In the first big revamp at Twitter since taking over the popular microblogging platform last week, Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk has said Twitter will charge $8 per month from users who want a blue tick by their name, which indicates that it's a verified account.
Taking to Twitter, Musk announced: "Power to the people! Blue for $8/month (around ₹662)."
Criticising Twitter's current system for allocation of Blue Tick, Musk said: "Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit."
The announcement by Musk didn't go down well with many users, who were outraged by the move. Many longtime users tagged Musk, calling it a discouraging move that could cut the number of daily users drastically.
Famous author Stephen King, who has over 6.9 million followers on Twitter, used an expletive to express his outrage. “$20 a month to keep my blue check? They should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.”
Replying to the famous novel 'It' writer, Musk asked if instead of $20, which was decided earlier, $8 was the right price for a blue tick subscription. “(W)e need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers,” he said. To this, King replied: “(i)t ain’t the money, it’s the principle of the thing.”
Musk said that blue tick subscriptions will not be the same across countries and that the price will be adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity.
"You will also get: Priority in replies, mentions & search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam. Ability to post long video & audio-half as many ads," he said.
Musk said the company will also allow publishers to bypass the paywall if they are willing to work with the platform. "This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators," he said.
Amid a barrage of criticism, Musk put out another tweet saying: "To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8."
The billionaire said there will be a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians.
Multiple reports suggest Twitter may also take away the blue tick of the current users who'll not subscribe to the new subscription policy in 90 days. Musk's plans to boost Twitter's revenue come from the fact that the company has been losing money for most of its history.
With Musk at the helm, he wants to change that by making it a paid service rather than a free-for-all platform. During his earlier statements, the billionaire had said with his $44-billion deal to acquire Twitter, he was "obviously overpaying" for the company.
Notably, if anyone wanted a blue tick so far, they had to fill out an online application form. The blue tick mark, which in recent times had become a sort of status symbol for many, was initially rolled out for celebrities, political leaders and media persons, as their identities could be targeted by scamsters. Musk's latest move, say many, will bring a level playing field for all on the platform.
Musk’s idea behind bringing paid blue tick service also stamps from his vision of ending Twitter’s reliance on advertising as the main source of revenue. Soon after Musk acquired the company, Tesla's main competitor in the EV business General Motors announced its plan to suspend ads on the site. Many other big brands have put their ads on hold on the platform as the new management under Musk takes control.
However, Musk tried to assuage their concerns since many feared his radical ideas are in contrast with how the platform is being run for years and thus could hurt their revenues. In a rather long note, contrary to his usual style of writing small cryptic one-liners on Twitter, Musk said Twitter will aspire to be the most respected advertising platform in the world, which will strengthen brands and grow their enterprise.
"To everyone who has partnered with us, I thank you. Let us build something extraordinary together." Musk said he "very much" believes that "advertising, when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you; it can show you a service or product or medical treatment that you never knew existed but is right for you".
To make this a reality, says Musk, it is essential to show Twitter users ads that are as relevant as possible to their needs. "Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content!" he asserted.
