When Elon Musk bought Twitter and rebranded it to X, changes were inevitable. Since then, many users, including myself, have left the platform because of the new direction. I always consider returning, but here’s what it would take.
1 Better News Curation
According to Musk, X is the number one news source worldwide. Whether or not this claim is true, it’s hard to deny that some major stories have broken on X before the mainstream media caught on. But the biggest issue I couldn’t deal with was the overwhelming amount of misinformation.
It seems that X’s algorithms prioritize sensational content, especially if it is rapidly retweeted, regardless of its truth value. If these algorithms were tweaked to focus on credibility and topics users genuinely find interesting, it would improve the quality of news for many.
2 Improved Moderation
When X became known as the “free speech platform,” it meant fewer restrictions on the kind of content people could post. The result was increased hate speech (on top of disinformation). I was subjected to more harmful content on X than anywhere else on mainstream social media.
I believe diverse viewpoints can coexist with strict moderation. There needs to be clear, consistent policies against harmful content and these need to be enforced. I found the enforcement on X to be a bit lacking.
3 A Return to the Old Verification System
In the old days, a blue checkmark meant that accounts possessing it belonged to a verified celebrity, journalist, government official, organization, or any entity the public is interested in. Now? Anyone can get it through the subscription service known as X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue), which offers additional perks and artificial clout on X.
Now it’s difficult to know who is real since the original purpose of the blue checkmarks is diluted. I couldn’t stand how fake accounts could now seem legitimate and then proceed to spread hate and misinformation. We need a return to the old verification system so we can identify credible accounts to follow.
4 A Resolution to the Bot Crisis
Bots are rapidly spreading misinformation and gaming the algorithm for malicious purposes on X. Knowing what these automated accounts are capable of and the speed at which they have spread has diminished X’s integrity in the eyes of many. Although Musk announced a purge, I would be more excited about returning if we had confirmation that the crisis has been resolved.
5 Making Basic Features Free
Things like the ability to edit or publish longer posts should not be locked behind an X Premium subscription. There have been many times when I made a mistake and had to delete a post, edit it, and then repost, or ran out of characters and had to make a thread to make it longer.
I understand that X needs to generate revenue. Some features like ad-free browsing and changing app icons and themes can make subscribing worth it. However, basic features should not be paywalled.
6 Fewer Ads
When I was on X, I found the exposure to ads to be a bit excessive. This would have been forgivable if they were relevant. But once I started seeing ads for what could potentially be scams all over the place, it became unbearable.
They are so prevalent on the platform that even X Premium subscribers are subjected to ads, although they only see half of what normal and Basic plan users see. You need to subscribe to X Premium+ to get rid of the ad experience altogether.
7 The Return of Third-Party Apps
I was one of the people who loved using Tweetbot because of its clean user interface, advanced customization, improved timeline management, and ad-free experience. When X restricted access to its API at the beginning of 2023, it essentially prevented all third-party apps and services from providing people with a better Twitter experience.
This forced me to return to using the main X app and website, with its overwhelming ads, limited customization, and no timeline control. If they ever open their API again for these apps, I and many others would happily start gravitating towards returning.
Even through bad decisions like rebranding Twitter to X, many of us were willing to stay. But when you compound that with other changes made on the platform (before and after), leaving is better than staying. X can be a great platform to engage with different views, but I just wish these things I’ve outlined could happen so that I can return.
