https://9to5mac.com/2022/11/04/salad-days-of-twitter/ [cropped-cr] Switch site * Exclusives * Store * iPhone + iPhone + iPhone 12 + iPhone 13 + iPhone 14 + iOS 15 + iOS 16 * Mac + Mac + MacBook Pro + MacBook Air + iMac + Mac mini + macOS Monterey * Watch + Apple Watch + Apple Health + Apple Watch Series 7 + Apple Watch Series 8 + Apple Watch Ultra + Apple Watch SE + watchOS 8 + Apple Fitness+ * iPad + iPad Pro + iPad Air + iPad mini + iPad + iPadOS * Music + Apple Music + AirPods + HomePod * TV + Apple TV 4K + Apple TV + tvOS 15 * Guides + Reviews + How Tos + AAPL + Apple Store + Apple Arcade + Apple Card + Apple Silicon + Apple One + CarPlay + Siri + HomeKit Toggle main menu More social networks Submit a Tip / Contact Us Cashback Fix Toggle dark mode Search [ ] Search Toggle search * 9to5Toys * 9to5Google * Electrek * DroneDJ * Space Explored * About * Privacy November 4 If everyone is verified, no one is verified Zac Hall - Nov. 4th 2022 12:49 pm PT @apollozac [blue-musk] 110 Comments * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest * LinkedIn * Reddit * Twitter has been good to me. It's a direct line to readers, a shared workspace for writers and creators, an audience that gets my snark - it's also part of my professional origin story. But the bird is hurting, and that hurts to see. I can explain. [INS::INS] TL;DR I like this place. Can we please not break it? How it started My 9to5Mac origin story starts with Twitter. Mark Gurman plucked me out of a niche Twitter community of anonymous Apple Store employees, Seth Weintraub gave me a copy editing job, and the rest is history. Both that and the relationship I have with 9to5Mac readers on Twitter gives me a deep appreciation for the service. It's more than just a funny set of circumstances, too. When Mark and I formed a friendship over Twitter in 2013, there were a lot of changes happening in my life. My "Granny" who raised me was dying from a late stage four cancer diagnosis, and I stopped working to serve as her caregiver. Making Mark laugh with tweets that parodied Apple and tech journalism helped take the weight off of an especially heavy season in my life. One thing (my Twitter account) led to another (a satirical Apple blog) before Seth Weintraub offered me a job copyediting for 9to5Mac. The 9to5Mac gig and forming new friendships with people across the country served as a huge source of consistency for me after my grandmother passed. We were semi-professional in Hipchat, but our personalities poured out through Twitter. The number of new colleagues and friends has changed over the years, but I think Twitter being a place where we share more of ourselves is still true. Or could be. TBD. How it's going Twitter is also a key publishing tool for newsgathering and story sharing. That feels understated. I think that's also why Twitter feels like it should be more valuable than it has been on paper. That's largely Twitter's fault. I joined Twitter as a student in February 2009 and started using it professionally in April 2013. Twitter paid $40 million for TweetDeck in the middle of that change, the power user tool that's especially useful for journalists. The tool is currently going through a questionably beneficial overhaul, but Twitter has never charged for access. Until recently, there really hasn't been a way for journalists and power users to pay for the service. That's probably been a mistake. So is selling Twitter verification as a subscription. Verification was introduced in 2009 in part because (I'm not kidding) Kanye West was criticizing Twitter for allowing impersonators. The verification badge on profiles helps signal that an account is operated by the person or company that it claims to be. There are absolutely instances of the verification function failing incredibly, but it generally works as intended. Repurposing the verification system as a means for subscription revenue replaces the intended function of confirming identity with confirming that the user has $8 - or however much it costs. Ignore the cost aspect for a moment and consider the mechanics as if it were free. What value would verification have if the only barrier was requesting a badge with no process for verifying the identity? Applying a payment method as the barrier to preventing spam has merit. That's partly why alternatives to Twitter often have low fees like $1 /month for access. It creates a paper trail to some degree between the account and the user. It adds some complexity to account creation that may reduce platform abuse. But it doesn't eliminate misuse or spam - the price for influence spans $1 to $44 billion. Selling verification is a net negative regardless of any associated revenue it drives. It simply creates an unenforceable system for claiming who you are without authenticity. When verification loses its meaning, the system might as well not exist. Collect revenue from services like power user tools and features that benefit your most engaged users. Verification as a service is just selling their identities for no one's benefit. Go follow Zac from 9to5 @omfgzac. His account was banned when he changed his name and profile picture to Elon Musk to show the absurdity of handing out verification. What a way to go out https://t.co/LK0XPi0yuE pic.twitter.com/hfS6RWFszm -- Ian Zelbo (@ianzelbo) November 4, 2022 Wanted to check in on the new overlord (I don't follow him LOL) and I see @apollozac appears first, that's hilarious pic.twitter.com/TNTWtv3WN2 -- Amanda Kondolojy (@AKondolojyOS) November 2, 2022 I'm guessing it was the real-time demonstration of how anyone with a blue check can plausibly impersonate anyone else, such as Elon Musk. It was pretty spectacular. -- Sarah Cook (@paxsarah) November 2, 2022 If I doubted a person was really who they said they were, I just looked for a blue check and I'd know instantly that their account was true representation and not some faker. So now you're going to remove that element of verification and replace it with greed. GTK -- kim (@minaforest) November 1, 2022 Uhhhhh this kinda distills the whole gigantic problem with handing out check marks to anybody with any handle in two idiotic sentences. -- Mike is getting overwhelmed! (@Mitanotec) November 1, 2022 He paid his $8. He can be Elon if wants to. -- LoLcat (@jason_stallman) November 1, 2022 See, that sounds like the opposite of verification. You really ARE going to burn this platform to the ground in a month, aren't you? -- Ruthann617 (@Ruthann6171) November 1, 2022 This is kinda the point. So many people are seeing the name and the tick and assuming it must be legit. Which is exactly what will happen en masse with this change - suddenly you can't trust that anyone is who they seem on here unless you know their handle... -- Graham Cox (@grahamcox82) November 1, 2022 Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. google-news FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. [795-ACPHO-04] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: You're reading 9to5Mac -- experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don't know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel Guides Twitter Twitter Twitter is a social networking site that was created in 2006. Users send "tweets" to let people know what they are doing. It was created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. About the Author [4403f5bde9] Zac Hall @apollozac Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com. Apple TV app now hides 'Up Next' row New Apple TV 4K officially launches 9to5Mac Happy Hour 406 Rumor: Foldable iPad launching in 2024 Powered by WordPress VIP