Could Elon Musk's X Become A 'Super App'? Signal's President Doesn't Think So
Meredith Whittaker, a former Google executive and co-founder of research group AI Now who become Signal's president last year, recently questioned the odds of X becoming the next super app.
Elon Musk is currently reforming X (formerly Twitter) with the goal to turn it into an everything app, just like WeChat. Meredith Whittaker, a former Google executive and co-founder of research group AI Now who become Signal's president last year, recently questioned the odds of X becoming the next super app.
Whittaker believes that the time for such super apps has passed. "People have been talking about it for years, and we still don't have a super app," she said in an interview with Swiss magazine Schweizer Monat.
X
Could X become a super app?
"Although there are such apps that are hugely popular, they are exclusively in Asia, like WeChat in China, Line in Japan and Kakao in Korea," Whittaker added. These apps appeared "when there wasn't a lot of competition in the market, and they are integrated into government service," she said.
"I don't think there's much hope for a super app that suddenly appears, displaces the competition, and then dominates multiple markets in the US," she further said.
Reuters
Also read: Mark Zuckerberg Calls It Quits On Cage Fight, Says Elon Musk 'Isn't Serious'
Musk recently onboarded Linda Yaccarino as X's CEO to improve its advertising business. He has also introduced a slurry of changes to how the platform operates. Recently, he has been testing out features like payments, live video, and even phone calls to turn X into an everything app. Even then, candidly, he said that things aren't really going well.
The sad truth is that there are no great ¡°social networks¡± right now.
¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2023
We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.
Also read: Tesla's Potential Successor Departs: Analyst Says 13 Years More Like 50 Under Elon Musk
Unsplash
Musk hopes to turn the app into somewhat of an American WeChat that offers most internet services within a single app. It has games, social media capabilities, and an e-commerce platform for brands as well. It also allows texting, voice and video calls, GPS services, payments, and more.
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