Elon Musk, the Newly crowned Owner of the behemoth known as Twitter, says, His goal is to evaluate citizen journalism. After nearly two weeks, we can see significant changes for the better.
Mainstream media will still thrive, but increased competition from citizens will cause them to be more accurate, as their oligopoly on information is disrupted
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2022
What were the Problems with the old way? As Musk so eloquently put it, “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.”
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Under the old system, politicians, celebrities, and notable brands considered the “elites” are granted verified blue checks for free. But as Twitter has grown, it’s become an illustrious status symbol, Separating the social media platform into two halves: The Important and Not-So Important.
It may not be so widely known, But under the old system, you could purchase a verified badge from Twitter’s Media Sponsors for the right price. The going rate in 2007 was $700.00, but after becoming one of the planet’s most popular social media platform, that price shot up 2,042.86% in 15 years, past $15,000, as Hans Mahncke co-host of “Truth Over News” on EpochTV joked.
Verification has become a symbol of wealth, where you, the follower, are the product to be sold to the highest bidder, aka “Advertisers.” Relying on Ads as their primary source of income made Twitter dependent and beholden to their political aims or goals. To set the bird free, they must become less reliant on them.
Let’s remember that @elonmusk charging $8 for premium Twitter experience means Twitter becomes the product again, instead of you.
And if $8 is too much, you’re free to remain as the product.
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) November 1, 2022
Musk’s supposals have uprooted the rotten tree from its source, which caused an uproar with Old Media. And Mostly from privileged snots that probably shouldn’t have received a blue badge in the first place. Twitter’s Policies needed to be more cohesive, with many verified users obtaining their status simply for being at the right place at the right time. For example, one criterion was you must be a Notable public figure or brand.
However, users found loopholes that allowed people to verify their family members, friends, or employees who don’t hold any notoriety or fame. If they knew somebody in the entertainment industry, the hairdresser, the assistant, hell, even the maid could get verified, which was very frustrating for authentic content creatives that worked very hard and built their audience from scratch. Independent free thinkers have a system stacked against them.
The entitled elite is not mad that they have to pay $8/month. They’re mad that anyone can pay $8/month.
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) November 3, 2022
What are the solutions? It’s essential to give users equal opportunities to succeed; A system that rewards content creators from all areas of the spectrum which includes; Bloggers, Freelance Journalists, gamers, podcasters, subscription models, musicians, and educators.
Widespread verification will democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022
But why stop there? How about aiming toward the professional white and blue-collar sectors? Currently, no social media platform verifies qualified professionals like teachers, bookkeepers, lawyers, nurses, electricians, realtors, or any profession with state license boards or membership orgs like the NPPA, NACPB, or the NNA.
In 2020, about 37.9 percent of the U.S. population aged 25 and above had graduated from college or another higher education institution, Statista reports.
Furthermore, The U.S. Census says there are over 7 million small businesses, with many self-employed entrepreneurs contributing to the economy. These small businesses operate in several sectors and would greatly benefit from obtaining an official verified account for their respective profession. Verifying your identity will help you gain credibility in the public’s eye while promoting your services.
The big question would be, How many professionals or content creators; would pay to verify their identity on Twitter? The Answer: Millions.
With Twitter’s 329 million active users, there’s no question that this feature would help drive the economy. It would open the door in ways we haven’t seen before on a social media platform, potentially surpassing LinkedIn for professionals.
Here’s Our Plan: Create a 3-level price tier structure for Twitter Blue.
Basic:
Receive a blue badge.
Verify your Identity; use driver license or state issued I.D. Card.(Great for the average user).
Price: $7.99
Content Creator:
Receive a Blue badge + Official Profile Label.
Verify your Identity, including your official blog, streaming or podcast channel, YouTube, or online subscription page. (Great for musicians, sex-workers, Gamers, podcasts and more.)
Price: $10.99
Professional:
Receive a Blue badge + Official Profile Label.
Verify your Identity, including your Professional Membership org or State Board License. (Great for the Blue collar or white-collar workers across several sectors.)
Price: $20.00
First, To implement this plan, there needs to be at least 7 or 8 different Official Profile Labels for Content Creators. And 20 or more for Professionals.
There are many ways to proceed, but it’s best to look at what has worked well for other services. For example, Adult websites like Pornhub and Onlyfans require users to snap a selfie and photo of their Identification Card. On Adam4Adam, Users must have a profile photo that matches their I.D., and they can’t remove that photo unless it’s moderated for approval. There should be limits on how many times you can change a profile photo within a time frame.
Changing your username should also be forbidden. These actions could stop scammers from getting verified, only to change their profile information later to trick people.
Twitter will become profitable if it can implement these plans as soon as possible. It’s easy; you have to dream bigger and not be afraid to be different.
Musk’s commitment to nurturing the visibility of independent news sources, content creators, and free thinkers leads me to believe Twitter is in good hands.
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