Twitter Users to pay $ 8 per month to have a verified Blue mark on their accounts
WASHINGTON - Every Twitter user across the globe who wants their accounts ‘verified’ with a Blue badge will be required to part with $ 8 per month.
This new directive comes just days after Elon Musk took over as the new owner of Twitter.
Billionaire Musk tweeted on Tuesday "Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark. Power to the people! Blue for $8 per month."
According to Musk, this new move is aimed at boosting subscriptions and making the social media network less reliant on ads, Musk added that the price will be adjusted by "country proportionate to purchasing power parity."
Normally a blue check mark next to a Twitter person's user name on Twitter is a verification from the site that the account belongs to the person/company.
Musk further added: "One will also get: Priority in replies, mentions, and search, which is essential to curbing scams. Ability to post long videos and audio. Half as many ads. And paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us."
Earlier, reports had emerged that Twitter was planning to bring about a new subscription plan which costs $4.99 a month, to include the verification feature. It could also take away the blue check marks of currently verified users if they don’t start paying the $19.99 price within 90 days.
This triggered much backlash among long-time users with a poll showing that over 80% of Twitter users claimed they would not pay for the blue tick.
According to Musk the entrepreneur, this new move will also offer Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators.
Besides the Blue, Musk is also planning other revamps, including disbanding the board and firing top executives.
This week he also tweeted a poll asking his followers about whether to bring back Vine, Twitter’s defunct short-form video service. He also responded encouragingly to a user’s suggestion to rethink the platform’s character limits.
Meanwhile, Twitter's advertising chief, Sarah Personette, tweeted on Tuesday that she had resigned from her post last week.
The mass exodus of Twitter's top management, including its advertising and marketing chiefs, leaving the company in the past few days has reportedly triggered advertisers too.
GAROWE ONLINE