Yahoo Finance Is There Any Financial Benefit to Paying $8 for Twitter’s Blue Check Mark
Following Twitter’s rolling out of Twitter Blue — the paid subscription that adds a blue checkmark to a user’s profile — CEO Elon Musk started to strip away some of the once highly coveted status symbol marks last week.
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Now, anyone can add a blue badge for $8 a month, and the subscription also includes features such as editing/undo tweets, half the ads, text formatting, NFT profile pictures, prioritized rankings in conversations and search, and longer video upload.
“Since the recent shift regarding a blue check, a client I consulted for has noticed a significant change in the reach and engagement of their post,” said Christopher Alexander, chief communications officer of Liberty Blockchain. “With Blue Check accounts receiving prioritization, the algorithm has clearly changed. Blue Checks make sense for the interim, as communication specialists figure out new ways to reach audiences based on the changes. While it is a bit chaotic at times, Musk has certainly delivered on his promise to bring change.”
Yet, the rollout has seen somewhat of a blowback, as several celebrities are now refusing to pay for the “honor” and some are viewing the blue badge as pedestrian and as a “scarlet letter,” now that it’s widely accessible.
“Having a blue tick now means there’s a higher chance that you’re a complete loser and that you’re desperate for validation from famous people,” DOJA Cat tweeted.
The rollout and ensuing “great purge” have also been chaotic as some celebrities, politicians and journalists have had their blue check removed and reinstalled, without them paying for the subscription.
Opinions on whether there are benefits to paying $8 per month for the blue check are mixed.
Phillip Shoemaker, executive director of Identity.com, revealed that Twitter Blue is a way to monetize — and that’s all it is.
“It doesn’t give what the checkmark used to give you – that is, it’s no longer giving off the ‘Hey, I’m so important and look at me’ status. It’s also not a way to identify who it is you say you are anymore. It’s nothing of the sort, actually. It’s just monetization. And whether this works or not is anyone’s guess,” added Shoemaker.
On the other hand, other experts believe this it is an effective way to enable differentiation between fake accounts and real ones.
“A key aspect here is of course preventing impersonation, especially if you’re a celebrity or an athlete,” noted John Linden, CEO of Web3 gaming studio Mythical Games. He added that while “kinks are still being worked out,” Twitter Blue generally offers enough features and benefits to be worthwhile to many users.
“There’s more benefit to paying the $8 than not doing so if you’re an organization or an influencer, I should add. It’s not that expensive, either,” he added.
From a broader perspective, monetizing Twitter in this way is the right move going forward, he added, noting that there needs to be alternative financing models.
“There’s also something of a fairness aspect to Twitter Blue, I should note, because the old verification system relied on backdoor benefits and connections. The current model is more straightforward and less ‘in the cool club,'” he added.
The sentiment was echoed by several experts who believe that for individuals or businesses who rely on Twitter as a primary source of income or engagement, investing in Twitter Blue can be a good idea.
“The new features offered through Twitter Blue, such as the ability to edit tweets or post longer tweets, can enhance their ability to connect with their audience,” said Andrew Latham, certified financial planner and managing editor at SuperMoney.
In terms of whether Musk has delivered on his promises, some experts believe he’s on the right path in trying to solve two issues.
“First, Twitter has an identity problem. Specifically, there are way too many fake accounts, or bots, on the platform,” revealed Michael Creadon, President of DeFi Devs, Lead Community Developers of Accumulate Protocol.
“The second issue he’s trying to deal with is increasing revenue, said Creadon. “Everyone wants Twitter to be a place where they can argue, promote their views, and use the platform to advance their agenda. But, as we’re seeing, no one wants to pay for it. This is a textbook example of free-riderism in the social media world. My own view is he should kick people and institutions off Twitter who refuse to pay a basic fee for access. But I’ll leave that up to him: I’m one of the few people on social media who actually believe he knows what he’s doing.”
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Finally, some experts believe the jury’s still out as to whether Musk’s November promises came to fruition- and that only time will tell how well these will fare and how many bumps in the road there will be along the way.
While Musk has stayed true to many of the promises he made, including pay-to-play verification and editable and longer tweets, whether he’s successfully implemented those changes remains questionable, said Daniel Allocca, partner and head of digital and integrated marketing at Prosek Partners.
“Importantly, Twitter is evolving at the speed of light often resulting in bugs and issues, so users and brands alike should proceed with caution and thoughtfulness,” Allocca said.
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