Dec 21, 22 | 6 min read
Twitter retrospective in 2022
Reading time: 5 minutes
2022 was certainly not a dull year for the blue-bird social network. In addition to all the controversies that are usually the subject of Twitter, from celebrities to politics, the big topic was the network itself, acquired by Elon Musk after a real purchase saga.
But the moves did not stop there. The new owner remained controversial, firing hundreds of employees, promising dubious changes and suspending the accounts of journalists who criticized his actions.
One of the latest changes promised by Elon Musk was the character limit: increasing tweets from 280 to 4000 characters , modifying the main attribute of the network: being a microblogging service.
Below, we'll tell you everything that happened on Twitter in 2022 related to its sale, the consequences known so far, and how brands can react.
Elon Musk starts buying Twitter shares
It all started in January, when Elon Musk began buying Twitter shares almost daily, reaching 5% of the social network in March. Once he reaches that limit, Musk must publicly disclose the purchase, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, Musk delayed the formal disclosure , which only took place in April. This move allowed him to acquire another 4.2% of Twitter before the news sent the stock soaring.
By owning 9.2% of the social network, Elon Musk became its largest shareholder . As a result, he was appointed to the company's board of directors , but he declined the invitation, even after tweeting several proposals for changes on his personal account.
Twitter is sold for $44 billion
Also in April, Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter sudan email address for $44 billion , a proposal accepted by the company's board of directors. However, in May, Musk put the purchase on hold and, in July, announced his plans to withdraw, questioning the number of fake and disconnected users on the network.
A legal battle then began to force the businessman to honour his initial proposal and acquire the social network. The dispute lasted until October, when Musk fulfilled the agreement and acquired Twitter for the amount initially offered, after a deadline stipulated by the US court.
Musk initiates dozens of changes to Twitter
The social network was already working on implementing some features , such as the edit button and the possibility of opting for a chronological feed.
Musk's entry, however, brought much more controversial changes. Take a look at some of them:
COVID-19 Disinformation Policy
Nearly a month after Elon Musk bought Twitter, the social network announced that it would no longer enforce its policy on misleading information regarding COVID-19 .
In practice, the site will no longer flag tweets that spread misinformation on the topic, raising concerns among users, the press and public bodies, as it is one of the most widely used social networks worldwide.
Blue Tweet
After a disastrous attempt to make verified accounts available to any user, without any verification of information, Twitter has returned with this possibility. Twitter Blue allows users to purchase the blue badge for $8 per month. If the purchase is made through iOS, the amount increases to $11 per month.
The option is not yet available in all countries. However, to buy a blue stamp, it will only be necessary to authenticate the cell phone number and the user will not be able to change data such as photo and name in the seven days prior to the purchase.
In addition to the changes to the blue seal, coloured seals were also created, which are still being implemented: gold for companies and grey for governments and multilateral accounts.
Character increase
Another recently announced change is the increase in characters. In response to a user on Twitter, Elon confirmed that the network will be increasing the text limit from 280 to 4000 characters .
The change has not yet appeared and it is not known when and how it should happen. However, it seems to be related to trying to influence users to use the tool itself to share larger texts, instead of resorting to screenshots of text applications.
Links to other social networks were prohibited
The site also announced that it will ban the inclusion of links to other social networks in tweets, in order to promote them. The networks include Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribal, Post and Nostr .
So-called cross-posting, such as including YouTube videos in a Tweet, will not be prohibited.
