Twitter Blue Price to Increase to $8 Per Month, Will Include Verification Checkmark and Other New Features

[MacRumors]

Twitter chief Elon Musk today said that the cost of the Twitter Blue subscription is going to be priced at $8 per month, which would be an increase of $3 over the current $4.99 per month price.

Twitter Blue will include priority in replies, mentions, and search, which Musk says is "essential to defeat spam/scam," the ability to post longer video and audio clips, and half as many ads.

Musk also implied that Twitter Blue would offer subscribers a blue checkmark for verification purposes, a feature that is currently limited to those at risk of identity theft such as celebrities, journalists, and other notable influencers.

Twitter Blue pricing will be adjusted by country "proportionate to purchasing power parity," and Musk said there will be some kind of "paywall bypass" for publishers that are "willing to work with [Twitter]."

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1587498907336118274

It is not clear what that last bit means, but Twitter very abruptly ended Twitter Blue ad-free access to news sites that participated in the program. MacRumors partnered with Twitter to provide Twitter Blue subscribers with ad-free articles, and on October 31, Twitter sent out notifications that ad-free articles would be disabled as of the close of the business day.

In the email, the Twitter Blue team said that resources will be instead focused on "adding additional value" for Twitter Blue members, and that an update to Twitter Blue would be debuted "in the coming weeks."

Musk is working rapidly to monetize Twitter, as the social network has historically not been particularly profitable. Musk became Twitter's CEO last Friday, and he let go of multiple Twitter executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and policy lead Vijaya Gadde.

In addition to introducing changes to Twitter Blue, Musk has also said that he plans to bring back video service Vine. Rumors suggest that Musk has shifted more than 50 Tesla engineers over to Twitter to work on the new features.

Article Link: Twitter Blue Price to Increase to $8 Per Month, Will Include Verification Checkmark and Other New Features

 

[jjudson]

Read today that apparently multi-millionaire Stephen King is very upset with the price increase...

 

[nStyle]

The whole point of the checkmark is so people know they’re talking with the real person…what’s the checkmark for if literally anyone can have it now?

 

[sorgo †]

Wake me up when Elovember ends 😴

 

[BWhaler]

Yeah, power to the people. Sure.

The Truth: he's trying to figure out how to pay $11B in debt, held mostly the Saudi’s, with a company that’s been unprofitable for the last 8 of 10 years.

These billionaires pretending they care about us or any social good is pathetic. (With the notable exception of—and I cannot believe I am typing this—Bill Gates)

 

[Macintosh Quadra 840av]

So stupid. Verification means nothing if you can just buy in. But idiots will pay it to feel special.

So now, that Russian account spamming disinformation can get "verified", while the legitimate well-known business has to pay for the same. Really makes verification meaningless. While previously, it let you know you were following the real account, rather than a fake, now it'll mean nothing more than the faker paid $8.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

What’s with Twitter and these price increases? It’s not even worth it. 👋

#Make Twitter Free Again.

 

[Kylo83]

Good on the people with the tick that think they are high and mighty will not be happy

 

[GMShadow]

The whole point of the checkmark is so people know they’re talking with the real person…what’s the checkmark for if literally anyone can have it now?

Presumably you'd still be submitting verification with your payment details. We'll see how it looks like when it rolls out.

 

[incoherent_1]

If a blue check mark on Twitter is worth $96 a year in perpetuity to you, then… well… a fool and his money…

 

[contacos]

So anyone can just pay and get verified? Kind of defeats the purpose of VERIFIED, no? Like I’d like to see news handles being verified to check a source but if anyone can just be verified?

 

[BigMcGuire]

Read today that apparently multi-millionaire Stephen King is very upset with the price increase...

I saw his tweet saying he was gone if the planned $20 upgrade happened. Still not happy bout the $8?

I never got into twitter. I thought it was kinda cool back in the day when text messages were "the thing" but always preferred to read articles and books over small tidbits of text.

Now? Twitter is a great way to get local news updates, local PD status reports, follow a few people / tv shows I find interesting but about it for me.

 

[Corsig]

What’s with Twitter and these price increases? It’s not even worth it. 👋

#Make Twitter Free Again.

It is free no one has to get this to use Twitter

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Everyone should delete their Twitter account. It sounds like if you do decide to keep it you are going to emptying your wallets.

 

[Geoff12889]

Simultaneously devaluing the blue checkmark while screwing over Twitter Blue users. Great move Elon.

 

[IsaacM]

Disabling the only quick way to differentiate between legitimate media outlets and fake news bot farms right before the 2024 election cycle?

Absolutely SHOCKING that Trump’s friend would do this 😂

 

[sorgo †]

Yeah, power to the people. Sure.

The Truth: he's trying to figure out how to pay $11B in debt, held mostly the Saudi’s, with a company that’s been unprofitable for the last 8 of 10 years.

These billionaires pretending they care about us or any social good is pathetic. (With the notable exception of—and I cannot believe I am typing this—Bill Gates)

You had me until Bill Gates of Hell 🤢

 

[WWP99]

I admire Musk for what he's done with Tesla and SpaceX, but I think he's lost his mind.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

It is free no one has to get this to use Twitter

Correct! Then ur bound to deal with spam and bunch of random ads.

 

[davethorp]

As someone who runs a notable Twitter account but has struggled to be verified on previous attempts I actually welcome this and may considering paying the fee

 

[0924487]

So stupid. Verification means nothing if you can just buy in. But idiots will pay it to feel special.

So now, that Russian account spamming disinformation can get "verified", while the legitimate well-known business has to pay for the same. Really makes verification meaningless. While previously, it let you know you were following the real account, rather than a fake, now it'll mean nothing more than the faker paid $8.

By paying you are using your real identity. That real name should be your Twitter name.

 

[FrizzleFryBen]

Seems strange to announce a price increase without any real details on the potential benefits increase. But hey, if your main point is to keep your platform in peoples conversations - it's working.

There's just so much 'meh' about this whole thing. Not that I expected anything special.

 

[GMShadow]

If a blue check mark on Twitter is worth $96 a year in perpetuity to you, then… well… a fool and his money…

I suspect people will be more intrigued by the reduced ads and other features.

So anyone can just pay and get verified? Kind of defeats the purpose of VERIFIED, no? Like I’d like to see news handles being verified to check a source but if anyone can just be verified?

Simultaneously devaluing the blue checkmark while screwing over Twitter Blue users. Great move Elon.

Ah yes, because "blue checks" was something of high value, and not a perjorative term prior to this.

It's long been used by Twitter as a Good Boy™ badge. They take it away when you do stuff they dislike.

 

[ersan191]

I was kinda interested to see where he might take the company but selling blue checks to anyone with $8/month to spend being one of his first acts is incredibly stupid. I thought the whole point was to verify someone's identity, hence the name.

 

[dmylrea]

Everyone should delete their Twitter account. It sounds like if you do decide to keep it you are going to emptying your wallets.

I don't pay them a dime and never will. I barely use it except to contact a company's support team (like T-Mobile or Dell). I'm happy to close it if need be.