Related Post
(Trends Wide) — After facing a wave of criticism for his plan to charge Twitter users $19.99 a month to get or keep their accounts verified, Elon Musk has a counter offer: maybe $8?
Under Musk, Twitter is working to update its subscription service, known as “Twitter Blue” and currently costing $4.99 a month, to include verification, as Trends Wide previously reported.
According to internal Twitter planning documents accessed by Trends Wide, Twitter could remove the coveted blue check marks from currently verified users if they don’t start paying the higher price of $19.99 within the next 90 days.
The news quickly sparked outrage and disbelief among some longtime Twitter users, including author Stephen King, who has nearly seven million followers on the platform.
“20 bucks a month to keep my double blue tick?” tweeted this Monday, followed by a swear word. “They should pay me. If that is implemented, I will go like Enron.” Later, in a response, King added: “[i] It’s not the money, it’s the principles of the thing”.
$20 a month to keep my blue check? Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022
Elon Musk responded to King early Tuesday with the most explicit acknowledgment yet of the proposal to charge for account verification. “[N]We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers,” she said. “How about $8?”
We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
The trade reflects the weakness of some of Musk’s initial plans for Twitter and also the urgency he has to boost revenue and profits for a company that has lost money for most of its history. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, a figure he admitted was “obviously” above the value of the company. He also added a substantial amount of debt financing in order to afford the deal.
Since the platform’s takeover finalized last week, the billionaire has moved quickly to shake up Twitter, including dissolving its board and firing its top executives.
In tweets over the weekend, Elon Musk asked his followers about bringing back Vine, Twitter’s defunct short-form video service, and responded “absolutely” to a user’s suggestion to rethink streaming limits. platform characters. It’s unclear how committed Musk is to pursuing any or all of these changes.
“The entire verification process is being renewed at this time,” Musk tweeted on Sunday.
Even before the purchase agreement was completed, Musk suggested the possibility of linking verification to a paid subscription service. In April, Musk said that paid Twitter subscribers “should get an authentication checkmark.”
In another tweetsaid: “Pricing should probably be ~$2/mo month, but paying 12 months up front and account not getting a checkmark for 60 days (watch out for CC chargebacks) and getting suspended no refund if used for scam/spam.”
While the blue check mark has become a status symbol among users, it is also designed to ensure that people can determine which accounts are authentic and which are not, especially for celebrities, brands, and other influencers.
If Musk were to create a paid barrier for verification, there are concerns that this could make it difficult to determine whether or not a notable name is a bot.
