Twitter is planning to start charging $8 per month for paid verification, and this has a lot of users worried. What exactly does this mean for regular Twitter users? Will they have to pay to be verified? And what happens if they don’t subscribe within 90 days? These are all critical questions that we will try to answer in this blog post. We also want to take a look at Elon Musk’s role in all of this, and what he might have planned for the future of Twitter.
While some say that Elon Musk’s newly acquired Twitter is about to get a whole lot more expensive, others are rejoicing at the idea of being able to pay for the verification badge via a subscription. According to reports, verified users will have to subscribe by paying $8/month or they will lose their status after 90 days. Some people on the team were given an ultimatum- launch by November 7th or be fired from the project.
Why is paid verification going to change the way Twitter works?
As of right now, verification is used to let people know that an account they are interested in is authentic. In order to receive the blue badge verifying your Twitter account, your account must be active and notable. There is no fee for this service as it is designed to stop imposter accounts from taking advantage of you if your verified Twitter becomes popular. It’s unclear at the moment if everyone who has a subscription to Twitter Blue will be put into consideration for verification or only those who actively subscribe.
Twitter introduced Blue in the US at a price of $3 monthly last year, but then increased the fee to $5 in July. Subscribers get access to features such as custom icons, top articles, and (most recently) editing tweets. The company hasn’t shared subscriber numbers, income, or other information about Twitter Blue yet; however, according to Investopedia, advertising makes up almost all of its revenue (89 percent).
The move was announced by Musk yesterday via Twitter, where he stated that “the whole verification process is being revamped right now.” This means that out of the 206 million active daily users on Twitter, only 428,000 have the blue check to signify that their account has been verified.
As people have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on the new system, it’s become clear that many wouldn’t pay $8 to keep their verified status. At the same time, users have noted that this could increase Twitter’s bot and spam issues- which Elon Musk has previously spoken out against. “The point of Twitter verification is that…it’s useful to be able to verify their statements are coming from them,” tweeted cosmologist and writer Katie Mack. “It’s supposed to help combat disinformation, not be a status symbol.”
