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Elon Musk's X Drastically Changing Interface · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
• 0:04
  Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
• 0:07
  the critical crossroads, the shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The
• 0:11
  Boring Company and Neuralink. I'm your host, Will Walden.
• 0:16
  So Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, of course, is set to
• 0:20
  undergo a significant redesign. They're going to be removing
• 0:24
  traditional interaction and engagement buttons from users
• 0:28
  feeds. It'll eliminate the retweet
• 0:31
  button. They're also the repost button.
• 0:32
  Same thing, the like button, reply buttons.
• 0:36
  And that's all going to be removed from individual posts on
• 0:40
  your timeline. So users will no longer see
• 0:44
  repost, like, and reply counts on each post.
• 0:47
  Instead, interactions will be handled differently with users
• 0:51
  needing to swipe left or right on a post to like a reply.
• 0:54
  And for those using X on iOS, a forced touch on a post will open
• 0:58
  a menu with more options, and the only visible metric
• 1:03
  remaining on the post in the timeline will be the view count,
• 1:05
  which has been relocated to the upper right corner of each post.
• 1:09
  The redesign was first identified by Aaron Paris, who
• 1:12
  is a researcher for Mac Rumors is later confirmed by Elon Musk.
• 1:17
  Now, the majority of user feedback so far of this change
• 1:20
  has been fairly negative. Many users have expressed
• 1:24
  dissatisfaction with the removal of the familiar buttons, finding
• 1:27
  the proposed swipe gestures kind of less intuitive.
• 1:31
  Then, in response to a user criticizing the change, Elon
• 1:33
  Musk defended the redesign, stating it's awesome, just swipe
• 1:36
  left to like and right to reply. And despite Musk's enthusiasm,
• 1:41
  the general reception remains kind of skeptical.
• 1:44
  The planned redesign represents a substantial shift in how users
• 1:47
  interact with content on X, and by eliminating traditional
• 1:51
  engagement buttons, X aims to streamlines the interface,
• 1:54
  though it risks alienating users accustomed to the current layout
• 1:58
  now. The change could also impact the
• 2:00
  way users perceive engagement on their posts, with removal of
• 2:03
  visible like and repost counts potentially affecting the
• 2:06
  overall user experience. View counts will be the sole
• 2:09
  metric displayed, shifting the focus to how many people have
• 2:12
  seen a post rather than how many have interacted with it.
• 2:16
  Now, for users, the new interaction methods may require
• 2:19
  a little period of adjustment. Swiping left or right to
• 2:22
  interact with posts is a departure from the more
• 2:24
  straightforward tapping of the buttons.
• 2:26
  This could lead to a sort of the slight learning curve as users
• 2:29
  adapt to the new system. And people will complain about
• 2:32
  it and say they're going to be leaving X and they'll probably
• 2:34
  stick around like normal as something changes like this.
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  When there's an interface change for any big social media
• 2:40
  platform, there's always an outcry and X's decision to move
• 2:44
  away from the visible engagement.
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  Metrics like likes and replies may also influence how content
• 2:49
  is shared and consumed on the platform.
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  Without the immediate feedback of likes and reposts, users
• 2:54
  might approach posting differently, potentially
• 2:57
  altering the platform's dynamics.
• 3:00
  Now, this redesign aligns with a broader trend in social media
• 3:03
  towards more simplified and streamlined interfaces.
• 3:05
  However, remains to be seen whether this specific change
• 3:08
  will be embraced by X's user base or if it will drive users
• 3:12
  to seek alternative platforms. The removal of engagement
• 3:15
  buttons and counts could also impact content creators who rely
• 3:19
  on these metrics to gain the popularity and reach of their
• 3:22
  posts. For influencers and businesses,
• 3:25
  this change might necessitate new strategies for measuring
• 3:27
  engagement and success on the platform.
• 3:30
  And as X prepares to roll out these changes, the developers
• 3:33
  will likely need to monitor user feedback closely and be prepared
• 3:37
  to make further adjustments based on how the new interaction
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  methods are received. The shift to swipe based
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  interactions could also pose challenges for accessibility.
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  Users with motor impairments or those who use assistive
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  technologies might find the new gestures more difficult to
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  perform. Raising concerns about
• 3:55
  inclusivity and the redesign of X is part of a broader effort to
• 3:59
  innovate and differentiate itself in social media.
• 4:03
  And by experimenting with new ways of interacting with
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  content, X aims to stay relevant and appealing to users, though
• 4:09
  this comes with the risk of alienating the current user base
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  on X and the reaction to the plan changes shows the
• 4:16
  challenges of social media platforms when they make
• 4:18
  significant alterations to user interfaces.
• 4:21
  They have to balance innovation with user satisfaction, and it's
• 4:24
  a difficult task. The success of such changes
• 4:27
  often hinges on how well they're communicated and implemented,
• 4:31
  but for now, users will need to prepare for a new way of
• 4:34
  engaging with posts on X. Whether this will lead to a more
• 4:37
  streamlined and enjoyable user experience or a decline in user
• 4:41
  engagement, that all remains to be seen.
• 4:43
  Also, we haven't seen a desktop version of X with a new
• 4:47
  interface yet, because there's really no way to swipe left or
• 4:50
  right on a desktop, except for with your mouse, I guess.
• 4:53
  So this is only going to be mobile, and Elon Musk is very
• 4:57
  confident about the redesign. He's committed to it and he's
• 5:00
  going to see it through despite the initial negative feedback.
• 5:03
  The long term impact of these changes on user behavior and
• 5:07
  platform dynamics will be an important area to watch in the
• 5:10
  future. It's a notable departure from
• 5:12
  traditional social media interaction methods, and by
• 5:15
  removing all of these buttons and introducing swiping, X aims
• 5:19
  to create a more streamlined experience.
• 5:28
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 5:30
  I really do appreciate your support.
• 5:32
  If you could take a second and hit the subscribe or the follow
• 5:35
  button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening
• 5:37
  on right now, I greatly appreciate it.
• 5:40
  It helps out the show tremendously and you'll never
• 5:42
  miss an episode. And each episode is about 10
• 5:45
  minutes or less to get you caught up quickly.
• 5:48
  And please, if you want to support the show even more, go
• 5:51
  to patreon.com/stage Zero. And please take care of
• 5:56
  yourselves and each other, and I'll see you tomorrow.