Elon Musk, the new boss of micro-blogging site Twitter has announced that the company will charge $8 for the Twitter Blue service, including the much sought-after “verified” badge or "tick". Musk's announcement comes in the wake of his attempts to monetise Twitter and reduce its dependability on ads. The new Twitter boss also mentioned that the fee will be used to reward content creators on the platform.
Benefits of having a blue tick on Twitter
According to Musk, blue tick subscribers on Twitter will get priority in replies, mentions as well as search. The Twitter Blue subscribers will also be able to post longer videos and audios and will see half as many ads.
"Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month," Musk announced on Twitter.
Is Twitter Blue coming to India?
Interestingly, Musk has mentioned that the Twitter Blue subscription fee will be adjusted by "country proportionate to purchasing power parity", which means that the much-talked-about Twitter Blue feature may be making its way to India. The current $8 fee for the Twitter Blue service and the verification tick translates into Rs 650 in INR, but considering the lower per capita income, the company may lower its Twitter Blue fee if it indeed launches in India.
Who can be verified with the blue tick on Twitter?
Currently, Twitter lets "notable" accounts to be verified on the platform. However, Twitter's verification process on Twitter has faced criticism and was deemed unfair and arbitrary by many Twitter users. Putting some of these critics to silence is Musk's new announcement that says Twitter is revamping the entire verification process, which also means that many verified handles on Twitter may lose their verification badge.
Twitter currently categorises the "notable" accounts that can be verified with a blue tick as follows: Government, Companies, brands and organisations, news organisations and journalists, Entertainment, Sports and gaming, Activists, scientists (including Academics), religious leaders and other influential individuals.