Elon Musk is making another change to Twitter, but it’s one you may actually not hate
Every now and then, Oh wait. That almost never happens. Even today’s announcement that X is bringing back headlines is a half-reversal at best.
In August, X made the stunning decision to remove headlines from tweets. It was a small, annoying change that ultimately turned one of X’s key features, its usefulness as a breaking news source, into a search for breaking news stories. After the change, article tweets looked like images that were out of context. Tweet text doesn’t link to anything, and if you want to read a story, you need to know to click on the image.
In an upcoming release, π will overlay the title over the top portion of a URL card imageNovember 23, 2023
It’s no secret that the frustration factor when using X has increased since Elon Musk took the reins over a year ago. He’s done a lot, like removing verifications from millions of users and ensuring that only those willing to pay subscription fees get them (unless you have over a million followers or are an official body). Apparently he tweaked the algorithm to promote paying customers, and then he changed the name of the platform; that last act wiped out 17 years of brand value.
Put in that context, this most recent change is small potatoes. Still, there is now some light at the end of the Twitter tunnel (‘X tunnel’ doesn’t have the same ring to it). Musk tweeted late Wednesday that: βIn an upcoming release, π will overlay the title over the top drink (sic) of a URL card image.β
A half measure
This is not a real solution. We’re still not getting linked URLs in tweets. Instead, the links appear somehow on the images (also called ‘cards’). The size of the links, the color, what “top part” means, and how X will make the links stand out on busy backgrounds are unclear.
On the other hand, this small change should make X almost as scannable and usable as it once was. It’s perhaps a little clearer that the image isn’t just a random tweet, but a gateway to an important story.
It is unclear why Musk made this change. Maybe it’s an olive branch to everyone who’s upset about it his apparent support for anti-Semitic tweets, or how the site has placed ads from major brands next to similar, disgusting tweets. Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino have made it clear that they do not support this rhetoric, and that the reports distort the data. They even filed a lawsuit.
Whatever the truth, Musk seems to have grown a little more self-reflective in recent days, and perhaps he’s revisiting some recent decisions to see if he can try to make X as compelling as it once was in his Twitter days.
It’s doubtful, but he can try.
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