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)
