Elon Musk wants users to pay to get a certificate on Twitter – Image
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, has quickly begun transforming the social network, tweeting unflattering announcements and jokes as the departures of top executives become increasingly apparent. On Tuesday, it unveiled its first big project: an $8-a-month subscription for users who want to verify the authenticity of their accounts. “The current system of lords and peasants, with those with blue ticks and those without, is stupid. Power to the people! For $8 a blue moon,” he said. Tesla boss. Thursday.
The new CEO wants to combine Twitter Blue – a subscription to paid features for $5 a month – and the ability to verify and certify your identity. Currently, governments, companies, media, political, cultural or sports personalities, etc. including, only certain profiles can claim this authenticity badge. Subscribers will also have other benefits: their tweets will be prioritized, they will be able to post longer videos, they will be exposed to “half the advertising” and they will have access to free articles on “ready-to-run” news sites. “said Elon Musk. The new offer should help the platform fight fake accounts and diversify its revenue streams. Its business model is 90% dependent on advertising.
you get what you pay for
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2022
But the idea of having to pay to get your account certified has drawn a lot of criticism. Pranay Pathole, an engineer admirer of the multi-billionaire, tweeted: “If everyone gets a token of approval, there will be a problem with the validity of the information.” “Appealing to Twitter users to make more money may be the right strategy, but verification is not what you should be paying for,” Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg said. “The certificate is supposed to ensure the authenticity of accounts and conversations on the platform, it’s not a premium tool,” he said. The world’s richest man has reiterated from the start of the landmark purchase that he wants to strengthen freedom of expression in this “public square” that is vital to democracy, and that profitability is not his priority.
But he is trying to reassure advertisers worried about Thursday. On Friday, automaker General Motors announced it was temporarily removing its ads from Twitter. The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), for its part, has reminded brands of the importance of removing “toxic content”. According to the specialized website “The Verge”, Elon Musk first thought of raising the monthly subscription price to $20. “Twenty bucks a month to keep my blue badge? Damn, they should pay me instead. If this is set up, I’m out,” bestselling author Stephen King tweeted Monday. Elon Musk, who changed his name on the account “Twitter hotline operator”, responded by offering eight dollars.
The engineers involved are expected to work tirelessly until Nov. 7 to overhaul the subscription, employees said, and have been told their jobs are in jeopardy. And according to Bloomberg news agency, some employees no longer have access to content moderation tools. serves to punish users who spread false information or hate speech. Twitter did not respond to requests from AFP. A whimsical entrepreneur has taken control of the influential social network by calling Tesla engineers to help him. He fired the board and also several executives without official approval. Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde and Chief Product Officer Jay Sullivan have deleted all mentions of Twitter from their profiles. Head of Engineering Nick Caldwell’s account lists a “former manager at Twitter.”
“The ongoing firing process is a farce and a disgrace. Tesla supporters are making decisions about people they know nothing about other than the number of lines of code produced. This is complete nonsense,” Taylor tweeted on Sunday. Liz says the manager of the engineering team has been fired. Sarah Personette, director of operations in charge of advertiser relations, announced her resignation as Dalana Brand, who took care of diversity within the California group.