Twitter for iOS Updated With New $8 Subscription Offering Verification and More [Updated: Not Yet Live]

[Abazigal]

You are right on a lot of your points. And there’s no way around the fact that Twitter needs to generate more income to keep going.

Having every single user pay a few dollars for access while keeping Twitter mostly unchanged in terms of verification would be far better than what Elon is proposing now.

Maybe those who can’t pay for access (yes, there are people online who have less than $10 in disposable income per month) could have paying users donate access through direct payments through Twitter or through a sort of voting system where you are granted free access if enough users vote in your favor.

My suggestion would be to have all regular users pay some $1-$3/month for access. Verification only happens through a rigorous verification process but then you get free access as long as they meet certain criteria in terms of engagement on and outside Twitter, or through a voting system where users vote who’s important on Twitter.

I think that would be a surefire way to haemorrhage users, and a social media network is nothing with people (even trolls need someone to target). Hence the apparent freemium model. Everyone can still use and post on twitter for free, and there is also the option to pay for extra features.

But again, this is all on paper. Let's see how the implementation goes next week.

 

[Luis Ortega]

Twitter is a sewer that panders to the lowest common denominator.
It is a perfect example of the adage about arguing with idiots who drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

 

[Varda]

I’ll pass. You can’t competently run Twitter with half of its workforce fired.

You can when you have employees and amenities like this.

I worked in high-tech for nearly 20 years and have never even heard of a company that coddles their employees like Twitter did. That Twitter office looks like daycare for adult children.

 

[ScottishDuck]

The person that people will unironically refer to as “the worlds smartest man” buys a $10Bn company for $40Bn. This means he paid $100 for every user.

He announced a subscription service for $20/mo then reduced it to $8 after one person was mean to him. Master negotiatior.

He posts conspiracy theories on his account and causes advertisers to pull out en masse, tanking the business value even further.

The death spiral of Mr Enron is incredibly entertaining.

 

[Pilot Jones]

Verification will mean that the user is verified. This is not a technicality. It’s literally what the word - and the blue check - always meant.

And they actually could be bought. There were companies who would offer to get you verified for a fee. You’ve never seen those verified accounts with 3,000 followers?

Honest question - why do you care that the blue check will lose its prestige as a status symbol? Are you verified on twitter?

Yes, but you're completely ignoring the connotation of being "verified" on Twitter that is done away with after this new system is implemented. That is why I'm saying, it will lose its value.

Being verified had value because it signified you as a person of note. If all it will now do is signify that you're a real human being, that's not even the same thing anymore. The entire complexion of what being "verified" on Twitter really means will change once you can pay for it and it is foolish to pretend that isn't the case.

Low Supply = High Demand vs. High Supply = Low Demand. If "verification" doesn't remain a scarce commodity anymore, what difference does it make whether you're verified or not?

And of course I've seen the accounts that get you verified, but that's a whole lot of hoops to go through and a ton of them are just out and out scams. I wouldn't even imagine that a single percent of twitter users engage in those services.

That's like jailbreaking your iPhone for features vs. Apple introducing those features natively. Sure you can do anything on iOS with a jailbreak, but for most people that amount of work doesn't make sense, which is why it isn't a point worth even addressing. It's not pervasive enough to make any difference at all.

I don't care at all to be honest. I'm not verified and don't have any interest in it too. This is a public forum in which I made a statement not addressed to anyone, simply stating my opinion. You engaged my opinion by quoting it, so that's what I'm discussing — the validity of my opinion, not my emotional attachment to the subject at hand.

 

[maccymac42]

Congrats wish.com Justin Hammer, you've single handedly ruined the verification system. You can no longer call them 'verified users' - nothing about them it verified. They are simply 'paying users'. And bot farms will pay too. What an idiot he is.

 

[maccymac42]

The person that people will unironically refer to as “the worlds smartest man” buys a $10Bn company for $40Bn. This means he paid $100 for every user.

He announced a subscription service for $20/mo then reduced it to $8 after one person was mean to him. Master negotiatior.

He posts conspiracy theories on his account and causes advertisers to pull out en masse, tanking the business value even further.

The death spiral of Mr Enron is incredibly entertaining.

Even Trump said Elon is a beggar. This behaviour isn't surprising, it's just the first time many are seeing it.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

The person that people will unironically refer to as “the worlds smartest man” buys a $10Bn company for $40Bn. This means he paid $100 for every user.

He announced a subscription service for $20/mo then reduced it to $8 after one person was mean to him. Master negotiatior.

He posts conspiracy theories on his account and causes advertisers to pull out en masse, tanking the business value even further.

The death spiral of Mr Enron is incredibly entertaining.

It was going so well before he took over aswell. What with the subscription plan that nobody paid for and no profitability for eight of the last ten years.

 

[maccymac42]

And in 1 year the first debt payment of ONE BILLION dollars is due to be paid by twitter.

But, 8$. and a fleeing of advertisers will surely cover that...



Sure.

And that's just the interest!

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Congrats wish.com Justin Hammer, you've single handedly ruined the verification system. You can no longer call them 'verified users' - nothing about them it verified. They are simply 'paying users'. And bot farms will pay too. What an idiot he is.

No they won't! What a silly comment.

 

[maccymac42]

Yes, but you're completely ignoring the connotation of being "verified" on Twitter that is done away with after this new system is implemented. That is why I'm saying, it will lose its value.

Being verified had value because it signified you as a person of note. If all it will now do is signify that you're a real human being, that's not even the same thing anymore. The entire complexion of what being "verified" on Twitter really means will change once you can pay for it and it is foolish to pretend that isn't the case.

Low Supply = High Demand vs. High Supply = Low Demand. If "verification" doesn't remain a scarce commodity anymore, what difference does it make whether you're verified or not?

And of course I've seen the accounts that get you verified, but that's a whole lot of hoops to go through and a ton of them are just out and out scams. I wouldn't even imagine that a single percent of twitter users engage in those services.

That's like jailbreaking your iPhone for features vs. Apple introducing those features natively. Sure you can do anything on iOS with a jailbreak, but for most people that amount of work doesn't make sense, which is why it isn't a point worth even addressing. It's not pervasive enough to make any difference at all.

I don't care at all to be honest. I'm not verified and don't have any interest in it too. This is a public forum in which I made a statement not addressed to anyone, simply stating my opinion. You engaged my opinion by quoting it, so that's what I'm discussing — the validity of my opinion, not my emotional attachment to the subject at hand.

It won't even signify you're a real human being. It'll signify you pay for twitter blue. There is no longer a verification system, just paying users having a little logo to show they pay.

No idea what the poster you were replying to was on about - I've seen journalists verified with less than 1000 followers, because they're journalists! The fact that person doesn't see the rug being pulled is kind of hilarious, bless their cotton socks.

 

[maccymac42]

No they won't! What a silly comment.

Wanna make a bet? I'll pay for your twitter blue for a month if I'm wrong. Plenty of bot farms will pay for that 'verified' tick because it makes people like you think they're real.

 

[maccymac42]

It was going so well before he took over aswell. What with the subscription plan that nobody paid for and no profitability for eight of the last ten years.

You're backing their point. It was an idiotic purchase made out of ego. He'll regret it - his stake is backed by his Tesla and spaceX shares. He stands to lose a lot if he can't make this work!

 

[JForestZ34]

When it goes live. Hopefully, no one is going to pay $8. That $8 subscription still doesn’t eliminate dealing with the bots.

I honestly see people paying the $8 to " FEEL " important. Who cares about a blue check! If everyone has it it's not special anymore. And for people to say that " you won't know who is a celebrity and who isn't", very few and far between ever reply back to people they don't know let alone fans that follow them.


James

 

[fat jez]

All a blue tick will tell me in future is who is a subscriber and who is not. It tells me the person’s tweets have value to Twitter but not necessarily to anybody else.

 

[Rogifan]

So I saw celebrity Valerie Bertinelli, who was/is verified, change her name to Elon Musk. I guess trying to show that the site will become full of impersonators now? The question I have is in the past could people with blue checkmarks change their name to be anything they wanted? Could Bertinelli have changed her name to Elon Musk two weeks ago? If so, then I’m not sure she’s making the point she thinks she is.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Wanna make a bet? I'll pay for your twitter blue for a month if I'm wrong. Plenty of bot farms will pay for that 'verified' tick because it makes people like you think they're real.

No. Because you've got no way of quantifying what people are paying for and what they aren't!

Also Twitter will have their payment details so if they are clearly purporting to be somebody they aren't that will be come clear very quickly.

Being able to influence trending topics with huge bot armies will become very expensive also. This bot army for example would have cost $2.8 million a month if it was using paid $8 accounts

 

[Pilot Jones]

If everyone has it it's not special anymore.

For some reason, a whole lot of people are simply choosing to ignore this hilariously basic fact that comes bundled with this new system of paying for a blue tick.

This will do nothing to stop bots or misinformation. Most bots are unverified accounts anyway and spread whatever they want to using brute force. Algorithmically prioritising people with blue ticks does nothing, you'll just see a thousand more bots spring up who'll operate in bulk to make themselves seen & heard.

 

[Imperial926]

Great. When it goes live I’ll jump in. I’d rather have a profitable Twitter than one that ceases because bankruptcy.

Profitable to do what? I left 3 years ago and never looked back. Twitter provided a front row seat to view just how wretched social media and some of its inhabitants can be.

 

[fat jez]

For some reason, a whole lot of people are simply choosing to ignore this hilariously basic fact that comes bundled with this new system of paying for a blue tick.

Yep. It merely indicates you are a paying sub.

 

[Cunir]

i think half of the fuss is overblown… for example, hes saying that blue tick people will get priority in search and conversations etc, but your latest tweets feed is still only going to show the people you follow. its not like its suddenly going to be filled with a load of blue ticks you dont know. its probably only in the comments underneath that we’ll notice it

 

[Pilot Jones]

Profitable to do what? I left 3 years ago and never looked back. Twitter provided a front row seat to view just how wretched social media and some of its inhabitants can be.

Twitter is literally the peanut gallery of the internet.

If someone isn't a person of note or making money from the platform but still decides to pay $8/month, that just makes me think twice about what's actually going on in their head.

 

[Rogifan]

The problem was that it has become a prestige symbol. People felt more important with a blue check mark. On Instagram I usually block people with a blue check mark, because if someone really sends a copy of his ID to Instagram just to appear more important, he is someone I do not want to follow. I hate people who love privileges. For example I hate if someone uses the his PhD in his name. It is nice for him to have achieved a PhD, but there is not reason to brag about it all that time. Bragging is ALWAYS bad and the blue check mark for many people is used for bragging. With the blue check mark they feel like a celebrity.

I even hate that Discord puts a crown next to my name in the members list at Discord, if I have founded the server. So I use to set a server up with one account and then use another account for posting, so that I do not stick out. Some Discord servers even have lots of different colours for different roles and some people are really proud about their colour that separates them from others. So when I set up a server, all role colours will be the same.

There seems to be a huge desire on the internet to appear superior than others. Some people brag with a blue check mark, some brag with their follower number and even have the line "100k+ followers on TikTok" in their Twitter profile. Some people even just travel to some places or buy expensive stuff to makes others jealous. I think all of those people need to see a therapist. They have not understood what is really important on life.

I might pay money for a premium version to get additional features at Twitter, but only if it does not change my appearance on Twitter. I do not want a blue check mark that suggests that I am one of the people with the small ego that pay money to stick out of the mass.

I get the feeling way fewer think of the blue check as some sort of status symbol then some want to believe. Some want to push this narrative that all blue checks (themselves excluded of course, if they have one) think they’re better than everyone else and now Elon’s here to take their status symbol away. I’m seeing quite a few ‘blue checks’ who say they’re not paying $8/mo and if their checkmark goes away they don’t care.

I do find the marketing on it odd. ‘Power to the people’…if you give Twitter $8/mo. It’s hard to turn this into a class thing when you’re charging people $8/mo. I would guess a Twitter subscription doesn’t fit into the budget of many working class/blue-collar people.

 

[fat jez]

i think half of the fuss is overblown… for example, hes saying that blue tick people will get priority in search and conversations etc, but your latest tweets feed is still only going to show the people you follow. its not like its suddenly going to be filled with a load of blue ticks you dont know. its probably only in the comments underneath that we’ll notice it

You do know that verified users get an extra stream which only shows verified users?

Twitter gives verified users a mentions filter / velvet rope

Twitter is making it easier for the truly famous to chat with each other in public, now that it's added a couple of new filters for users with Verified accounts. While the general public continue to have their mentions open to one and all, verified users can see their @ stream either "Filtered"...

www.engadget.com

 

[Rogifan]

Yep. It merely indicates you are a paying sub.

Which nobody but Twitter needs to know. The point of the blue check wasn’t about “being special”. It was about this is a famous/notable person’s legit account and not an imposter. What I find interesting is it seems like the people who don’t have a blue check care way more about it than those who do.