Elon Musk, the CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), has announced a new plan to tackle the problem of bots on the platform. Musk’s solution involves enlisting the help of every X user asking them to pay a small fee for a place in his “town square.” This fee would serve as a defense against the vast armies of bots that plague the platform.
The introduction of a fee for every user would not only provide X with much-needed revenue, but it would also attract merchants to the platform. These merchants would be able to directly offer their goods and services to Musk’s customers, as they would have access to the users’ payment details. This strategy is reminiscent of Tencent’s WeChat, a messaging app that has become a dominant force in Chinese daily life collecting payment details and offering additional services to its users.
Musk’s vision for X goes beyond just being a social media platform. He has expressed his desire to create an “everything app” that would allow users to conduct their entire financial world on the platform. By rebranding X and distancing it from its association with microblogging, Musk aims to position the platform as a versatile tool that can be used for various purposes.
While bots are not a significant issue for the average X user, they do pose a challenge for advertisers. Musk’s decision to charge all users for the presence of bots is seen as a necessary step towards realizing his ambition of creating an all-encompassing app. However, it remains to be seen if users will be willing to pay the fee, as only a fraction of subscribers have signed up for X’s premium subscription plan thus far.
By engaging his user base and monetizing their presence, Musk hopes to combat the problem of bots on X and create a platform that is both financially viable and attractive to users and merchants alike.
Sources:
– The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/xxxxxx
– Asian Case Research Journal: xxxxxxx
