A week after taking over as Twitter CEO, Elon Musk said Twitter usage was “higher than ever” amid mass layoffs (and rehire attempts), advertiser abandonment and changes political suddenness.
“Twitter usage has never been so high lol”, wrote Muskadding “I just hope the servers don’t melt!”.
Musk also tweeted a graph showing that monetizable daily active users (mDAU – monetizable daily active usage) from Twitter grew rapidly – from 240 million to 255 million since July, while US mDAUs grew by three million. The Financial Times reported on Monday that Twitter emailed advertisers saying Twitter user growth is “accelerating” and has reached “historic highs” in Musk’s first week as captain.
Twitter mDAUs increased by 20%
The email, sent to advertisers on Monday, said Twitter’s mDAUs grew 20% from a growth rate of 15% in the second quarter of 2022, the last time it reported results as as a public company. Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter closed on October 27.
This metric reflects the number of logged in users who see ads on Twitter. When Twitter launched its Twitter Blue at $2.99 per month per user last November (which Musk has now increased to $8), it said it was aiming for an mDAU of 315 million in Q4 2023, up from 152 million in Q4. quarter of 2019. Twitter then hoped to double its annual revenue, which would increase from 3.7 billion dollars in 2020 to more than 7.5 billion dollars in 2023.
In its Q2 2022 results, Twitter said it reached 237.8 million mDAU, up nearly 17% year-on-year.
ad problem
The message to advertisers comes as several major brands have suspended advertising on Twitter since Musk’s takeover due to questions about his attitude towards free speech over content moderation. Among the brands that have reportedly suspended ads since Musk’s takeover are Carlsberg, General Motors, General Mills, Mondelez, United Airlines and Volkswagen.
Amid last week’s layoffs, he said it was a necessary step due to a massive drop in advertising revenue, and accused activist groups of pressuring advertisers to withdraw from Twitter.
The pace of change under Musk’s leadership has been rapid and controversial to many users. This week, Mr. Musk announced that Twitter accounts that impersonate someone without being called a parody will be permanently suspended.
Twitter behind a paywall?
Originally, Mr Musk wanted the revamped Twitter Blue service to go live on November 7, but it will now be available after the US midterm elections.
Meanwhile, articles continue to suggest big changes ahead for the social media company as Musk seeks to boost revenue: one report suggests Musk has even discussed putting the whole of Twitter behind a paywall.
Source: “ZDNet.com”