There has been a lot of activity on Twitter since Elon Musk took charge of the platform For $44 billion The controversial change to the social network’s verification system is now being tested in the Twitter for iOS app.
An iOS app update pushed out over the weekend (via a tool (Opens in a new tab) and others) offered the option to pay $7.99 per month for a blue check mark. It’s sold as part of a Twitter Blue subscription, which is already there for $4.99 a month in some countries – although verification isn’t included.
After some users reported problems with the new paid plan, Post Tweet (Opens in a new tab) From Twitter’s Esther Crawford, she noted that the feature is still in the “testing” stage, and has not yet been fully implemented.
To check or not to check
The new approach to checking the account already Attracting a lot of negative press. Previously, blue check marks – to confirm real accounts run by real people – were given out for free after a manual review process.
Another change in the latest update of the Twitter iOS app puts a Verified tab on the notifications screen, meaning that responses from verified users appear before anything else. This may be to reduce the impact of bots and spammers, although a lot of bots and spammers are supposed to have the money to pay $8 a month anyway.
Also this weekend, Elon Musk did you tweet (Opens in a new tab) It intends to introduce the ability to attach long text notes to tweets, saving the need for a screenshot of large blocks of text. Musk says that creators will eventually be able to monetize this content.
Analysis: Twitter is changing beyond recognition
We knew that when Elon Musk took over Twitter there would be a lot of changes, but few people could have predicted how quickly they would be implemented. We are seeing major shifts in the fundamental aspects of the platform after just a few days.
We have written before About how flawed the new paid verification system is: a lot of people who really need proof of their identity online aren’t rich, while many bad actors have a lot of money to fund a blue check mark. However, it appears that the new system is about to be implemented now.
There is clearly a lot to fix in Twitter, and admittedly, the current verification process is frustrating in its own way. The platform doesn’t make enough money from ads, and the majority of content on Twitter is generated by a minority of users – which isn’t a healthy situation for a sharing app.
In other words, Musk has a huge challenge on his hands: sweeping changes are certainly needed, but whether the calls being made now are the right calls – or are being executed at the right pace – remains to be seen.
