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Tag: Elon Musk

  • Meta Introduces Paid Verification Subscription for Instagram and Facebook Accounts

    Meta Introduces Paid Verification Subscription for Instagram and Facebook Accounts

    Can we blame Elon? Because Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is introducing a new subscription service called “Meta Verified” which offers users a blue verification badge, increased visibility, prioritized customer support and more. The feature is rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week, costing $11.99 per month on web and $14.99 per month on mobile.

    To sign up, users must meet minimum activity requirements, be at least 18 years old, and submit a government ID that matches the name and photo on their Facebook or Instagram accounts. While the service has been compared to Elon Musk‘s $8 per month Twitter Blue, Meta says it won’t make any changes to accounts that have been verified using the company’s previous requirements, such as notability and authenticity.

    Users who sign up will also receive exclusive stickers for Stories and Reels and 100 free stars per month, the digital currency used to tip creators on Facebook. However, businesses cannot apply for a Meta Verified badge, and users cannot change their profile name, username, birthday or profile photo without going through the verification process again.

  • Elon Musk’s Bold Move: Twitter’s Verified Check Marks Up for Grabs

    Elon Musk’s Bold Move: Twitter’s Verified Check Marks Up for Grabs

    The new king of social media is looking for cash and it seems he’s found a way to get it. Elon Musk‘s Twitter is asking businesses to pay a hefty $1,000 per month, plus an additional $50 per affiliated sub-account, to keep their gold check-mark verification badges. This new pricing falls under Twitter’s new service, Twitter Blue for Business, which was introduced in December and allows businesses to distinguish themselves and link affiliated individuals, businesses, and even movie characters with a small badge next to their profile picture.

    However, this move doesn’t come as a surprise. After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, Musk accumulated $12.5 billion in debt and is looking to increase subscription revenue to meet these obligations. This new pricing strategy also follows Twitter’s announcement last month of partnerships with brand-safety analytics vendors to attract back marketers who have been hesitant to spend on the platform since Musk’s chaotic takeover.

    Twitter Blue for Business customers will eventually be the only ones with verified status as Twitter plans to discontinue all legacy verified check-marks within the next few months. Musk has previously stated that the way in which these check-marks were given out was “corrupt and nonsensical”.

    Twitter Blue for individuals, which includes a blue check-mark, costs $8 per month purchased on the web and $11 per month through Apple’s iOS. To prevent impersonators from flooding the platform, Twitter relaunched the program in December with new safeguards.

    On a related note, Musk recently announced that Twitter will start sharing ad revenue with creators for ads that appear in their reply threads starting February 3rd, but provided no additional details on how the program will work or how much users can expect to be paid. The split in revenue will only be with creators who subscribe to Twitter Blue.

    Aside from being the CEO of Twitter, Musk is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. On Friday, a federal jury found him not liable for Tesla investor losses over tweets he made in 2018, which led to a lawsuit by the SEC. Following the verdict, Musk tweeted, “Thank goodness, the wisdom of the people has prevailed! I am deeply appreciative of the jury’s unanimous finding of innocence in the Tesla 420 take-private case.”