Chief Twit (Elon Musk) is now suggesting the price of the premium Twitter Blue subscription could be $8 USD (the cost outside the US will be adjusted for the purchasing power of consumers in those markets) which is down for the $19.99 a month he had mentioned yesterday. However, he is still holding firm that a Twitter Blue subscription is going to be required for verification (something that prior to his merger/take-over was free).
At the same time, Twitter plans to add new perks to the service. As a subscriber, you’ll see fewer ads and have the ability to post longer videos and audio. It will also give you priority in replies, mentions and the platform’s search feature, perks Musk claims are essential to reducing the amount of spam on the platform. “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit,” Musk said, all but confirming verification will be tied to Twitter Blue subscriptions. Lastly, Twitter Blue will include the ability to bypass paywalls — though that will come later and will depend on Twitter forging the necessary publisher partnerships.
Ability to post longer videos and audio could be a hint to his plans to not only reviving Vine but to have it integrated directly it into Twitter. Hmm….fewer ads?! The Wall Street Journal, had reported earlier the company plans to stop offering Twitter Blue customers the ability to access ad-free articles from publishers. $8 USD per month for Twitter Blue subscription is not as bad as $20 a month (but not as good as the current $5 USD). However, when it comes to ‘verification’ the majority of the current verified users have said they are not willing to pay any amount for (the presently free) verification. No word yet when this new pricing would go into effect. Chief Twit had previously stated he wanted the new pricing and verification to go into effect on November 7th.
Tuesday’s announcement comes after days of speculation on how Twitter could change under Musk’s ownership. On Sunday, two separate reports said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was considering increasing the price of Twitter Blue to as much as $20 per month and making the subscription a requirement for verification. Musk appeared to reconsider pricing after a tweet from author Stephen King criticizing the plan went viral. “We need to pay the bills somehow,” Musk said. “Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
Very true about not being able to entirety rely on advertisers when large corporations such as General Motors have temporarily suspended their Twitter advertising campaigns and then Twitter’s Chief Consumer Officer Sarah Personette (in charge of Twitter’s ad sales business) resigned on Friday, October 28th
As with any soap opera things can change in a moments notice….stay tuned!
via Tech Crunch | Engadget
