Elon Musk now owns Twitter — These are his first actions

Twitter has always been my favourite social media platform. I think it is a great mix between short form content, opinions and news. After I had to stop using my beloved Google RSS reader, I switched to Twitter for most of my daily news and media updates. And in the last couple of years, it has been the platform that I have continued to come back to on a regular basis.

Something will have to change, fast

Elon Musk has clearly communicated that something has to change at Twitter. He has a long term vision of Twitter potentially becoming the product slash social media platform he refers to as x. X is essentially a social media platform similar to WeChat. Or at least we think. At this point in time, Elon Musk is the only person on this earth who really knows what he would like to do with this social media platform.

What we do know is that by purchasing Twitter he is actively engaging in the conversations around freedom of speech. And what keeps our Western society up all night. Needless to say, though, Elon Musk has understood that for Twitter to be successful, it has to start making money. The best way forward, is probably subscription models.

Subscription models are the way forward

Subscription models are a powerful tool, as we have seen with Netflix, Disney plus, and Amazon Prime. It has been said that the short term goal for Twitter is to gain at least 50% of its revenues from subscriptions.

As The Verge published an article today, saying that the team that is working on Twitter blew this is the subscription model to Twitter has until November 7. To create a feature that will force verified users to pay $20 a month to keep their account verification if the team cannot meet the deadline they will be fired.

Some prominent users appear to be happy with the introduction of a paid verification subscription. Yet, I fail to see why. Does someone like Scott Galloway really think $240 a year would scare off (verified) scammers or provide a barrier to entry that would be too high for the average influencer?

Verified = human?

Regardless of whether I think this timeline is realistic or not, the feature itself sounds a little backward. Why would a user need to pay $250 a year to Twitter to prove that they are a real human? I think it should be the other way around. Anyone who can prove that they are a real person should not have to pay for the service. Those that cannot prove that they are a real person need to show that they have paid to become a verified contributor to the platform.

In the past Twitter had always used the blue tick for verification as a means to distinguish celebrities from regular users on the platform.

But, as the lines have blurred between who is important and who is not being verified does not have the same weight to it as it used to think Twitter should find out how they can flag those who are positively contributing to the platform and conversations around them which people spark conversations and opinions. To me, that would be the highest value to the community and Twitter as a whole.

Let’s go get more popcorn

I have to say I am more curious to see how this pans out than I am scared and I think it is great that someone with a vision for the platform has stepped in and wants to make a real change.

I am probably just as anxious as everyone else to see how Elon Musk rules over Twitter. But for now, the excitement about what might be to come is still significantly higher than anything else.

Besides, if this goes down the drain we've all been in for a fantastic show and I am sure that there will be a new platform to emerge out of the ashes as a result of that, too

References:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/30/23431931/twitter-paid-verification-elon-musk-blue-monthly-subscription