Why is Twitter becoming X and should you move to Threads or Bluesky?
為什麼 Twitter 會變成 X，你應該轉向 Threads 或者 Bluesky嗎？
Elon Musk is once more
plunging
Twitter into
turmoil
, this time by changing its very identity
埃隆•馬斯克(Elon Musk)再次讓Twitter陷入混亂，這一次是透過改變它自己的名字。
Nine months after buying Twitter for $44 billion,
Elon Musk has decided to rebrand the platform. The name Twitter will be gone, as will its iconic bird logo. In their place, Musk is planning on
renaming the platform X.
Elon Musk has decided to rebrand the platform. The name Twitter will be gone, as will its iconic bird logo. In their place, Musk is planning on
renaming the platform X.
在以440億美元收購 Twitter 9個月後，埃隆•馬斯克(Elon Musk)決定重塑 Twitter 平臺的品牌。Twitter 這個名字將不復存在，其標誌性的鳥類標誌也將不復存在。取而代之的是，馬斯克正計劃將平臺 X 重新命名。
Why X? 為什麼是 X？
That
is known only by Musk himself, but he does
is known only by Musk himself, but he does
have a fascination with
the
letter. It seems to have begun with X.com, the
letter. It seems to have begun with X.com, the
online payments company
Musk launched in 1999 and
made his fortune
from after
merging
with
PayPal. Since then, he has gone on to launch SpaceX, while his electric
vehicle company Tesla sells the Model X car, he named one of his sons X Æ
A-12 and he recently launched an artificial intelligence
PayPal. Since then, he has gone on to launch SpaceX, while his electric
vehicle company Tesla sells the Model X car, he named one of his sons X Æ
A-12 and he recently launched an artificial intelligence
venture
, xAI.
這隻有馬斯克自己知道，但他確實對這封信很著迷。這一切似乎始於1999年馬斯克創立的線上支付公司
X.com，他與 PayPal 合併後大賺了一筆。從那以後，他繼續推出 SpaceX，而他的電動汽車公司特斯拉銷售 Model X
汽車，他給他的一個兒子取名為 X Æ A-12，他最近推出了一個人工智慧企業，xAI。
X.com，他與 PayPal 合併後大賺了一筆。從那以後，他繼續推出 SpaceX，而他的電動汽車公司特斯拉銷售 Model X
汽車，他給他的一個兒子取名為 X Æ A-12，他最近推出了一個人工智慧企業，xAI。
What else will change besides the name?
除了名字還有什麼會改變？
The logo,
for one thing
: Musk held a
crowdsourced
competition to replace the Twitter bird logo with a new one. The winner was Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt,
who offered Musk a logo previously designed for a now-
who offered Musk a logo previously designed for a now-
discontinued
podcast. And this
new lick of paint
is just the beginning, if Musk and
the company’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, are to be believed.
the company’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, are to be believed.
這個標誌，一方面:
馬斯克舉辦了一個眾包競賽，用一個新的標誌取代 Twitter 上的小鳥標誌。特斯拉投資者索耶 · 梅里特(Sawyer
Merritt)獲勝，他為馬斯克提供了一個此前為現已停播的播客設計的標誌。如果馬斯克和公司執行長琳達 · 亞卡里諾(Linda
Yaccarino)的話可信的話，那麼這次重新命名只是個開始。
馬斯克舉辦了一個眾包競賽，用一個新的標誌取代 Twitter 上的小鳥標誌。特斯拉投資者索耶 · 梅里特(Sawyer
Merritt)獲勝，他為馬斯克提供了一個此前為現已停播的播客設計的標誌。如果馬斯克和公司執行長琳達 · 亞卡里諾(Linda
Yaccarino)的話可信的話，那麼這次重新命名只是個開始。
Yaccarino tweeted
(or should that now be “xed”?) that “X is the future state of unlimited
interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking –
creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and
opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just
beginning to imagine.”
(or should that now be “xed”?) that “X is the future state of unlimited
interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking –
creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and
opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just
beginning to imagine.”
Yaccarino 在推特上說(或者現在應該是“ x”?)“ X 是未來無限互動的狀態——以音訊、影片、資訊、支付/銀行業務為中心——創造一個全球性的思想、商品、服務和機會市場。由人工智慧驅動，X 將以我們剛剛開始想象的方式把我們連線起來。”
What
that actually means is difficult to
that actually means is difficult to
discern
. It could be a nod to
Musk’s
Musk’s
longstanding
plans to develop an “everything app”
in the manner
of
China’s WeChat – something Musk said back in October 2022 his purchase of Twitter was an “
accelerant
” for.
這句話的實際意思很難理解。這可能是對馬斯克以中國微信的方式開發“一切應用”的長期計劃的認可——馬斯克在2022年10月曾表示，他收購 Twitter 是一個“催化劑”。
But
observers are unimpressed. “By claiming that X will be the platform
that can deliver everything, [Yaccarino] is forgetting that the internet
exists,” says Steven Buckley at City, University of London. “The internet is the platform for everything.”
observers are unimpressed. “By claiming that X will be the platform
that can deliver everything, [Yaccarino] is forgetting that the internet
exists,” says Steven Buckley at City, University of London. “The internet is the platform for everything.”
但觀察人士對此不以為然。倫敦城市大學(City)的史蒂文•巴克利(Steven Buckley)表示: “聲稱 X 將成為能夠提供一切服務的平臺，(亞卡里諾)忘記了網際網路的存在。”。“網際網路是一切的平臺。”
Will this plan work?
這個計劃行得通嗎？
Probably
not. Everything apps, popular in China, involve giving access to large
parts of your life to the people running them. The past few months of
not. Everything apps, popular in China, involve giving access to large
parts of your life to the people running them. The past few months of
chaos
under Musk may put off some
sceptics
from allowing the
entrepreneur
’s firm to access their bank accounts.
也許不會。在中國流行的所有應用程式都涉及到讓執行它們的人能夠訪問你生活的大部分內容。在馬斯克領導下的過去幾個月的混亂局面，可能會讓一些懷疑論者不再允許這位企業家的公司進入他們的銀行賬戶。
For
that reason
that reason
, Musk will be relying on the rate of new arrivals to X
outpacing
those abandoning ship. “If Twitter management is hoping to
attract new people to the platform, they hope they are enough to replace
the ones they continue to lose and
attract new people to the platform, they hope they are enough to replace
the ones they continue to lose and
alienate
,” says Om Malik, a
prominent
tech investor.
出於這個原因，馬斯克將依賴新船到達的速度超過棄船的速度。著名科技投資者奧姆•馬利克(Om Malik)表示: “如果 Twitter 管理層希望吸引新人加入該平臺，他們希望這些人足以取代那些他們繼續失去和疏遠的人。”。
So should I move to Threads instead?
那麼我應該轉移到 Threads 嗎？
Meta’s
Twitter-alike app, launched earlier this month, would appear to be the
most secure
Twitter-alike app, launched earlier this month, would appear to be the
most secure
lifeboat
for those looking to escape Twitter (or X)
in the
long run
. It is backed by Mark Zuckerberg’s massive tech company, and
has
has
built-in integrations
with Instagram. The team behind it has
promised more features in the coming weeks and months to compete with
Twitter.
promised more features in the coming weeks and months to compete with
Twitter.
Meta
本月早些時候推出的類似 Twitter 的應用程式，似乎是那些希望長期逃離 Twitter (或
X)的人最安全的救生艇。它得到了馬克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)龐大科技公司的支援，並與 Instagram
進行了內建整合。開發團隊承諾在接下來的幾個星期和幾個月裡將推出更多功能來與 Twitter 競爭。
本月早些時候推出的類似 Twitter 的應用程式，似乎是那些希望長期逃離 Twitter (或
X)的人最安全的救生艇。它得到了馬克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)龐大科技公司的支援，並與 Instagram
進行了內建整合。開發團隊承諾在接下來的幾個星期和幾個月裡將推出更多功能來與 Twitter 競爭。
What about Bluesky? 那藍天呢？
The
decentralised alternative to
Twitter, started by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has its own
issues
, including
content moderation snafus
.
In terms of users, it has largely been
In terms of users, it has largely been
overtaken
by Threads, which was
able to
able to
tap into
Instagram’s existing network to reach 100 million users
in just five days. Bluesky is still an invite-only app, and
in just five days. Bluesky is still an invite-only app, and
as such
is
growing far slower, with around 350,000 reported users.
growing far slower, with around 350,000 reported users.
Twitter
的分散式替代品，由 Twitter 前 CEO Jack Dorsey 創立，有它自己的問題，包括內容管理混亂。在使用者方面，它已經被
Threads 超越，後者能夠利用 Instagram 現有的網路，在短短五天內就達到1億使用者。Bluesky
仍然是一個只接受邀請的應用程式，因此增長速度要慢得多，大約有35萬報告使用者。
的分散式替代品，由 Twitter 前 CEO Jack Dorsey 創立，有它自己的問題，包括內容管理混亂。在使用者方面，它已經被
Threads 超越，後者能夠利用 Instagram 現有的網路，在短短五天內就達到1億使用者。Bluesky
仍然是一個只接受邀請的應用程式，因此增長速度要慢得多，大約有35萬報告使用者。
Are there any other alternatives?
還有其他選擇嗎？
An entire
cavalcade
of competitors has
popped up
to try and
capitalise on
Twitter’s
travails
. Mastodon
was one early alternative, but remains
was one early alternative, but remains
the preserve of tech adherents
,
while Post.Social, Spill, T2 and others
while Post.Social, Spill, T2 and others
make up the pack
.
一大批競爭對手紛紛湧現，試圖從 Twitter 的困境中獲利。
Mastodon
是一個早期的替代品，但仍然是科技信徒的專利，而
Post.Social, Spill, T2
和其他組成一隊。
But
this is the
this is the
nub
of the problem: at present, there isn’t really a direct
alternative to Twitter with all the features users love. Whether they
care to
alternative to Twitter with all the features users love. Whether they
care to
stick around
on X remains to be seen.
但是這就是問題的癥結所在: 目前，還沒有一個真正能夠直接替代 Twitter 的網站，擁有使用者喜歡的所有功能。他們是否願意留在 X 星上還有待觀察。
