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.
Why did this person deserve the @x handle? Just because they claimed it day 1, they're morally entitled to it?
...yes. That's how it usually works.
I'd be perfectly fine if say, Walmart existed before the platform did but didn't sign up and some random person was using their already existing business name in an inappropriate way.
But changing your name 10 years after the guy made his account then thinking you're entitled to the name is dumb as hell.
What do the Twitter ToS they clicked "accept" without looking, say?
Irrelevant. Nobody is arguing that they can't legally do it.
Just that it's impossible to do without being a shitbag.
I'm arguing it's a good thing they can "be a shitbag" legally, instead of going to trial by combat.
...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??
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".
Did you have a point or just snark?
Kiddo