Twitter has announced that it will relaunch the Twitter Blue subscription service for US$8 per month on the web or US$11 per month on iOS (around AU$11.80 and AU$16, respectively).
You may remember Twitter Blue as Musk’s hair-brained idea to help move Twitter away from its reliance on advertising revenue and towards a subscription-based business model. However, the plan backfired catastrophically, leading Twitter to pause the service whilst it worked out how to stop people impersonating big brands or, more importantly in the chief twit’s mind, Elon Musk himself.
we’re relaunching @TwitterBlue on Monday – subscribe on web for $8/month or on iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark 🧵 pic.twitter.com/DvvsLoSO50
— Twitter (@Twitter) December 10, 2022
However, the social media platform has put more rules in place to stop users abusing the system.
This time around, users will have to register a phone number before getting access to a verified blue tick. The tick will also be removed if they change their handle, display name, or profile photo until their account is reviewed — presumably to stop people calling themselves Elon Musk again.
Users will also get some new features. Tweets from verified users will be prioritised and highlighted at the top of the replies, mentions, and search. Users will also see half the ads — a bold step considering advertising accounted for around 90 per cent of the company’s revenue.
Users will also be able to upload longer, higher resolution videos to Twitter and get access to select new features that are in development.
Crucially, businesses will also have the “official” they currently have (to distinguish between the users who have recently paid for verification and those businesses and people that are actually important) replaced by a gold tick. Government and multilateral accounts will get a grey checkmark — a very un-subtle hint from Musk about his political and business priorities on Twitter.
