Elon Musk and his supporters have been quick to boast about X’s supposed success, especially in comparison to Meta’s apps like Facebook and Instagram. However, a closer look at the data reveals that these claims may not be as accurate as they seem.
According to SimilarWeb, a platform that measures web traffic, the figures presented by Musk only reflect visits to X’s website via a web browser. This means that it does not take into account the vast majority of X’s reported 250 million daily active users who access the platform through the mobile app. In fact, only a small fraction of X’s users actually log in through the website, making the comparison between X and other social media giants misleading.
One of the key points of contention is X’s classification as a “News” app in the Apple App Store. This categorization was a strategic move by Twitter back in 2016 to pivot away from the “Social Media” segment where it was lagging behind competitors like Facebook and Instagram. By positioning itself as a news platform, X was able to dominate the News charts in the App Store, despite the fact that it is primarily a social media platform.
This misclassification has led to skewed comparisons between X and other genuine news apps, creating a false narrative of X’s dominance in the news app category. The reality is that X’s success in this area is based on a technicality rather than genuine news content.
When looking at the actual user data and revenue figures, the picture becomes clearer. X has not seen any significant growth in daily active users since November 2022, indicating a stagnation in user numbers. While there has been a slight increase in monthly active users, it is not indicative of a significant rise in interest.
Moreover, reports have shown that X’s revenue is down by around 50% compared to the previous year at this stage. This decline in revenue, coupled with stagnant user growth, paints a less rosy picture of X’s current status than what Musk and his supporters would like to portray.
Elon Musk’s emphasis on metrics like “daily user seconds” as a measure of engagement and activity may also be misleading. While X reported serving 361.9 billion daily user seconds on average in Q2, this actually represents a decrease in user engagement compared to previous reports. The shift in focus from daily user minutes to daily user seconds could be an attempt to downplay declining user activity on the platform.
Overall, the data suggests that X is not performing as well as Musk and Co. would like to believe. While they may argue that it is a necessary sacrifice to uphold free speech, the reality is that the claims of X’s success are not entirely accurate. It is essential to scrutinize the data and interpretations presented by Elon Musk and his supporters to get a more realistic view of X’s performance in the social media landscape.
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