It's the end of an era and the beginning of the Musk era at Twitter (TWTR).
Twitter users in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand must since Nov. 5 subscribe to Twitter's Blue subscription to have its very famous blue badge.
This badge usually means that the account user is who they say they are. Basically, their identity has been verified and therefore their messages are authentic. Politicians, journalists, celebrities and institutions are fond of this badge, and it was previously free.
This will now be part of a monthly subscription of $7.99 per month which gives subscribers other benefits. Blue badges, used mostly by brands, governments, celebrities or journalists, will be part of the paid features starting next week. Blue subscribers will also have priority in replies, mentions & search, ability to post long video and audio, and half as many ads, the billionaire said.
"Starting today, we're adding great new features to Twitter Blue, and have more on the way soon," writes the management in the new updated version of the app on iOs, noted TheStreet.
Additional Features
"Get Twitter Blue for $7.99/month if you sign up now Blue checkmark: Power to the people: Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow."
Musk later said that the new Twitter Blue will be available to the rest of the world within a month.
"As soon as we confirm it’s working well in the initial set of countries and we have the translation work done, it will roll out worldwide," the millionaire told his Twitter followers.
Musk's Twitter lists the upcoming perks for subscribers to Blue, which has been $4.99 until now.
"Coming soon...
- Half the ads & much better ones: Since you're supporting Twitter in the battle against the bots, we're going to reward you with half the ads and make them twice as relevant.
-Post longer videos: You'll finally be able to post longer videos to Twitter.
-Priority ranking for quality content: Your content will get priority ranking in replies, mentions and search. This helps lower the visibility of scams, spam, and bots."
The decision to charge indirectly for the blue badge by integrating it into a subscription caused great controversy.
Musk had to defend this move. He mainly attributed it to the fight against spam bots or fake accounts, which are a plague on Twitter.
Musk explained that the financial cost should discourage entities and people running bot farms that regularly spread social media misinformation and misinformation and hate speech.
"Essentially, this raises the cost of crime on Twitter by several orders of magnitude," Musk said on Nov. 1.
However, Musk's critics believe there was another way to ensure that the person behind an account is not a bot.
Musk, who bought Twitter for a hefty price of $44 billion after a long battle with the group, has already reiterated that the social network will remain free for most users.
He also said that current blue badge holders have "couple months" to subscribe to Blue or lose the badge.
In addition to the increase in the price of the subscription to Blue, the billionaire is also in the process of reducing costs to make the platform profitable. Musk cut 3,700 jobs, or half the workforce, in one day on Nov. 4.
