play Store](https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/08/19/seufert-x-downloads)** > > Link to: https://www.threads.net/@eric\_seufert/post/CwAiop2OM8U/ Who would have guessed? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/397 "2023-08-21T05:12:38Z")
To be fair, that’s not necessarily a good metric. Everybody who wants Twitter pretty much already has it. Threads is a new app with high visibility, so I expect there to be many downloads for it until it plateaus. At least that’s how it seems to me. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/398 "2023-08-21T13:40:59Z")
Yes, as a mature brand, not so many people need it. But the article says that there was a change in download patterns after it was released-named: > Twitter has seen a dramatic decrease in its Top Downloaded chart position across both platforms since the app was renamed to X. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/399 "2023-08-21T14:16:18Z")
I must have missed the article. Where is the link? I just clicked on the Threads link. ETA: Oh, you are quoting that Thread post. So what is the “dramatic decrease”? What are the numbers, both relative (chart position) and actual downloads (compared to other apps) at the time? I don’t see anything concrete there other than the bit that Threads is more download than Twitter which, well, it should be. I guess most useful would be to see a graph from the last 12 months of both Twitter downloads over time and also App store chart position (which I don’t think is all that relevant compared to the raw numbers.) At any rate, there plenty of reasons to point and laugh at the moron, but for me the jury is out on this particular point until I get more data and, besides, there’s much more fun reasons to point and laugh at him. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/400 "2023-08-21T14:21:59Z")
A fair number of downloads will also be for phone replacements or other new devices or for something like data recovery. It’s not inconceivable that a popular app will remain highly downloaded even after hitting relative market saturation. In fact, it’s to be expected considering how often some users replace or add devices. “Google” is the #6 current download on the App Store, after all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737.md?page=21)