Since Elon Musk's introduction of content monetization at X just over a month ago, the platform has witnessed a seismic shift in the behavior of content creators.
David Schwartz, the brain behind XRP Ledger and presently the CTO at Ripple, shared his insights into the paradigm shift. He pointed out that X's novel revenue-sharing model has had a profound impact on the content landscape, prompting influential bloggers to invest greater effort into fostering engagement, driven by the allure of financial gain.
This phenomenon has, however, provoked a question: Is this economic incentive elevating the content quality or inadvertently leading to its degradation?
Schwartz, adopting a reflective stance, employed a tactful approach to his commentary. Rather than presenting his views explicitly, he posed thought-provoking questions that stimulated interaction, thereby contributing to the ongoing narrative.
X's revenue sharing is driving a real content change on the platform. Those with significant followings are working harder to drive engagement because it puts money in their pockets. Is that a good thing? Or is it making the content worse?
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) August 15, 2023
In all seriousness, I made this tweet…
Addressing a follower's lament about the influx of subpar content, Schwartz ventured that the push for engagement could theoretically enhance X's overall appeal, yet cautioned against the propagation of contentious content at the expense of enlightening discourse.
Adding to the discourse, Neil Hartner, software engineer at Ripple, voiced his sentiment. He drew a parallel between X and TikTok, asserting that the recent transformation could potentially steer the platform toward a similar trajectory, but with a less effective content recommendation algorithm.
Despite the controversy, optimism persists among proponents of the change. Advocates contend that while short-term content quality may experience a dip, the prospect of long-term monetization offers a promising outlook for positive evolution on the social network.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
