I recently read online, that Elon Musk’s vision for X is to transform it from a social media platform into a super app. On the one hand I think this is exciting because of the features it plans to offer, but on the other hand I find it pretty scary because of the behavioral and strategic mechanisms that could make it stick phones in users’ daily lives even more than they already are. I recently watched a YouTube video about WeChat, which is already a super app and what fascinated me was how people rarely leave the app. From messaging and payments to booking services, the people dot it all inside a single ecosystem which has the name WeChat. Observing that made me realize that X’s real challenge is not simply copying WeChat, but creating the same kind of engagement that make users return every day and start to use other apps less and less.
X has already added peer-to-peer payments and plans to introduce investment tools (Lunden, 2024). Both of these features can generate cross-side network effects, which I think is extremely important if Musk wants to make a success out of this project. An example of the way this works could be that financial activity attracts more service providers, which in turn makes the platform more valuable for users. There are also features like messaging and content sharing which X was already known for but which still can reinforce same-side effects especially when more and more users start joining X. I think that success for Elon will depend on carefully designing the app so that in becomes more of a ecosystem rather than just a big app with many possibilities. I also think that it will be important for Musk to make sure that users perceive X as something that saves them time or improves convenience. The so called stickiest platforms are those where users feel value from simply participating.
In the end, X’s super app project is a very interesting case in platform strategy. Musk’s leadership and power, combined with clever use and knowledge of network effects and attention to user behavior, could make X a very successful and engaging ecosystem. Whether it becomes a copy WeChat or a more different more western super app, I think that its success will depend on building daily habits, not just adding services which might overwhelm the public.
And then of course, there is the question whether such a convenient and gigantic app should be seen as a blessing, or a curse to both mankind, and the world as a whole?
References
Lunden, I. (2024, February 29). X launches peer-to-peer payments with Visa partnership. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/29/x-launches-peer-to-peer-payments
ColdFusion. (2021, November 28). How China’s WeChat became an everything app [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec77S25kuVs
