Twitter Is Rebranding to “X”

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Elon Musk is continuing to remake Twitter as he wants it with the biggest change yet – an entirely new brand name – X. 

Instead of Twitter, users visiting the social network on desktop devices will now be redirected to X.com, the new home of the platform for the foreseeable future. Some mobile users have already seen the update on their phone, while many others will see the icon transform from a cheerful blue bird to a sleek X in the coming days. 

In the announcement, CEO Linda Yaccarino said the new name represents their move to becoming more than a social network app to an “everything app”. 

As she shared in an X (formerly called a Tweet):

“It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.”

“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us in all the ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”

Analysts have expressed concern about the move, with some speculating that the social network is losing billions in brand recognition. 

It is also unclear if the brand name change will bring back any advertisers who had stepped away from running ads on Twitter following a rise in hate speech and offensive content over the last year. 

Additionally, the use of redirects and completely changing the domain name raises questions about how long embedded Twitter content on other sites will continue to function or if they will soon break as the Twitter domain becomes part of the past. 

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The Washington Post Releases Its Own SEO and Web Performance Guidelines

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The Washington Post may not be the first organization you imagine when you think about SEO experts, but as a popular news organization read by millions around the world, The Post has dealt with its fair share of issues in developing its long-term strategies for web performance and SEO. 

Now, the news site is sharing the fruit of that hard work by releasing its own Web Performance and SEO Best Practices and Guidelines.

These guidelines help ensure that The Washington Post remains competitive and visible in highly competitive search spaces, drives more organic traffic, and maintains a positive user experience on its website. 

In the announcement, engineering lead Arturo Silva said:

“We identified a need for a Web Performance and SEO engineering team to build technical solutions that support the discovery of our journalism, as the majority of news consumers today read the news digitally. Without proper SEO and web performance, our stories aren’t as accessible to our readers. As leaders in engineering and media publishing, we’re creating guidelines that serve our audiences and by sharing those technical solutions in our open-source design system, we are providing tools for others to certify that their own site practices are optimal.”

What’s In The Washington Post’s SEO and Web Performance Guidelines?

If you’re hoping to see a surprise trick or secret tool being used by The Washington Post, you are likely to be disappointed. 

The guidelines are largely in line with practices used by most SEO experts, albeit with a specific focus on their specific search and web performance issues.

For example, the Web Performance section covers three specific areas: loading performance, rendering performance, and responsiveness. Similarly, the SEO guidelines are split into on-page SEO, content optimization, technical SEO, and off-page SEO. 

More than anything, the guidelines highlight the need for brands to focus their SEO efforts on their unique needs and goals and develop strategies that are likely to remain useful for the foreseeable future (instead of chasing every new SEO trend). 

To read the guidelines for yourself, visit the Washington Post’s site here. 

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Instagram Threads Introduces First Paid Promotion Tools

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Threads may be the hottest new social network, but its fast development and release means there is little in the way of actual marketing tools for brands. In fact, the platform doesn’t currently serve ads of any kind.

However, the company announced it is launching tools to let marketers develop their own paid promotion opportunities until more robust advertising options arrive. 

Threads’ Paid Promotion Tools

In essence, Threads’ is borrowing Instagram’s already existing paid promotion tools for influencer campaigns and collaborations. These tools let brands and influencers properly tag content that may include paid promotions or professional collaborations to maintain transparency with users. 

Specifically, Threads requires that:

Brands use the branded content tools when working with influencers on sponsored content

Only brands have access to paid partnership labels to posts

Brands clearly disclose paid partnership collaborations

100 Million Users But No Ad Tools?

So far, Threads and its parent company, Meta, have been quiet about the development of advertising tools or services for the platform. With the announcement that Threads has already gained over 100 million users since its recent launch, though, it seems highly likely that proper ad tools are on their way. 

The current lack of these tools highlights how quickly Threads was developed in the face of Twitter’s ongoing collapse. Despite the limited features and tools for brands, however, the platform appears to be an immediate hit with users who have long been vocally unhappy with Twitter’s direction and leadership.

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Study Suggests TikTok Is Losing Ground In 2023

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Fewer people are using TikTok compared to last year and the social network is losing ground as an e-commerce search engine, according to a new study from CivicScience. 

Meanwhile, Amazon is reconnecting with younger generations and growing as the main starting point for people looking for products online. 

In the study, CivicScience asked U.S. online consumers this question: “When shopping for a product online, where do you typically start for product searches and research?” The survey then compared the responses from this year’s survey against those from 2022. 

TikTok gained some attention last year when analysts noted that it was driving a surprising amount of e-commerce-related search traffic – particularly from younger users. This led the company to announce it intends to develop a $20 billion e-commerce business. It is unclear if recent trends have changed those plans or not. 

It is no surprise that Amazon and Google continue to dominate the e-commerce search market. No other challengers have come close. However, Google did see a slight dip in the number of e-commerce searches being made on its platform. 

The most notable shift from this year’s findings may be the increasing popularity of Amazon among younger age groups who had been previously moving away from the shopping platform. 

Compared to last year, Amazon increased its popularity among younger age groups including 18- to 24-year olds (up 45%) and 25- to 34-year-olds (up 44%). 

For more, read the findings from CivicScience here.

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Meta’s Version of Twitter is Here and It’s Called Threads

Meta is launching a new app called Threads set to challenge Twitter following Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s repeated blunders.

Threads launched on July 5th and has already accrued over 30 million users within 24 hours. The app is largely similar to Twitter with an emphasis on short text-based posts. On the download page, Threads is described like this:

“Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things – or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions, and creativity with the world.”

Why Meta Is Trying To Challenge Twitter Now

Though Elon Musk claims Twitter has seen record-breaking engagement since his takeover of the platform, other metrics suggest the app is losing both users and advertisers daily. 

Overall, users are unhappy with recent changes which include limiting the number of posts users can see, prioritizing paid users, and cutting off third-party access to its API. 

Additionally, the app itself has been increasingly unreliable with long periods of downtime or issues accessing content. 

Tied To Instagram

Users can sign up for Threads using the same information they use for Instagram. The app will also let you automatically follow those you’re connected with on Instagram and auto-fill your profile based on your Instagram profile. 

Verified status on Instagram will also transfer to Threads.

For more, check out the app’s site at threads.net or download the app via the Google Play or Apple Store.

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