If there is one redeeming feature about Twitter, it’s that it’s free. Sure we have to scroll past promoted tweets once in a while, but the service doesn’t cost anything to use and it’s always been that way. Well, the folks at Twitter are now asking “what if … it wasn’t?” No, they’re not proposing you pay to use all of Twitter, they just want to see if you’ll pay for premium content.
Welcome to the world of “Super Follows.” Super Follows allows Twitter users to charge their followers for access to special content. Not just tweets but also, potentially, “access to a community group, subscription to a newsletter, or a badge indicating your support” according to The Verge. If that sounds a whole lot like Patreon (or OnlyFans or Cameo or Substack or …) but for Twitter … well, it is. Twitter very much wants in on the rising economy of micro-subscriptions and paid content, so here they are.
Oh and that “community group” thing is a new feature as well, as Twitter is also rolling out a feature allowing you to create groups around a specific special interest. Because nothing ever went wrong or distorted the meaning of truth and democracy on those sort of groups over on Facebook. Still, for those who like to follow specific topics or groups of people, this might be nice.
Twitter made this announcement earlier today in a presentation for analysts and investors in a “what’s next” section. They didn’t say when either feature would roll out, but with other platforms like Facebook also getting in on the direct payments to creators game, this upgrade seems inevitable. Even though people predictably took to Twitter, to use the service for what it was made for … mocking other things on Twitter.
For $4.99 a month, my Premium Tweets will tell you what REALLY happened to the baboons https://t.co/ArcCMGu7ST
— Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) February 25, 2021
Much as I would love another revenue stream, I’m not sure *I* would pay to see my tweets… https://t.co/ArXYfe4axx
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) February 25, 2021
This is going to be an awesome way to annihilate my self-esteem while making $15 dollars a year. https://t.co/hpuymovPW1
— Daniel Kibblesmith (@kibblesmith) February 25, 2021
Twitter wants to get a piece of a growing industry, that’s clear, but what not clear is if users will really go along. Especially when content creators they love may already have platforms or forums to support their work and the money isn’t going to a, let’s say, not very loved corporation like Twitter. Then again, for creators looking to create a platform like this, it might be a good way to start one that doesn’t require them to start in a new space and hope their followers show up for them on that platform.
Either way, it seems like “premium tweets” will be a thing before an edit button.
(via: The Verge, Image: ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images)
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