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Once known simply as Twitter,  today’s X  has undergone one of the most dramatic transformations in the history of social media. What started as a space for quick updates is now a bold, fast-moving platform at the heart of global conversations, real-time news, and digital marketing.

This article dives into the X success story—how it defied the odds, adapted to change, and redefined its purpose after Elon Musk’s high-profile acquisition in 2022. From leadership changes to ambitious plans for an “everything app” powered by AI and payments, X is no longer just a social network—it’s a vision for the future.

What sets X apart today is its unmatched ability to spark real-time engagement and build authentic brand conversations. With a user base that’s curious, connected, and ready to act, X is proving that impact matters more than size—and that the future of social media may already be here.

Important Highlights: X (Twitter) Company

Introduction: X success story

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The company was formed in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, and Noah Glass. Twitter, now X, started as a micro-blogging and social media platform in the United States. First built as a podcasting company under the hallmarks of Odeo, it first got the name “Twttr” before adopting its later fame as Twitter.

Through its short posts called “tweets”, the company has allowed the use of their services to communicate with fellow users and even with the outside world regarding news or thoughts, and even media. At first, they were restricted to 140 characters; it turned into 280 characters in 2017, except for some languages like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, among others. Users may also post audio and video, maxing at 140 seconds.

It is free and accounts can be created within a minute. Connecting with other people can be done by following someone, retweeting, or looking into trending topics of interest. X is everything from breaking news to entertainment as a real live feed for anyone around the world.

X remains, in all indications, one of the major platforms for communications in digital spaces by 2025 and is likely to continue redefining itself given the rapid and dynamic evolution of the internet.

Founders & Team of Twitter

While talking about the founding of the Twitter platform, four people were involved in the creation of Twitter; it was not conceived by an individual nor solely through the efforts of one. It was born out of a combination of microblogging geniuses. Here we are listing the people who are involved in making of the world known social media platform “X”.

Jack Dorsey

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Jack Dorsey, an important person from St. Louis, is an American tech entrepreneur born November 19, 1976: best known as co-founder and former CEO of Twitter. From an early age, Jack was drawn to the workings of communication systems; at 15, he developed a software program that helped taxi companies dispatch their drivers. 

He attended the University of Missouri for a while, then transferred to New York University, only to drop out after one term. In 2000, he moved to Oakland to pursue dispatch software. During the process, he thought of combining instant messaging and dispatch systems, leading to Twitter’s birth in 2006 with the help of Odeo. The first tweet ever was “Just setting up my twttr.” 

Dorsey also co-founded Block, Inc., a mobile payments company, and became CEO in 2021. He stepped down from the board of Twitter on May 25, 2022.

Noah Glass 

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Noah Glass is an American businessman and one of the co-founders of Twitter. Before Twitter, he co-founded the podcasting company Odeo, which became a seedbed for Twitter in 2006. Wanted to be part of one such poll-on effect triggering factors while working industrially with Marc Canter of Macromind at Industrial Light and Magic. 

The next in line saw AudBlog being co-developed with Evan Williams and formed a major part of the founding of Odeo. With Odeo heading downhill, the worms were slowly making their way into Twitter. He coined the name “Twitter,” speaking of it as “Twttr” at first, and was instrumental in suggesting many early features, yet he is largely overlooked in history.

Biz Stone

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Biz Stone, a key member of the Twitter developer team born on March 10th, 1974, is a co-founder of Twitter. He began his education at Wellesley High School; he went on to have some time at Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts Boston, but did not complete a degree. From 1999 to 2001, Stone worked at Xanga as a creative director and later held a senior executive position at Google from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, he co-founded Twitter and is the holder of a patent for that company. 

In 2014, Stone launched Jelly, a visual search engine later bought by Pinterest. Stone returned to Twitter in 2017. His honours are the International Centre for Journalists Innovation Award, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, and GQ’s Nerd of the Year Award.

Evan Williams

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He was born Evan Edward Williams on March 31, 1972, in Clarks, Nebraska, the most famous of the Twitter co-founders. After dropping out of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he did various tech jobs and later went to O’Reilly Media, switching from marketing to coding. 

In 1999, Williams co-founded Pyra Labs, which created some of the first blogging tools. He then helped found Odeo, a podcasting service, and in 2006 took part in the launch of Twitter. In 2012, Evans would revive Medium, a generalisation of the popular publishing site. This earned him awards from MIT Technology Review in 2003 and PC Magazine in 2004.

Acquisition of Twitter | Making “X” by Elon Musk

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On April 4, 2022, a capitalist venture for high-impact investment was created as Elon Musk, who happens to be the richest man in the world and a visionary entrepreneur, shook the world of technology by acquiring the largest stake in Twitter. His economy contribution in the company was the primary factor which help him to acquire it.  

He was initially offered a board seat, but declined because he hinted at bigger things. On April 14, just ten days after the last controversial board member change, he officially offered to buy Twitter and take the entire thing private for $44 billion, stating it would be to preserve free speech.

Twitter reacted with a ‘poison pill’ defence, but finally, on April 25, the board warmed up to the $44 billion offer by Musk’s people. However, obstacles arose in the agreement owing to concerns about the fake accounts, where Musk claimed that more than 5% of users were bots. On July 9, Musk tried to back out of the contract, leading Twitter to sue him in court in Delaware. The legal battle continued to heat up, with a judge eventually pushing for the deal to proceed.

Initially, the deal was completed in 2022, and immediately afterwards, Musk fired some top high-profile executives. He also announced sweeping changes, such as an $8 monthly fee for the coveted blue tick, which won him widespread criticism. But as ever, Musk stood firm and reformed Twitter in his image.

Just after Twitter’s acquisition, Musk changed the name to “X”, which is now visible in its platform, which is under the total control of the richest person in the world. 

Twitter: Business Model

Twitter’s business model is that of a platform business—it tries to bring together user groups, mainly content creators and the content consumer, to gain value. In the same way as any other social network, users of Twitter could interact through sharing and experiencing global content postings. Very easy and simple registration: a username and password are required to tweet, and access through the public can browse content, but can’t post.

With its plates shared for registered users, it enables maximum text posts up to 280 characters or videos up to 140 seconds. The allowance of this most condensed form connotes cloud conversations almost in real time, making Twitter a news source, hotspots of trends, and opinions.

That makes Twitter especially powerful by having a complementary global reach. The platform allows brands, people, and influencers to communicate their messages instantly to millions corresponding to them. In its yield, such high visibility and targeted ad campaigns are granted to advertisers. On the other hand, the data licensing arm of the company allows the partners to mine insights from the public conversation to help businesses and analysts remain on the cutting edge and predictive.

To describe it more clearly, the earnings come from both advertising and data partnerships. Although the company hasn’t stopped there, it’s figuring out other ways to earn money. Twitter’s potentially largest new area is premium features and paid services, which can increase and diversify its sources of revenue. This is beneficial not only to the company but also to users, advertisers, and data partners.

Twitter: Revenue Model

In 2025, X (formerly Twitter) is projected to gain around 7.86 billion USD (Expected) in total revenue, which constitutes a modest rise from when the global usage of advertising was pegged at a 16.5% growth rate, as per the analysis given by the market experts. Advertisements coming from outside the United States are expected to grow by 17.5% in the future stake, indicating a renewed focus from advertisers who, until now, expressed uncertainty in the past.

The numbers may indicate recovery, but the industry outlook shows mixed reactions. Some analysts feel very positive regarding the long-term valuation of X, especially due to some strategic pivots and product changes during Elon Musk’s tenure. Still, doubts remain about diminishing user engagement and activity on the platform as a whole, which may come as a hindrance to sustained ad growth. The diminishing ad revenue will be a challenge for X, given that the bulk of its revenue still comes from advertising.

In a response, X is now looking into new avenues for monetising the service: through subscriptions, premium features, and creator-oriented tools. Thus, the platform’s ability to innovate while keeping users and advertisers on board will be crucial for sustaining a viable financial future. X stands in a transitional stage, balancing growth opportunities with the necessity of winning back the trust and engagement of its global user base.

Competitors: Twitter

• Pinterest
• Facebook
• Snapchat
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Bluesky
• Mastodon
• Threads
• Koo

Conclusion: X success story

A whole lot is going on with the transformation process of X, as Twitter was rebranded, in this critical period of 2025. Projections are that revenues will reach $7.86 billion, with a rebound in advertising sales. Still, worries remain regarding user interaction and long-term prospects for growth. Under Elon, X has engaged in some drastic modifications, including introducing subscription payments and monetising content, all in a bid to spur an absolute diversification of revenues and become relevant again. 

Although ads remain the major revenue stream, the success of the platform is now contingent on its ability to maintain users by rebuilding their trust and following the trends of digitalisation. The further extent of X will depend on its ability to maintain a balance between innovation and advertisers’ and users’ needs, ultimately shaping its X success story.