X, Formerly Twitter | The Microblogging Realm

Welcome to my third blog post for MKTG 290 – Digital Marketing and Communication. I will be sharing my learning experience on the topic X, formerly known as Twitter.

From Twitter to X

Firstly, Twitter was launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams as a microblogging social media site where users can create short-form content of no more than 280 characters, known as tweets. By 2011, Twitter had over 333 million accounts. Then, in 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion and changed the company’s name to “X” in 2023. As such, tweets became posts with the change. Today X has 100 million daily active users and 500 million tweets sent daily. As such, microblogging has evolved into an important source of news, citizen journalism, marketing, and social networking.

New Beginnings - My Journey with X

Secondly, although Twitter or X has been around for quite some time, I am not an avid user, but this was the perfect opportunity to explore the platform. As a new user, this video tutorial taught me how to get started:

X’s design was simple and straightforward to navigate. There were different tabs to see your home timeline, search for people, topics, or keywords, join communities, see your notifications, and message your friends and followers.

I enjoyed reading the funny and interesting posts and gaining knowledge from various news outlets. I was also able to keep up and engage with my favorite influencers, authors, and celebrities in a unique way.

Some of the Best Ways to Use X

Thirdly, in my opinion, these are some of the best ways to use X:

Personal Use

• Stay connected or share updates with friends and family members through the exchange of quick messages and posts.
• Follow and interact with different individuals, brands, media outlets, and celebrities.
• Share your opinion/thoughts on any topic by simply using a hashtag (#) to categorize your message.
• Use X Spaces to host and participate in live audio conversations.
• Post videos, polls, and images.
• Stay up-to-date with breaking news and industry trends.

Business Purposes 

Business owners can create a professional account to verify themselves and have a unique presence on the platform separate from the general user and access a wider range of tools, which will enable them to:

• Use hashtags to get optimum visibility and encourage engagement.
• Leverage ads about products and services to amplify their following, grow brand awareness, drive traffic to their website, increase app downloads, etc.
• Announce product launches or new sales.
• Use X Spaces to build more personal connections with their customers.
• Provide customer service through Direct Messaging.
• Measure results and access insights through analytics.
• Monitor their competition or industry through X Lists.
• Network with professionals or influencers.

Therefore, I believe X’s uniqueness lies in its concise character limit, real-time updates, hashtag culture, public and open nature, and direct interactions. It facilitates information sharing and empowers users to engage with trending topics and connect with a broad audience.

Angelina Ankai.