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Twitter teases premium subscription, opens verified account applications

Twitter is working on a premium subscription that will offer benefits such as Collections, a timed “undo” send feature, and clutter-free news feeds.

Twitter Blue: Software sleuth and independent researcher Jane Manchun Wong unveiled that Twitter is building Twitter Blue, a premium service starting at $2.99/month.

If you're interested in reading Indie Hacker's interview with Jane, read it here.

Twitter Blue’s features

  • Collections will allow users to save and organize their favorite tweets in folders within Twitter’s Bookmarks, a feature that stores your favorite tweets in a chronological list of when you saved them.

  • Undo provides subscribers a timed button in which they can briefly cancel tweets with typos or errors. It’s not the edit button many have wanted but at least it’ll offer you a few seconds to halt a hastily-written tweet.

  • Clutter-free news will help users’ clean up their busy feeds. Twitter acquired Scroll in early May to create the feature, which enables users to read articles without ads and pop-ups, improving the reading experience.

Typo vibes: The ability to edit tweets is one of Twitter’s most requested features. Don’t expect that feature for some time or perhaps ever, according to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

“The reason there's no edit button [and] there hasn't been an edit button traditionally is we started as an SMS text messaging service. … So as you all know, when you send a text, you can’t really take it back. We wanted to preserve that vibe and that feeling in the early days.” —Jack Dorsey told WIRED

Verified account applications

Twitter is reopening applications for its glamorous blue checkmarks, which denote a verified account and conveys a user’s credibility. Twitter will soon offer a new verification application within the Account Setting tab to all users.

To qualify for verification, Twitter says you must fit one of these six categories listed below:

  • Government
  • Companies, brands, and organizations
  • News organizations and journalists
  • Entertainment
  • Sports and gaming
  • Activists, organizers, and other influential individuals

“We know that the current verification policy may not represent all of the people who should be eligible to be verified on Twitter, so we’re planning to introduce more categories later this year, such as those for scientists, academics, and religious leaders.” —Twitter

Creator strategy takes flight

Twitter is hell-bent on its goal to double revenue from $3.7 billion in 2020 to $7.5 billion or more in 2023.

How does it plan to do that? By enhancing users’ experience with Twitter Blue and investing in tools for creators.

Tip Jar: On May 7, Twitter began allowing users to tip other users. The Tip Jar is only available for those using Twitter in English and is limited to accounts like non-profits, journalists, and those dubbed “creators” by Twitter. You can send tips via Patreon, Cash App, Bandcamp, Venmo, and PayPal.

Super Follows: Users can charge Super Followers for exclusive access to content, subscriber-only newsletters, community groups, and supporter badges.

Communities: Similar to Facebook Groups, Twitter's Communities feature will allow users to create and join a group on a particular topic. Communities will offer “Super Followers” a space to convene with other like-minded folks.

Twitter Spaces: Twitter’s audio chat tool, Spaces, will soon allow hosts to charge for tickets to enter exclusive conversations on the app.

Newsletters: In January, Twitter acquired the newsletter tool Revue, which enables users to create and offer paid newsletter subscriptions within the app.

What do you think about Twitter’s recent moves? Please share in the comments below.

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