11 August 2023 , 18:36
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The Twitter logo sign that used to hang on the company's headquarters building will be auctioned off, along with hundreds of other memorabilia.
Twitter, now rebranded as X under owner Elon Musk's leadership, is organizing a large garage sale to clear out a total of 548 items, remnants of its past at the company's headquarters.
Items available for auction include various office furniture, unique statues like "#" and "@" symbols, paintings including Ellen DeGeneres' iconic 2014 Oscar selfie and Barack Obama's reelection celebration, a bird cage with a Twitter logo bird, a reconstructed barn, musical instruments, and office equipment like desks, chairs, and refrigerators.
It comes weeks after the Twitter logo sign was taken down from the building of the company's headquarters, and was replaced with a massive, flashing 'X' sign. However, that one was also taken down a few days later, and the reason why remains unclear.
The sign was taken down and replaced with a giant 'X' (Getty Images)The auction, managed by Heritage Global Partners, is scheduled for September 12-13 in San Francisco, with a starting bid of $25 for the 584 items. This isn't the first time Twitter has auctioned off memorabilia, as a similar attempt was made in January.
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Mr Musk's changes to Twitter since his acquisition less than a year ago have included employee layoffs, a paywall, and reduced account authentication.
Several companies had reduced their advertising spending on the platform due to concerns that Elon Musk's relaxation of content restrictions was enabling the spread of hateful and toxic speech.
Linda Yaccarino, the new CEO of X, told CNBC in her first interview since she took over that she has been working extensively over the past eight weeks to rebuild relationships with major brands and advertisers on the platform.
The organisation's rebranding is taking place under Elon Musk's ownership (Getty Images)Ms Yaccarino's efforts reportedly have been focused on reaching out to prominent brands like Coca-Cola, Visa, and State Farm, engaging directly with their chief marketing officers and chief executives.
Ms Yaccarino's aim has been to remind these brands of the platform's potential and the economic benefits of partnering once again. She said: "I’ve lived on a lot of planes lately, direct conversations with CMOs and CEOs, and we cover a lot of ground and I focus on those that have either maybe paused or reduced spending to remind them about the power of the platform and the power of the user base and the economic potential of them partnering with us again."
She mentioned that one of the challenges is that some big advertisers may not have been certain about who to communicate with, given the substantial reduction in staff from around 8,000 workers to 1,500 since Mr Musk's takeover.
Ms Yaccarino said she has been assuring advertisers that tailored brand safety measures will ensure their ads are placed alongside appropriate content.
Major sponsors took their advertising money away since Elon Musk took over Twitter (Bloomberg via Getty Images)She also indicated that the platform is attempting to strike a balance between Mr Musk's commitment to free speech and implementing techniques that make it harder for toxic posts to gain prominence among most users. “If it is lawful, but it’s awful, it’s extraordinarily difficult to see it,” Ms Yaccarino said.
In her role under Elon Musk, Ms Yaccarino clarified that while Mr Musk focuses on product design and technological innovation, she oversees various aspects of the company, including partnerships, legal matters, sales, and finance.
“Elon focuses on product design. He leads a team of extraordinary engineers and focuses on new technology,” she said. "So think about it as Elon is working on accelerating the rebrand and working on the future. And I’m responsible for the rest. Running the company from partnerships to legal to sales to finance, all the things.”
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She emphasized her autonomy in this role and compared it to a relay race, with Mr Musk handing off ideas and innovations to her for execution and economic growth.
Ms Yaccarino also spoke of her attention to Meta's Threads, a new competitor to Twitter. Despite a drop in user interest after an initial surge, she remains vigilant about competition and the need to continually adapt to evolving market trends.