Gene X Hwang knew his days on Twitter as @x were numbered.
"Elon had been kind of tweeting about X previously," Hwang said. "So I kind of knew, you know, I had an inkling that this was going to happen. I didn't really know when."
Since 2007, Hwang's username on the site was @x — but after Elon Musk renamed the social media platform to X earlier this week, it was only a matter of time before the company commandeered the handle.
The news came shortly after Hwang had competed in a pinball tournament in Canada. "So when I landed and fired up my phone, I just got all these messages and I was like: 'What is what is going on?' "
Hwang received an email from the company explaining that his account data would be preserved, and he'd get a new handle. It offered Hwang merchandise, a tour of its offices and a meeting with company management as compensation.
Hwang's account is one of the latest casualties in the chaos following Musk's takeover of the social media company. On Monday, Twitter's iconic blue bird logo was replaced with the letter "X."
The rebrand is the company's next step in creating what Musk has called "the everything app." Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino envision the platform becoming a U.S. parallel to WeChat — a hub for communication, banking and commerce that's become a part of everyday life in China.
But experts are skeptical X will be able to become an "everything app." "I'm not sure he has enough trust from his user base to get people to actually exchange money or attach any type of financial institution to his app," Jennifer Grygiel, a professor at Syracuse University, told NPR.
Hwang is among those who have been looking for Twitter alternatives. "I've been checking out, you know, other options like Threads and Mastodon and Bluesky," he said. "I'm still on Twitter for now, but ... it's changed a lot. So we'll see how much longer I'm on there." Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.
...then elaborate how that works.
Finders keepers
It’s literally the oldest rule in the book kiddo
I live in America, my country was founded by breaking that rule, kiddo.
You sound like that's something you're proud of 😐
No shit, taking out the British is how my country was founded. Are you implying America being founded is somehow bad? Tf??
I am that I saying that the founding of America has probably had a net negative on the world.
That said I’m British and perhaps shouldn’t be throwing stones whilst in a glass house but I’m not proud of my country as you seem to be of yours.
No idea why you aren't at only downvotes, the Europeans must be online
Well I thought you're talking about taking out the natives because the British weren't the first to settle America. Also America was more founded by British settlers bring fed up by their home country's long fingers reaching for their pockets. America was founded by the British infighting, not by some magical Americans taking out the British that were there "first".
Insufferable much.
Did you have a point or just snark?
Kiddo