Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast. This is a show where we discuss. The critical. Crossroads That Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink, and I'm your Host Will Walden One. More thing before we start Google Podcasts is being discontinued by Google. So if you want to continue getting episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please check us out over at YouTube Music. Search us out over there and that's where you'll be able to find our our podcast through
Google products. Thank you so much for understanding. I had no control over this. Google pulled the Google Podcast app off of Android, and I want to let you know where to continue finding the show over at YouTube Music Search for Elon Musk podcast. Thank you so much. Elon Musk's X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is set to remove the option for premium users to hide their blue checkmarks, a feature
that was once optional. Now this change was communicated to users through a notification and the blue check mark, previously a mark of authenticity and also status, has transformed under Elon Musk's ownership into a symbol that users could purchase, leading to a shift in the perception among the platform's community. Now, according to a recent update from X itself, the ability to conceal one's blue check mark will soon be discontinued. The platform stated.
The Hide Your Check Mark feature of X Premium is going away soon, urging users to adjust their premium settings accordingly. Now this marks a significant shift in how users can control their visibility and association with the blue check mark. Now the decision to make blue check marks mandatory for premium users reflects A broader change in policy under Elon
Musk's direction. Initially, Musk critique the old Twitter's Blue check system as a quote Lords and Peasants system, only to reintroduce it in a different form where users could pay a monthly fee for premium features including the blue check mark. Think about that, if you have the money, you can have a blue check mark or if you had the status before, you can have the blue check mark. Does that still make you a Lord If you have the money or the status? That's up to you to decide.
Now this move has not been well received by all though as many users expressed dissatisfaction stating they would not pay for such a feature. The ability to hide the blue check mark was heavily utilized last week when Musk decided to automatically assign it to popular users, indicating the user's reluctance to be openly associated with the paid status symbol that we introduced in August of 2023.
The option to hide the blue check mark was intended to allow users to subscribe to X Premium without public endorsement or the stigma of having paid for their status. This features removal, expected to occur less than a year after its introduction, has sparked concerns about the increasing influence and control exerted by Platform Policies over user
preferences. Now many influential and high profile users on X now face a challenging decision, continue using the platform with an openly displayed blue check mark, or cease using this service altogether. Now the new policy could potentially Dr. significant numbers of X's content creators to alternative platforms such as Threads, which have emerged as competitors in the social media space. And the pattern of imposing stark choices on users and affiliates is characteristic of
Musk's management style. Similar to past instances where he has issued ultimatums to advertisers and product users, this move can be seen as part of a broader strategy to reshape the platform according to his own vision and his operational philosophy. Now the timing of this policy change coincides with X's recent promotion were accounts with substantial number of verified followers were upgraded to premium status at no additional cost.
And this gesture of goodwill is now juxtaposed with the removal of a feature that many users valued for its privacy and discretion. Now, the initial implementation of the blue check mark was to signify verification and authentic user profiles, which was a free feature before Musk's takeover. Their transition to a paid verification system has diluted the symbol's value, making it a target for criticism and a tool for scammers and impersonators.
Now, furthermore, the platform's automatic distribution of blue checks to certain users last week, regardless of their consent, highlights the unpredictability and autocratic nature of changes. Under Elon Musk, many of these users, surprised by the unrequested verification, chose to hide these checkmarks, a choice that will be soon
revoked. Now, the implications of this policy change extend beyond user dissatisfaction, though it also provides fertile ground for fraudulent activities, as observed with the platform's recent issues around URL manipulation. X's system, which automatically changed mentions of the Twitter.com URL to x.com, inadvertently facilitated phishing by allowing scammers to
exploit modified URLs. Our concerns escalated when users noticed the automatic URL replacement on X's iOS app, turning legitimate links into potential phishing traps. Now, for example, the transformation of netflitwitter.com into netflix.com in users posts did not redirect to Netflix, but rather to the deceptive site designed by scammers. Now the public's reaction was swift, with warnings spreading about the dangers of these
altered URLs. 1 notable instance involved the user purchasing A misleading domain to redirect visitors to a warning page, thereby preventing potential phishing attacks. Now, despite this backlash, though, X temporarily rolled back the automatic URL change feature after public outcry and media coverage, though concerns about similar issues persist. This reflects the ongoing challenges of Musk's platform as it faces and attempts to innovate while managing user
trust and safety. The series of policy shifts and their execution under Musk's ownership illustrates how he does broader, abrupt changes without telling anybody what's going on and disregards user feedback or potential negative feedback. Seems like Elon Musk just kind of does what he wants to do. It's his platform. He can do whatever he wants. Now.
This approach has led to a growing perception of X as a platform where unilateral decisions are common and user autonomy is increasingly restricted. Now, as X continues to evolve under Musk's ambitious directive, platform risks alienating a portion of its user base who value transparency and control over their online personas. Removal of the ability to hide blue checks is just one example of policy changes that may have lasting implications on the platform's community dynamics
and user engagement. Now, looking ahead, the platform's direction under Musk will likely continue to stir debate and scrutiny as it balances innovation with user satisfaction. How X navigates these challenges will be crucial in determining its position within the competitive landscape of social media platforms going forward, including threads, Facebook, et cetera.
So X decision to remove the ability to hide these blue checks and the shift of the Twitter to x.com domain, well, we're going to see where this leads, but hopefully they can get the domain redirect figured out. It's a kind of simple thing that they could be doing, but apparently they messed this one up. Maybe somebody's getting fired. I don't know. Elon doesn't like when people mess up, so stay tuned. We'll have more information about this on a day by day
ongoing basis. So thank you so much for this thing. Hey, thank you so much for listening today. I really do appreciate your support. If you could take a second and hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening on right now, I'd greatly appreciate it. It helps out the show tremendously and you'll never miss an episode and each. Episode. Is about 10 minutes or less to
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