Latest news with #X-inspired
Hans India
6 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as X CEO After Two-Year Stint
Linda Yaccarino is officially stepping down as CEO of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, marking the end of her two-year tenure at the company. Yaccarino confirmed her decision today, but there's no word yet on who will take the helm next. 'When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company,' Yaccarino shared. 'I'm immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.' After two incredible years, I've decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏. When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I'm immensely grateful to him for entrusting me… — Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) July 9, 2025 Her exit follows recent turbulence, including xAI's controversial update to its Grok chatbot, which has been criticised for promoting antisemitic content and praise for Hitler. Yaccarino, who previously served as an advertising executive at NBC Universal, was named CEO in May 2023, shortly after Elon Musk's acquisition and rebranding of Twitter to X. Musk had stated then that Yaccarino would focus on the business side while he concentrated on product design and technology. Despite efforts to transform the company, X has faced stiff competition from Meta's Threads—now boasting over 350 million monthly users—and Bluesky, which continues to roll out X-inspired features. Musk publicly thanked her, replying to her announcement with, 'Thank you for your contributions.' Thank you for your contributions — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2025 Yaccarino's departure marks another significant shift for X as it navigates its mission to become the so-called 'Everything App.'
Business Insider
01-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Meta's advertisers didn't flinch after it shook up content moderation
Meta's content-moderation mishaps used to be the talk of Madison Avenue, when advertisers would lambast the tech giant over its so-called brand safety concerns. But it's a new era, and advertisers are spending through it. The company's first-quarter revenue, which is almost entirely derived from advertising, reached $42 billion in the quarter, ahead of analysts' expectations and up 16% year over year. In January, Meta said it was replacing third-party fact-checkers with an X-inspired community notes system on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The company said it also planned to bring back more political content to users' timelines and was easing content moderation rules around topics like gender identity and immigration. Advertisers and industry analysts told BI in January that while the changes made them feel uneasy, they'd likely continue to spend with Meta as long as it delivered the large audiences and ad performance they've come to expect from the platform. On the earnings call, Meta's execs credited the momentum of its AI-powered suite of ad tools, Advantage Plus. These tools automate many aspects of creating an ad campaign, from identifying the types of users to target to creating the images in the ads themselves. Susan Lee, Meta's chief financial officer, said there had been some spending reductions from Asia-based e-commerce advertisers targeting US users, likely in anticipation of President Donald Trump ending the de minimis tax loophole on May 2. The exemption had allowed the likes of Temu and Shein — huge Meta advertisers — to ship orders under $800 from China without paying duty fees. Meta said its ad business would remain strong, pushing aside fears of a tariff-induced advertising slowdown. It's expecting to post revenue of between $42.5 billion and $45.5 billion next quarter, ahead of the $44 billion analysts had anticipated. Nick Manning, a former ad agency exec and founder of the marketing consultancy Encyclomedia International, told BI that major advertisers still have deep concerns about user safety and the type of content that gets published on major tech platforms. Part of Meta's resilience, he said, is that it's less reliant on blue-chip companies and more on the millions of small and medium-sized businesses that advertise across its sites and apps. Indeed, the company said Wednesday that online commerce companies were the largest contributors to its ad sales growth in the quarter. "Meta, for certain kinds of advertisers, still delivers the goods — and those advertisers aren't really bothered about user safety and brand safety," Manning said. Meta said in January that it continued to be focused on ensuring brand safety and suitability by offering a range of tools for advertisers. While it faces the same macroeconomic uncertainty as many other businesses, Meta is doing so from a position of strength. "Advertisers will allocate more ad dollars to proven, sophisticated networks like Facebook and Instagram — all while pulling back spend on smaller social platforms — while they navigate uncertainty," said Minda Smiley, a senior analyst at the research firm EMARKETER, a BI sister company. Just take a look at the contrasting fortunes of Snap. Its shares plummeted Tuesday after it reported first-quarter revenue and earnings that were in line with expectations but said it wouldn't share guidance for the second quarter, blaming the macroeconomic uncertainty.
