The new Twitter logo, renamed X, is shown on owner Elon Musk’s account in Paris on July 24, 2023, after changing his profile picture to the new company logo later on July 23, 2023. be done. I updated my Twitter profile to “X.com” with “Minimalist Art Deco”. It will now redirect you to twitter.com. Twitter announced its new logo on July 24, 2023. Photo AFP
X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk is considering charging users of the social network a monthly fee to combat bots, accounts that constantly generate content.
The proposal was raised during a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
The tech mogul has implemented multiple changes since acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022.
These changes in strategy first included layoffs, then the reinstatement of banned accounts, such as former President Donald Trump’s account, and more recently a rebranding, renaming it X.
Musk said in July that the company had lost nearly half of its advertising revenue.
Bots are accounts created by computer programs that constantly spread or reproduce messages, usually containing controversial political or social content.
The idea was born during a public conversation about X with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
The prime minister asked Musk about the fight against online anti-Semitism.
Musk responded that the company could move toward “lower monthly fees for using the system.”
“It’s the only way I can think of to fight a horde of bots,” the businessman said.
The Silicon Valley entrepreneur explains that bots cost less than a few cents to run, so if you have to pay a few dollars to maintain your profile, the real cost of using a content bot is very high. did.
“This method also requires a new payment method every time you use a new bot,” Musk explained.
A week ago, Musk threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) after Jewish groups accused him of allowing anti-Semitism to spread online.
“It appears the only way to clear our platform of anti-Semitism is to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League…oh, the irony,” Musk wrote on X.
surprise and alarm
Some observers greeted the possibility of networks imposing this subscription with surprise.
“If we really did that, the platform would disappear. Most people wouldn’t pay (…). It would destroy the platform and advertising revenue all at once,” Media Relations said. Company boss Ed Zitron responded. Columnist for the Business Insider site.
“From an economic model perspective, you could think of it as a good option for Twitter,” because unlike other platforms like Meta, Musk’s network “has not had a successful advertising system so far.” “This is because they have not been implemented,” he emphasized. Change to Kames Cooper, director of the agency Business of Apps.
But in any case, he warned, “Twitter’s value lies in its network effects coupled with its widespread user base. Universal pricing for the service would destroy that user base.”
“The best solution for now is to increase the value of payment services by improving advertising offers and considering new revenue sources such as transactions, rather than making everyone pay,” he added. Ta.
Musk asserts that X currently has “550 million monthly users.”
In May 2022, Twitter revealed that it had approximately 230 million active users.
Source: Diario.Elmundo
