X, formerly known as ‘Twitter’, launches out-of-the-box new features that indicates Elon Musk’s desire to turn X into ‘Everything’ App.
Elon Musk had acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and later changed its brand name to ‘X’. Musk also mentioned about his plans to make ‘X’, an app that has everything, more or less similar to WeChat in China. In an interview, Musk noted that there is no equivalent to a super app like WeChat outside of Asia and that he wanted to build one.
Now, X is taking the path of being everything, from being a job-hiring platform like LinkedIn to stock-investing or trading platform like Fidelity Investments or Zerodha.
X as Everything App
WeChat, launched in 2011, combines social media, digital payments, internet browsing and more into a single app. The app has become inevitable to Chinese people and now Elon Musk wants to build a similar one for U.S and worldwide users. He bets X for that.
X introduces new features, in track to be the everything app. It has recently launched a new job hiring feature which allows verified organizations to post job listings on their profile. X has entered the domain of professional networking with a beta version of hiring feature, challenging to websites like LinkedIn.
While commenting on this, Elon Musk wrote on X that, “People send me LinkedIn links sometimes, but the cringe level is so high that I just can’t bring myself to use it, so I ask for the resume or bio to be emailed. We will make sure that the X competitor to LinkedIn is cool.”
In another incident, X was seen reaching out to prominent industry players, soliciting proposals for an array of features to establish a groundbreaking trading hub right within its platform, according to exclusive details unveiled by Semafor.
Though, Elon Musk denied this feature, saying “No work is being done on this to the best of my knowledge”, a recent new license of X accords that X might be a trading platform too in the coming days or months. X has recently obtained a license for cryptocurrency payments and trading in U.S. The license, known as the Rhode Island Currency Transmitter License, was granted on August 28. This enables X to offer virtual asset services and facilitate cryptocurrency exchanges on its platform.
The app is also working on video and audio calling feature allowing users to contact each other without the need of phone number.
Can X be WeChat of World?
The phenomenal success of WeChat attributes to its time of launch, back in 2011 when the internet is expanding in China and to Chinese Government’s support, as it blocks all foreign apps of the kind.
In 2011, when there were only 485 million internet users out of 1.3 billion people, and with no competitors, WeChat managed to get on mobile phones by providing payment services and more. Indeed, Chinese state was such a backbone to WeChat’s success, as the state banned foreign platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and endorsed local apps like WeChat. Even the Chinese government departments and local authorities use WeChat as one of the ways to disseminate information.
The case is not the same with X. First of all, the internet ecosystem of U.S and of world in 2023 is much larger and more fragmented than China’s in 2011. And it may not avail the support of US government or any other, as WeChat got it from China. It leaves X to tackle with all the existing competitors, who are already well-versed in the domain.
There will be also handling issues such as currency choice, consumer data protection and privacy, if X leaps into sectors like stock-trading and job-hiring.
It’s too early to say that X can’t be the WeChat of world. If people feel the comfort while using multiple features in one app, and if the app is seamless in usage, X has a chance to emerge as a super-app of the world.
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