Elon Musk’s ‘everything app’: what is it and why is it so exciting?

It was previously disclosed by Elon Musk a few days prior that the $44 billion Twitter transaction was being revived in order to turn the microblogging platform into a ‘everything app’.  ‘ Buying Twitter is an accelerant to inventing X, the everything app,’ he tweeted on Tuesday.

He wants Twitter to compete with Chinese apps like WeChat, which are used for making financial transactions online, scheduling cabs, and other services, as well as other social media platforms. Musk remained mum regarding the potential future services that Twitter might provide if he takes over, though. The news, however, generated a lot of discussion over what a ‘everything app’ actually is on social media.

What is ‘everything app’?
The idea of a ‘everything app,’ also known as a ‘super app,’ is unique in the US, but it is extremely popular in Asia, where IT companies from all over the world have attempted to copy it. A super app is a platform that may offer a variety of services under one roof, which has led many to refer to it as the Swiss army knife of apps. It can offer a variety of component tools (mini-apps), which the user can use and remove as needed.

Where did the idea come from?
Producing these ‘super applications’ has shifted somewhat toward China and Southeast Asia. WeChat, GoJek, and Grab are a few that took advantage of the opportunity of consumer traffic on their platforms that originally arrived for social media and communication by offering other services resulting to greater revenue realisations. The Tata Group intends to launch its own super app in India.

Reliance Industries is combining all of its services, including shopping, streaming video, grocery shopping, payments, cloud services, etc. under the Jio brand. In contrast, Paytm, which began as a provider of digital payments, has expanded to include additional services like booking tickets, gaming, online shopping, banking, consumer financing, etc. To provide these services from within its own app, India-based Flipkart Group has partnered with businesses like Ola Cabs, Swiggy, Grofers, AJio, Decathlon, Delhi Metro, booking.com, etc.

Have other US tech companies tried this?
Owned by Snap Inc. Peer-to-peer payments were first introduced by Snapchat under the name Snapcash, but the service was discontinued in 2018. It also made a push into mobile gaming, but recently halted that endeavour as part of cost-cutting measures.