What is X.com?

"X.com was an online payment company founded by Elon Musk in 1999. It was one of the early pioneers in the online payment industry and provided a platform for making electronic payments and money transfers. In March 2000, X.com merged with Confinity, a company that developed a money transfer service called PayPal. After the merger, the combined company was renamed PayPal, and it became a widely used and successful online payment system".

If one tries to access X.com right now, they will immediately be redirected to twitter.com, which happens to be one of Elon Musk's recent acquisitions. Well, it's not exactly that recent, as Elon bought Twitter about half a year ago. But interestingly, Elon founded X.com, merged it with PayPal, and eventually divested from both of them. Now, he is steering Twitter to become the ultimate "everything app."

I once posted about Elon Musk's tendency to show off frequently and labeled him as an attention vampire. Although my words received a lot of hate, I'll briefly mention now that, despite not being a fan of Elon Musk, I must acknowledge that he made a clever move with Twitter.

You see, Elon Musk needed Twitter for his endeavors, and in return, Twitter needs X.com to fulfill its potential.

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. source

Social media is no longer just a platform; it's more about the social aspect than just being a medium. My journey into the digital realm started with hi5, where I occasionally posted personal pictures and engaged with content from people I followed.

However, Facebook emerged and dominated the scene by replicating hi5's model while offering something extra - Facebook Messenger. This integration allowed for more intimate online interactions, and with the rapid development of features around the app, hi5 was eventually obliterated.

The competition between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk is legendary, and it seems like it's time for Musk to outshine Zuckerberg. While posting content through an app is one thing, building an entire society around a social media app is a whole new level.

If you observe what regular people are using the internet for right now, you'll get a glimpse of Twitter's aspirations. Social media is just one aspect of our internet usage; we buy stuff, send money, book flights, advertise, find jobs, and much more.

Elon Musk's vision for Twitter involves integrating a payment system like X.com, which could unlock a world of opportunities for businesses to interact and thrive within the platform. Certain users, especially those with millions of followers, are already earning from their Twitter content, and in the near future, a portion of ad revenues will be shared with content creators who generate traffic.

Twitter has transformed significantly since Musk's acquisition. It's now more freedom of speech-oriented and has a clear ambition of becoming the ultimate "everything app" and a multi-billion dollar economy. And this is just the beginning.

However, centralization of power and control comes with its risks. With one man holding so much power, it can become dangerous for our digital identities, funds under Twitter's custody, and the shaping of future narratives. The extensive use of AI in Twitter's ambitious plans raises the question of investing in AI projects.

Just saying...

Thanks for your attention, Adrian