It's happening. Twitter's coveted blue tick will no longer be a free feature. It will cost $8 a month and Elon Musk, the new Twitter boss, calls it "power to the people." In a series of tweets, Musk explained the $8 subscription model, which is going to be a major revamp of the existing Twitter Blue. Going by his tweets, the change is going to be global and it could be sooner than later.
Calling the current verification model as "lords and peasants system", Musk said the revamped model will give "power to the people." Twitter Blue will cost $8 a month, and the price will be adjusted according to purchasing power parity of the country, which is standard practice with global brands.
There's more for $8
Musk may have hinted that the verification of an account will be part of $8 subscription, he clearly noted some of the features that will most certainly be included in the new plan. They include, fewer ads, priority in replies mentions and search, and the ability post longer videos than the current limit of 2 minutes 20 seconds. He says the new model is essential to defeating spam and scam.
Musk also admitted that the $8 monthly subscription will serve as a revenue stream to reward content creators. This had come up briefly in his reply to author Stephen King's tweet. "We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?" Musk had suggested few hours before floating the $8 model in brief detail.
Finally, public figures who also opt for Twitter Blue will get a secondary tag below the name, which is currently available for government officials and politicians.
Everything Musk mentioned in the tweets raises more questions than answers. Netizens are confused as to how the execution of $8 model will happen. Many wondered if getting a blue tick is going to be as simple as paying $8 a month. Clearly, that won't be the case as account verification will still be subject to stringent background checks.
Similarly, Musk did not specify how the subscription revenue model will help Twitter reward content creators. Most of all, despite reports that there's a November 7 deadline, Musk did not mention a timeline for the new paid model to go live.
