Twitter removing verified accounts label likely first negative change users will notice under Elon Musk

I’ve stuck with Twitter since Elon Musk purchased the social media service late last year and he began pissing off a lot of people, mainly on the political left.
The way I use Twitter hasn’t changed. I mostly use it as a news feed. I follow national and local news feeds, entertainment and sports sites, as well as a few friends. I don’t get swept up in the political vitriol that I know is lurking there.
Since Musk took over, I have noticed very little change other than a bit more advertising.
But a big change is coming that regular Joes like me will surely notice. Come April 1, Twitter is removing all those blue checkmark verification badges from media pundits, celebrities and other notable public figures.
Musk is replacing that verification system with subscription service that gives anybody a blue checkmark and they don’t have to use their real name. Basically the blue check means nothing now, other than showing that you are someone willing to spend $8 a month to get it.
Twitter originally started its verification process to give users confidence that they were following organizations and people who are who they say they are. Without true verification, get ready for a lot of confusion and impersonation.
The verification system helped Twitter grow. It offered users an easy way to identify and follow notable accounts. Musk threw that out the window in an effort to increase subscription revenue.
I have no problem with paid verification as long as people use their real names. And Twitter should have kept the verification for public figures already on the service. (I don’t have a verification badge on my personal Twitter but I do on my professional Twitter.)
What I have seen so far under the new paid system is a bunch of nobodies and trolls getting their responses to tweets pushed higher in the feed because they’re paying a subscription. It’s ugly and it’s only going to get worse.
The main thing Twitter has in its favor now is that there’s no obvious place to go that can replicate the experience – yet. Some company is bound to take advantage of Musk’s many missteps with Twitter.
I’m reminded of a quote from the underrated film “Vengeance” (2022) by B.J. Novak.
In the movie, Ty Shaw (played by Boyd Holbrook) says this about rural Texas: “This is the most wretched, godforsaken stretch of land on the face of the earth. And I’d never leave.”
To which New York journalist Ben Manalowitz (played by Novak) says, “Yeah. That’s how I feel about Twitter.”

Related articles:

Why advertisers aren’t coming back to Twitter (Vox; March 24, 2023)

Twitter to Revoke ‘Legacy’ Verified Badges in April, Leaving Only Paying Subscribers With Blue Check-Marks (Variety; March 23, 2023)

Twitter expands Blue globally, will pull checkmarks from accounts that are actually verified next week (9to5Google; March 23, 2023)

Photo: Twitter headquarters (Scott Beale via Creative Commons)

True-story business movies are hot as Hollywood tells the tales of Nike, Tetris, BlackBerry and Flamin' Hot Cheetos

Movies based on true stories in business are having a moment.
Last year saw docu-drama miniseries based on business failures Theranos and WeWork and the founding of Uber. The year ended with Netflix miniseries “The Playlist” on the creation of streaming music service Spotify.
At least six movies are due out this year based on true stories about businesses.
Up first is “Tetris,” premiering March 31 on Apple TV+. The movie, starring Taron Egerton, is about the struggle to obtain international distribution rights for the Russian video game of the same name.
Next is “Air” about Nike’s efforts to sign basketball rookie Michael Jordan to a deal to wear its sneakers. The movie, directed by Ben Affleck, will premiere in theaters on April 5, followed sometime later on streaming service Amazon Prime Video.
“BlackBerry,” a movie about the making of the BlackBerry brand of mobile phones, will premiere in theaters on May 12. It stars Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton.
Next, “Flamin’ Hot” will premiere June 9 on Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. The film tells the story of Richard Montañez, the Frito-Lay janitor who claimed to have invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Then on July 12, select theaters will show the true-life dramedy “The Beanie Bubble,” starring Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks. The movie, about the 1990s Beanie Baby toy craze, will premiere on Apple TV+ on July 28.
Finally, director Michael Mann is making a biopic about Italian driver and entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari. The movie, “Ferrari,” is slated to premiere later this year.

Clickbait cuties bring all the boys to the yard

Clickbait purveyors can’t resist running risqué photos of pretty women to attract attention and drive clicks online.
Here are some recent examples with subjects both old and new.

A recent promoted article titled “35 of the most paused movie scenes in Hollywood history” used a photo of actress Kirsten Baker from “Friday the 13th Part 2” (1981).

An article titled “These photos couldn’t have been taken at a more perfect moment” used a photo of Hungarian tennis player Ágnes Szávay.

A similar article titled “She had no clue why the crowd started cheering her” used a photo of Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini. I noted this same photo used in clickbait in 2017.

Another version of that same promoted article used a photo of San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush Cheerleaders from pre-2017.

And finally, clickbait favorite Claire Abbott returned in a promoted article titled “The most beautiful women ever.” Abbott is a Canadian model and singer who went viral as a teenager for her sexy photos from about 2013 to 2017.

Clickbait companies are back to their old tricks

No, your favorite TV show hasn’t been canceled. That’s just a trick that clickbait companies use to get your attention.
When lying clickbait purveyors promote a story about TV shows that have been canceled they often use a photo of a popular series that definitely has not been canceled.
Most recently, Taboola promoted an article titled “Netflix cancels another round of great shows” with a photo of Jenna Ortega from “Wednesday.” The series was renewed for a second season in January.
Clickbait articles last fall were falsely claiming that hit series “Yellowstone” had been canceled.

Clickbait purveyors also like to exaggerate the ages of celebrities.
A recent article titled “Oldest living star, almost 101” used a photo of actor Lee Majors with his late ex-wife Farrah Fawcett. Majors is 83.
Last year, clickbait articles said Angie Dickinson was “turning 100” when she was 90. Other clickbait articles have exaggerated the ages of Clint Eastwood and Jaclyn Smith.

Finally, a clickbait article titled “Valerie Bertinelli transformation gone wrong” used a photo of plastic surgery addict Jocelyn Wildenstein.

More low-budget, post-apocalyptic movies showing up on Amazon

With digital cameras, personal computers and video-editing software, it’s much easier to make a feature-length movie now than it was in the days of film production. That’s created an explosion of movies available for streaming online.
The post-apocalyptic genre, especially zombie movies, have become a staple of low-budget, independent moviemaking. And many of those movies end up on Amazon, either through its Prime subscription service or for rental.
The few that I’ve checked out have been pretty awful. Bad acting, directing and writing. Just overall amateurish in nature.
Over the last three years, I’ve documented 250 such post-apocalyptic themed movies on Amazon. They are little seen and poorly reviewed, when they even get reviews.
I keep a separate list of notable and higher-profile post-apocalyptic movies on Tech-media-tainment.
What follows is the latest bunch of cheap, post-apocalyptic movies I’ve seen listed on Amazon.

Undead (2003)
National Lampoon Presents Beach Party At The Threshold Of Hell (2006)
GR30k (2010) aka Future World: City of Mass Destruction
A Reckoning (2011)
Devil’s Playground (2011)
Exit Humanity (2011)
Falls the Shadow (2011) aka ZombieWarz
Towers (2012)
Enemy Empire (2013)
Germ Z (2013)
The Dead Reborn (2013)
The Desert (2013) aka El desierto or What’s Left of Us
They Will Outlive Us All (2013)
Berserkers (2014)
Rumors of War (2014)
Eyes of the Dead (2015)
The Carrier (2015)
Dead 7 (2016)
Dance to Death (2017) aka Tantsy nasmert
The Z Virus (2017)
Molly (2018)
Valcorian (2018)
Barney Burman’s Wild Boar (2019)
Fetish Factory (2019) aka Cabaret of the Dead
Super Mix (2019)
A Knight’s Tour (2020)
Fat Ass Zombies (2020) aka American Zombieland
The Tent (2020)
Warriors of the Apocalypse (2020)
Dead Or? (2021)
Escape To the Cove (2021)
La Sombra (2021) aka The Shadow
The E.N.D (2021) aka L'épreuve touche à sa fin
Undergods (2021)
Bridge of the Doomed (2022)
Mad Maxine: Frisky Road (2022)
The Compound (2022)
The Merciful (2022)
Warrioress (2022)
Wheat Soup (2022)

Earlier articles in the series:

Amazon Prime Video has no shortage of low-budget, post-apocalyptic movies (Dec. 10, 2022)

Never-ending supply of cheap post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon Prime Video (May 1, 2022)

Covid-inspired apocalypse movies populating Amazon Prime Video (Jan. 16, 2022)

‘Mad Max’ rip-offs invade Amazon Prime Video (July 19, 2020)

Amazon Prime Video maintains its reputation for low-budget, post-apocalyptic movies (July 3, 2020)

Amazon Prime Video unleashes wave after wave of post-apocalyptic movies (Feb. 16, 2020)

Amazon Prime Video: A dumping ground for lesser post-apocalyptic movies (Nov. 11, 2019)

Photos: Movie posters for “Warriors of the Apocalypse” (2020) and “Bridge of the Doomed” (2022).