u.today
Elon Musk, the chairman of the X social media platform, has announced plans to overhaul the entire content strategy with an emphasis on reputation. He pointed out that the new AI-powered X algorithm will weigh out those who like a post versus the mute or blockage an account receives.
Implication of X strategy change
Elon Musk said this new update is a means to "maximize unregretted user-seconds." Accounts with more blockage will have very limited reach, impacting their influence overall.
Since Elon Musk took over the platform, there has been a series of adjustments to improve user experience. This new reputation-based content ranking will not apply to old events, as Musk confirmed to a user in a follow-up post on X.
As a growing industry with very controversial personalities, some forms of censorship for users in the crypto ecosystem might exist.
Commenting on the new algorithm adjustment, Shiba Inu's marketing lead, Lucie, said the coming changes are unfair as they might "punish people for being blocked, even if they're just sharing unpopular opinions."
This is dumb because it punishes people for being blocked, even if they’re just sharing unpopular opinions. It assumes “credible accounts” are always fair, which isn’t true, and encourages bland, safe content over real conversations.
— 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐄 (@LucieSHIB) December 27, 2024
It’s easy to abuse, creates echo chambers,…
She claims the algorithm assumes credible accounts are always fair and might encourage more conservative conversations over real ones. In her opinion, these new content chambers might be echo chambers and go against the real push for freedom of speech. Recall that Binance exchange contributed $500 million to back this free speech agenda.
Other users have also flagged what might be targeted attacks against an account, a valid point that the X management has yet to respond to.
What now?
The X social media platform is considered the major town square for the crypto ecosystem. Elon Musk fuels many conversations surrounding meme coins and AI, a sustained trend that can further help the industry.
While it remains uncertain how this X content strategy will impact the crypto ecosystem, key opinion leaders (KOL) may have to cautiously work on their reputations to stay relevant on the platform.
With much of the backlash, it remains unclear if there will be some roll back or adjustment to the content upgrade.