The Daily Scoop: Elon Musk has a moment of clarity over X’s possible future

Elon Musk had an epiphany recently, X, formerly known as Twitter, could collapse, Business Insider reported.

“The sad truth is that there are no great ‘social networks’ right now,” Musk posted Aug. 19 on X. “We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.”

Musk has been trying to make then-Twitter “better than ever” for a while, per an April CNN article. But it’s not working. From the out-of-nowhere X rebrand to announcing he would do away with the blocking feature among other terrible business decisions impacting brands and users, it’s easy to argue that Musk has made Twitter demonstrably worse than when he purchased it.

Why it matters: Musk, in a moment of clarity, seemed to acknowledge what everyone else has been saying: X could fail. Despite this, he also noted ongoing efforts to improve the platform. Yet, before making more supposed improvements is Musk really listening to others? Stopping to take in what people are saying? It doesn’t seem like it. PhilosophiCat replied to Musk’s message that “at every step” the platform makes “unpopular decisions” though Musk said when he took over then-Twitter he would listen to what users wanted.

“And yet, here we are,” the poster noted.

Here we are indeed.

Musk’s insistence that the platform is trying to be better and provide solutions is a moot point if it’s“solving problems” their audience doesn’t see as problems. X’s platform improvement promises will come across as ringing hollow due to a lack of audience trust. Stakeholders are more willing to follow you when you take them on a journey to understand the decision-making process instead of just shoving changes in their faces like X has done countless times. Being combative with users and appearing unstable doesn’t help Musk’s case either. While stakeholders can’t be in the room where decisions are made, it’s still our job to engage them. Finding out what they want can make people feel included. And even if an unpopular decision has to be made at least they can connect the dots and learn the why — something Musk consistently fails to communicate, usually choosing to belittle and mock those who disagree with his decisions.

Editor’s Top Picks:

• Meta’s Threads wants to make a comeback with an upcoming web version launch. With daily active users down by 82%, the nascent social media platform is working to woo users with more robust features the app lacked at launch. The platform’s anticipated desktop debut would aim to solve one of the user’s headaches, but it’s still struggling to find a unique value proposition. Threads has to continue to position itself as valuable or stakeholders will keep losing interest, no matter how many new features they add.
• Lysol partnered with Johnathon Hines, a Georgia pre-K Teacher of the Year, for its Healthy Schools initiative, including a Welcome Back Pack that gives educators fun resources to help children learn healthy classroom behaviors. Hines celebrated the program’s fifth year by creating a “Don’t Let Germs Go Viral” poster. “It’s important that I teach my students to practice healthy habits in fun yet relatable ways, so kids stay healthy and miss less school,” Hines said in a Lysol press release. Lysol partnered with a school to reach a target demographic to creatively spread the word about not spreading germs.
• It’s never too late to reinvent yourself. That’s the message that actress-singer Idina Menzel embodies at 52 years old. Her emboldened rise on TikTok is a welcome change as she connects more with Gen Z over snippets of her stopping traffic or disregarding Hollywood telling her she’s too old for a role. Her recent TikToks are set to her new album, “Drama Queen.” Menzel told The Washington Post that she wants to “lean into the fact that I have this new music that I’m excited to share and just bring out the silly side of me.”

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com.