Elon Musk to find new source of revenue for Twitter

Leah Cooper on November 21, 2022

Elon Musk has made significant changes to the popular social media platform Twitter since buying the company last week.

After removing top executives from the company, Musk is now focusing on revenue from the platform.

Twitter Blue

As Twitter’s new CEO, Musk shared his intention to make the social media platform less reliant on advertising for revenue.

In particular, he is thinking of Twitter’s premium service, Twitter Blue.

Twitter Blue is currently available in four countries for $4.99 monthly.

According to Musk, he plans to increase the price to $8.

The most significant change, however, is that Twitter Blue will have a blue tick next to the user’s handle.

The blue checkmark is often seen on verified profiles, most of which belong to organizations, athletes, celebrities and internet celebrities.

Elon Musk’s plan serves to answer claims that the service would cost $20.

Changes

Tesla’s founder and CEO revealed his monetary plan in tweets.

Elon Musk talked about the current system, describing it as “bull****.”

He plans to offer the verification service to users who are willing to spend money every month.

The subscription service prioritizes interactions, comments and mentions for payers.

It also doubles as a method to combat spam.

Benefits of the service

Users who pay for the service can post longer videos and audio.

Additionally, Elon Musk says the change will see half of the ads that other users see.

Meanwhile, publishers who want to work with the social media platform will get a paywall bypass.

Another key feature that users who pay for Twitter Blue get is the ability to edit their own tweets finally.

For now, it is only enabled for Blue users.

However, according to Casey Newton of Platform, it will soon be free for everyone.

The arrival of the new update is a question of if and when, and upon arrival, users can write a secondary tag.

Secondary tags are currently exclusive to high-profile politicians.

Reference:

Musk to increase Twitter Blue subscription to $8, verified checkmarks will be secondary

Eli Lilly stocks drop after fake account leads people on

Claire Peterson on November 14, 2022

Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company, is the latest victim of a massive drop in stocks in recent days.

Since Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, there has been a shift in the social media platform.

Account legitimacy was the main topic of conversation for weeks.

Anyone can purchase the blue check mark, usually reserved for celebrities, politicians, and other figures.

Twitter was responsible for the decline in Eli Lilly’s stock.

The tweet

A fake Eli Lilly account managed to fool people after the user subscribed to Musk’s new Twitter Blue offer and gave himself the blue check mark tick.

The sight of the check mark made users believe the account’s misleading tweet.

“We are excited to announce insulin is free now,” said the fake Eli Lilly account.

Since the tweet, the account went private, losing its verification checkmark.

The insulin maker saw its stock price drop 4.5% hours after the tweet

Eli Lilly later clarified the situation with its official Twitter account.

The Twitter situation

The collapse of the pharmaceutical company is just one of the many problems that have arisen after the change of the Twitter Blue subscription offers.

Initially, people bought the service to impersonate athletes and celebrities before turning it into a breeding ground for other parody accounts and misinformation.

Although it has already appeared on Twitter, the new tick service has caused more confusion.

Many users have tried to get their accounts as close to the original as possible.

Elon Musk’s new Twitter Blue service only adds to the platform’s disinformation problem.

Eli Lilly and Company is just one of many corporate entities to fall victim to identity theft, along with others like:

Defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin
Oil company BP
Produce distributor Chiquita

Aftermath

Twitter enters a new era as more users use verification check marks to impersonate celebrities.

Users have also pointed to the unethical stories of the brands they imitate.

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company may have taken a hit, but the price of insulin for individuals remains very high.

Reference:

Insulin producer Eli Lilly sees stock drop because of a fake blue check tweet

Twitter suspends Kathy Griffin for posing as Musk

Edward Anderson on November 8, 2022

Twitter has a new owner, and although Elon Musk has promised free speech, there have already been numerous account suspensions.

Comedian Kathy Griffin is among those whose account was suspended for impersonating the new owner of the popular social media platform.

Suspension

Kathy Griffin was the first celebrity to lose her tweeting rights after a wave of users impersonated Musk last weekend.

The depiction points out the flaws in Twitter’s plans for a new verification system.

Subscription plans

Elon Musk used the $8 subscription as a signature to increase the company’s revenue and avoid relying on advertising.

The new plan launched over the weekend before the company decided to postpone the service until after the midterm elections.

The new Twitter Blue subscription gives paying users a blue checkmark on their profile.

The option was previously only available to celebrities, politicians, journalists and other public figures.

Elon Musk offers the new functionality as a solution to combat spam bots on the platform.

However, the plan did not sit well with people.

Celebrities and comedians

Over the weekend, several celebrities on Twitter impersonated Musk as an act of defiance.

Comedian Sarah Silverman copied Musk’s profile picture, cover photo, and name before tweeting:

“I am a freedom of speech absolutist and I eat doody for breakfast every day.”

Silverman also retweeted messages in support of Democratic candidates.

On Sunday, her account had a label saying it was “temporarily restricted” with an unusual activity warning on his account.

So the comedian restored her account with her original name and photo.

TV’s Valerie Bertinelli also changed her Twitter name to Elon Musk, tweeting:

“[t]he blue checkmark simply meant your identify was verified. Scammers would have a harder time importsonating you. That no longer applied. Good luck out there!”

Bertinelli later reverted back to her original account name and pictures, saying, “[o]key-dokey I’ve had my fun and I think I made my point.”

Elon Musk

Speaking of impersonations on Sunday, Twitter’s new owner wrote:

“Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.”

Elon Musk also clarified that Twitter users will not receive notification of their suspension.

“This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue,” he explained.

As of Monday morning, Kathy Griffin’s account is suspended, and it’s unclear how long it will remain in effect.

The night before, Musk mocked Griffin, saying she got her suspension for impersonating a comedian.

He said she can get her account back online after paying $8 for Twitter Blue.

However, it’s unclear if Musk was serious about his comments.

Reference:

Kathy Griffin suspended from Twitter for impersonating Elon Musk