This must be attention-grabbing.
As a part of its renewed effort to get extra creators posting long-form content material to the app, X has introduced that it’s going to pay out 1,000,000 {dollars} to the creator of the most well-liked X article posted through the present payout interval, which ends on January thirtieth.
As per X:
“We’re doubling down on what creators on 𝕏 do greatest: writing. In 2026, our objective is to acknowledge high-value, high-impact content material that shapes dialog, breaks information and strikes tradition.”
X says that the successful article have to be unique, be at the very least 1,000 phrases in size, and will likely be judged “totally on Verified Residence Timeline impressions.”
Additionally, solely U.S. customers are eligible.
You additionally, in fact, need to be an X Premium subscriber, as a result of X’s long-form publishing choice is simply accessible to paying customers, although X did not too long ago broaden articles to all X Premium subscribers, not simply Premium+ clients.
Which, primarily based on X’s Premium subscriber numbers, implies that in all probability fewer than 300k customers are eligible for the prize. And with a fraction of these customers truly posting long-form content material, your probabilities of turning into a millionaire are literally fairly good. I imply, approach higher odds than the lottery.
So how are you going to win?
Effectively, the important thing aspect to bear in mind right here is that the first standards is verified impressions, or what number of occasions your long-form article is proven to paying X customers. And since the algorithm will present articles to customers primarily based on engagement, that implies that you’ll want to put in writing one thing that’ll resonate with X’s paying person base.
I do know what you’re pondering, however wanting on the precise X articles knowledge, you’ll have to perform a little extra than simply writing one thing that aligns with Elon’s favourite pet matters.
Perhaps.
Taking a look at X articles engagement insights from final 12 months, the highest 5 best-performing articles on the platform have been:
- A deep dive into alleged irregularities and accountability points on the Pentagon, sparking discussions on authorities transparency.
- An in-depth exploration of world financial tendencies, fiscal insurance policies, and funding methods in a unstable market.
- A passionate fan perspective on Tesla’s improvements, management, and future in electrical autos and tech.
- A humorous but pointed satirical tackle present occasions, mixing comedy with social commentary.
- One other entry in Amuse’s sequence of satirical commentaries on politics and tradition, contributing to their main place.
So truly, publishing a put up about how authorities regulation is dangerous, however Tesla is nice, would in all probability be one of the best ways to go, as lots of you’ll have guessed.
Need a simple $1 million?
I’d recommend writing an article about how Grok is now so nice at inventory market evaluation and prediction you can let it make your inventory buying and selling selections for you, and the way you’ve used this methodology to generate tens of millions utilizing your individual money.
Perhaps it’s true, possibly not, however I assure it would hit all the important thing markers for X Premium customers (particularly if you happen to additionally embody a notice about the way you used the money to purchase a Cybertruck).
So, what’s X’s purpose right here?
Effectively, as I famous earlier within the month, X may be very eager to get extra long-form content material flowing by means of its circuits, as a method to broaden on its information financial institution for its xAI tasks. X clearly has a heap of short-form posts to feed into its system, nevertheless it additionally wants longer, extra in-depth reporting, and it’s hoping that it may possibly persuade extra journalists, particularly, to put up extra of their stuff to the app, with the intention to broaden its insights stream.
But, on the similar time, Elon continues to amplify his many, many private gripes with “mainstream” journalists by way of his X account, which is probably the most adopted single profile within the app, whereas his varied adjustments to the platform have remodeled what was as soon as a key platform for journalists right into a hostile atmosphere, which only a few will likely be seeking to come again to anytime quickly.
Certain, $1 million is a giant carrot, however the necessity to attraction to paying X customers may be very a lot a complicating issue, which is unlikely to seize the eye of the supposed goal group.
However it would result in an inflow of long-form content material, within the short-term at the very least, and it might assist to lift curiosity in X posting to some extent. Whether or not it is a one-off prize or a part of X’s longer-term push to make broaden creator payouts is one other issue that can play a component.
My guess could be that some partisan, AI-generated assume piece will take out the prize on the finish of the month, and that X will abandon the idea utterly shortly after, as soon as it finds out that Grok is definitely the author (count on Elon to sue the winner with the intention to recoup the prize cash if that is so).
X will then do what each different platform is doing, signal offers with publishers to feed in additional long-form materials, however for now, X is attempting out one other technique to meet two key objectives, in bringing extra content material to the app, and getting extra in-depth writing to enhance its AI outputs.
I think they’ll must do much more to make X a extra interesting house for high quality long-form content material, however possibly, throwing sufficient cash at it would kickstart a snowball impact for X articles.
