With Elon Musk’s new purchase finalised, he is now in charge of Twitter. His first big change? Twitter verification. The process will now cost users $7.99 per month to keep their blue tick. What if they don’t pay? Well, the platform will simply remove their tick.
Twitter has officially been purchased by Elon Musk after what seemed like a lengthy process. However, the changes that are already being discussed won’t suit everyone. Many users who have rightfully earned their blue tick, will now have to pay to keep it. It seems very unfair that being verified on Twitter is now just another moneymaker. How will the smaller businesses, or individuals that are on the platform with good intentions but don’t earn an influencer wage survive?
Does this mean the process of being verified will still remain the same? Or, will it simply be a case of paying for your badge? Surely, identifying and proving the person is who they say they are is far more important than money making. But, then again, Elon Musk is known for being the richest man in the world, so perhaps not. Where will it end though? What element of the app will be next? Or, will he just not stop until Twitter becomes a place for the rich?
What if you’re already Twitter verified?
What about those already verified? Well, it seems Twitter will allow a 90 grace period and then, if the money has not been paid, they’ll revoke their verification. It’s going along the assumption that all verified account owners have the funds to pay for their badge. Influencers and celebrities may be able to justify this payment, but smaller businesses and those who aren’t earning big money won’t.
Will anyone be exempt? It’s unclear yet. It doesn’t seem fair if Twitter start charging charities and other organisations that are non profit. After all, the point is they aren’t making money for themselves. Therefore, they don’t have the excess funds to pay to prove they are who they say they are. Twitter already have paid avenues. They currently have Twitter Blue which costs $4.99 a month and is available across four countries.
Are Twitter Blue users excluded?
It doesn’t look like Twitter Blue users will be able to avoid the excess cost. They’ll still be required to pay $7.99 for their blue tick. It will be interesting to see if Twitter eventually do a combined pricing plan to include everything. Elon Musk has recently done some research into the idea of paid verifications. A poll was put out across Twitter by Jason Calcanis who belongs to the billionaire club… The poll asked how much users would be willing to pay for verification on Twitter.
Not surprisingly, the majority of people said they wouldn’t pay. Elon Musk then got involved in this and replied to the poll. His reply simply stated “Interesting”. So, now he has it in writing that the majority of Twitter users have no interest in paying for a verification service – will he continue? Is there much point, or will he just turn people away? Surely, he can make money in other ways. After all, Twitter Blue is still relatively new to the platform, there is so much potential there.
Yes, Musk has said he wants to eliminate the bots and spam accounts, but this doesn’t seem like the best way to do it. He will only end up alienating the individuals and small businesses that rely on social media as a way of marketing themselves. Pushing away those who strive to expand isn’t a good look for the world’s richest man. Twitter verifications have always been about proving you are who you say you are. Just like every other platform. Any account which could be copied should be able to authenticate themselves.
