During the recent Vox Media’s Code conference, X CEO Linda Yaccarino participated in an unconventional interview that focused on numbers. She revealed that the platform, previously known as Twitter, now boasts 540 million monthly users and 225 million daily users, and she claimed that “key” user-engagement metrics were showing positive trends.
Yaccarino’s appearance was widely regarded as a disaster for several reasons. She seemed unprepared and was caught off guard by a surprise interview with Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, who was forced to leave his home after Elon Musk targeted him. But let’s examine these numbers. Even if they are accurate, they reflect a platform in decline, which is hardly surprising. High-profile figures and celebrities have abandoned Twitter, instances of hate speech have increased, and Musk’s tweets have become erratic and hostile. He has threatened brands, briefly banned users for promoting links to other social platforms, and is embroiled in a feud with the Anti-Defamation League. No one expected the numbers to be positive.
Moreover, the focus on user metrics disregards a more significant issue. A social platform must provide a positive user experience and be liked by people. Both Yaccarino and Musk repeatedly fail to grasp this concept.
You can’t hold users hostage and force them to endure a subpar experience or consume unwanted content, and then expect them to come back. The term “social” in social media is not an empty adjective. History has proven that platforms antagonizing their own users don’t survive. Musk’s actions to dismantle and alienate the communities that gave the platform its power demonstrate why X is destined for failure.
Unlike other types of tech products, social-media platforms are primarily shaped by the communities that embrace them. Users pioneer new behaviors, develop workarounds, and often create features that eventually become part of the platform itself. Many core functions, such as the hashtag, reblog, and retweet, were not invented by geniuses in Silicon Valley. They were introduced by passionate users who loved the products and eventually incorporated into the apps.
“The success of any social platform is entirely due to the users; the product itself is a commodity,” said Steven Ward, CEO of Authenticate.com. “Anybody can clone a platform, but it’s the users’ loyalty and passion for a platform that make it relevant.” Silicon Valley executives who take their power users for granted often learn this lesson the hard way.
Consider Vine, for example. Founded in 2012 and subsequently acquired by Twitter, the app skyrocketed to success as the first mobile video-editing platform. The founders, however, resented the young teenage influencers who made up a significant portion of the user base. They wanted the platform to focus on content about users’ daily lives, not pranks and brand promotions. They repeatedly hindered the success of their most popular creators, leading many to migrate to YouTube. Vine’s decline accelerated, and it ultimately shut down.
Another example is Tumblr, which suffered a devastating blow in 2018 when Verizon enforced a ban on “adult content.” The decision had severe consequences and caused a significant drop in usage. The ban affected not only explicit content but also art and artists, as well as networks of queer and sex-positive users. Even benign content was removed under the new policy. As a result, Tumblr’s web traffic dropped by 30%, until the ban was partially lifted.
Earlier this year, Reddit faced a user protest after making changes to its API, resulting in a significant decline in engagement. The platform’s future remains uncertain.
Anne Griffin, a tech-product manager in New York City, highlighted the crucial role of user communities in shaping social-media platforms. She said, “These platforms are fundamentally rooted in users being able to get value, not just from the platform but from each other. If the platform starts getting in the way of users being able to get value from each other and their connections and community, then that fundamentally eats away the core value of the platform.”
Musk’s inability to comprehend X beyond his personal experience is leading to a mass exodus of users. “He forces his worldview on the Twitter community, and I think the result is why you’re seeing people leaving,” said Rocky Cole, a former online-harm researcher at Google.
As a consequence, Fidelity recently downgraded the value of its equity stake in Twitter, and its worth has plummeted. Musk even suggested that the majority of users pay to access the app. However, introducing necessary changes requires Musk to recognize that fixing X is more than a technical task. To win back users, he must humble himself, empathize with their needs, and avoid forcing unwanted content and features.
Unfortunately, Silicon Valley often fails to value such skills, as it tends to reward a Musk-like approach to human-centered problems, according to Caterina Fake, developer of online communities and host of the podcast Ingenious With Caterina Fake.
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