X is taking the following steps to advance past its short-form content material roots, with the introduction of X Articles, which is actually a running a blog platform constructed into the X system.
As you may see on this instance, X Articles contains all the fundamental components of a running a blog software, together with a title and header picture in your submit, and numerous in-stream formatting choices (like daring, italics, numbers lists, hyperlinks, and so forth.)
Customers will even be capable of embed photos and movies into their Articles, offering extra methods to distinguish Articles from long-form posts within the app.
Which have additionally had a number of upgrades to deliver them on top of things with different running a blog instruments. However Articles is a extra devoted choice for long-form content material.
X Articles will seem in your profile in a brand new Articles tab, in addition to in your followers’ timeline, similar to common X posts.
“Articles will even be simply distinguishable due to a singular icon and format, making certain that your long-form content material stands out.”
X is hoping that the brand new format will see extra publishers and creators share their content material direct to the app, which is what X proprietor Elon Musk actually desires.
Fascinating.
Our algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, so hyperlinks don’t get as a lot consideration, as a result of there’s much less time spent if folks click on away.
Smartest thing is to submit content material in lengthy kind on this platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2023
Musk, in fact, is pushing to transform the platform previously often called Twitter into his imaginative and prescient for an “every thing app”, which might allow all types of various features and processes in-stream.
Lengthy-form content material, specifically, has been a key focus for Musk’s “freedom of speech” push, with Musk repeatedly calling on “citizen journalists” to share their views on X, with the intention to problem the mainstream media.
Whom Musk is satisfied is biased, typically towards him, and as such, Elon’s hope is that by giving extra folks extra methods to share their ideas within the app, that can assist to determine a brand new data ecosystem, free of out of doors interference.
Although that’s not likely true, provided that Musk has additionally penalized or suspended numerous publications and journalists that he disagrees with. However that bias, at the very least from Elon’s perspective, is definitely extra balanced, as a result of he’s the one who controls it. So all good, I assume.
So, will this see extra folks posting long-form content material within the app?
Effectively, it’s restricted to Premium+ and Verified Organizations subscribers, so not all people can use it, solely these which can be prepared to pay at the very least $16 per month for the app.
Which is generally Elon superfans, and for that cohort of customers, it may very well be a helpful option to doc their love of Tesla, or SpaceX, or simply to submit long-form Elon Musk fan fiction.
Son, go searching us on the Tremendous Bowl, all of the glitz, the glamour, & the faces within the crowd. Individuals deliver their flashiest toys, put on their best materials issues, hoping to be seen. However for me, the actual pleasure is being right here with you. I need you to recollect, it doesn’t matter what anybody or… pic.twitter.com/WvZJYBIpkl
— Teslaconomics (@Teslaconomics) February 12, 2024
Yeah, it’s tremendous bizarre, however for that group, I can see X articles being of worth. However I don’t see many publications or journalists truly paying to make use of the choice.
Perhaps, for media organizations which can be already paying for Verification for Organizations, they might strive it out, and X will probably additionally look to supply some form of monetization potential in future. That’ll draw some curiosity, nevertheless it stays to be seen whether or not customers truly wish to eat long-form content material within the app.
As a result of that’s a major behavioral shift, although Elon Musk did report again in September that longer posts within the app had been seeing 3 billion views per day.
I imply, the specifics listed below are related. Are longer posts truly seeing 3 billion views, or are folks simply tapping on the “Extra” CTA that many occasions? Is X measuring time spent studying?
It’s more durable to measure as a result of it’s good to consider consumption time inside the app, versus time spent after tapping a hyperlink. However mainly, as with the entire metrics that X shares, it doesn’t actually, definitively say that that is reflective of recognition and/or engagement.
However possibly it’s, and possibly X Articles will even draw curiosity.
It’s laborious to see why publishers would submit direct within the app, however over time, X might develop extra incentives on this entrance.
