The owner of the @x Twitter handle, Gene X Hwang, confirmed that the company, now rebranded as X, took control of his account abruptly and without any form of financial compensation. According to the company, the handle is considered the property of X.
Previously, the handle had been owned by Gene X Hwang, who operates the corporate photography and videography studio Orange Photography. In a letter to Hwang, the company, formerly known as Twitter, expressed gratitude for his loyalty and extended an offer of X merchandise and a tour of X's headquarters as a gesture of appreciation.
Mishandled Rebrand:
The mishandling of the @x handle was just one of the many chaotic steps taken during Twitter's rebranding to X, which is reportedly Elon Musk's favourite letter. According to reports, Twitter failed to secure the intellectual property rights for the "X" brand, leaving it vulnerable to claims from Microsoft, Meta, and other entities with "X" trademarks. Additionally, the company did not obtain permission from the city to remove the Twitter signage on the building, resulting in the police halting the removal process.
Moreover, Twitter's website and app were not fully updated, despite displaying the "X" logo; they still urged users to "search Twitter" or "Tweet" using the old name.
Consequently, while Twitter's account was renamed "X," the handle remained as "@Twitter" until today.
Aftermath:
Hwang expressed surprise that the company did not contact him regarding his @x account, which he owned and had set to private, considering the corporate rebranding. However, he mentioned that he would be willing to discuss the matter with the company if they wished to acquire the handle.
Usually, sought-after online usernames receive offers in the thousands of dollars when sold on secondary marketplaces. However, in Hwang's case, he was not offered any financial compensation; instead, the handle was simply taken from him. While this action falls within Twitter's rights, it was not a favourable outcome for the handle's owner.
When Twitter officially changed its handle to @x, Hwang tweeted from his new handle @x1234567998765, saying, "All's well that ends well."
