Since then, the platform has become an increasingly polarised and divisive space.
Muskpromised to dealwith some of the issues which had already frustrated users, particularly bots, abuse and misinformation.
Butothers disagree, claiming that misinformation is still rife there.
The figures also come out against the background ofa disagreementover whether Xs traffic is waning or not.
The platform currently has no clear pathway to profitability.
Xs loss has naturally been a gain for its competitors.
Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022.
This is still quite small compared to Xs550 million usersand Threads200 million users.
Threads also benefits by being connected to Instagram.
Likewise, Meta can probably afford to prop up Threads.
But Bluesky will have to find inventive ways to remain viable as a platform.
So is it the right time for users to try something completely different on social media?
Moderating content is tricky, as it requires a lot of resources and support for those using the platform.
But the contrast withElon Musks approachto ownership is stark.
Think of it as the one nice, cool bar in town that suddenly becomes popular.
Once everyone hears about the bar, the troublemakers start to arrive.
When that happens, the good people have to find a bar elsewhere.
Alternative approaches
But as was evident with X, that is unlikely to be enough.
Xsannual revenue peakedat US$5 billion (3.8 billion) in 2021 and has beenin decline ever since.
This also takes into account how the platform has culled thousands of jobs in the past two years.
Thesubscription modelis not new to social media.
X has its own paid-for blue checkmark and LinkedIn has a premium subscription.
This alone still does not guarantee a profitable or functioning social media platform.
Having a subscription-based social media platform is not exactly equitable either, as not everyone can afford to pay.
The trade off is that free users would have to deal with the inconvenience of adverts on their timelines.
It also may not sit well with shareholders focused on profitability.
There are big, mainstream alternatives of course: Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, butTwitteroffered something different.
Andy Tattersall, Information Specialist,University of Sheffield
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license.
