If you’ve been following Twitter story in progress, you know that there have been many changes at the company. Just this week, Twitter dropped APIs for third-party apps, leaving some longtime developers a little more peeved (warning: link contains profanity).
One area that has seen a significant change is the famous blue check mark. The blue check mark was initially presented by Twitter as the icon of a “verified” account. However, Twitter has been very erratic about who they have chosen to grant the blue check mark to. Twitter occasionally opens submissions for review marked in blue, but there is no hard and fast criteria for selection. Because of this, some people have been ticked in blue while others who appear to be famous and of similar status have not.
In some circles, the blue checkmark evolved into a mocked status symbol. According to some entries in the Urban Dictionarythe phrase “Blue checkmark” when applied to an individual, is “a slang term, mainly used by right-wingers to describe left-wing journalists and celebrities”.
Even so, the existence of a blue check mark next to someone’s name has become a sign to Twitter users that the checkmark holder is a notable person, implying that the checkmark holder has more some rights online. We will come back to this in a minute. But first, let’s discuss the recent changes to how the blue checkmark status is granted.
New blue check mark
However, in recent months, blue marking has been granted has changed significantly. Blue check mark is now a benefit of $8/month Twitter Blue Programalong with the ability to post longer videos, view fewer ads, edit tweets, and prioritize posts over non-Twitter Blue members.
Registered users Twitter Blue via their iPhone will have to pay $11/month to offset Apple’s portion of the fee. Owners of legacy blue ticks have not been asked to pay the fee, at least for now.
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Many Twitter users are aware of these changes, but what you may not know is that Twitter provides a mechanism to know if Twitter users are getting back the blue check mark of the day as a status icon or just paying the monthly fee. months to wear badges.
First you need to click on the user’s profile. Then directly click on that blue checkmark. In this first example, I clicked on Sir Patrick Stewart’s profile and clicked the checkmark:
As you can see, Sir Patrick has an inherited blue check mark because if anyone is considered authoritative online, it’s the person playing Captain (now Admiral) Picard.
Before we move on, just a quick reminder that Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard is back in action Interstellar Travel: Picard on February 16. I’m not entirely excited about the first two seasons, but I’m looking forward to seeing Geordi, Beverly and Worf again after all this time.
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Ok, now let’s get to a random number that decided to buy into the Twitter Blue program. I’ve blurred out this person’s name because it’s unfair to use someone who doesn’t necessarily appear in public as an example. But as you can see, when I click on this blue check mark, the message says “This account is verified because of Twitter Blue registration.”
There is another meaning as well. People who are key employees at companies that qualify for “Business Blue” also receive a blue check mark. Clicking on their tag generates the message, “This account is verified because it’s an affiliate of @Company on Twitter.”
Here is an example. The person below is listed on LinkedIn as Twitter’s director of product marketing and has both the blue check mark and the logo (which we’ll also discuss below):
Buy a status icon
Despite the use of “Blue checkmark” as a slur in some right-wing media, the blue checkmark has always been a status symbol. While it’s currently available to anyone willing to spend $8 or $11 per month (depending on how it’s purchased), many Twitter users still see the label as an indicator of influence.
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This created a new problem, because accounts held by terrorists, rogue regimes, and people in radically discriminatory positions were given the blue checkmark status icon that pays. money to play new.
The Report of the Southern Poverty Law Center in November that “white nationalists, anti-LGBTQ extremists and other far-right individuals and groups are now displaying what was once a symbol of credibility on the platform.”
According to BBC, Taliban officials also started buying blue checkmarks. However, the Guardian report it soon that those blue checkmarks have been removed by Twitter.
Gray check mark
You may also start seeing gray check marks on your Twitter account. Or not. Here is what is happening.
The gray check mark is a new identifier for government or official accounts. They were launched briefly late last year, and then the feature was axed.
But now, they are back. Will they stay? Maybe only one person knows, and I doubt whether he knows or not.
In any case, when you see something with a gray check mark, they are likely official, governmental, and possibly sponsored by you and me.
Golden Relic
Next is the yellow check mark and check that… ZDNET has a check mark!
The yellow checkmark is reserved for “official businesses.” This is the new Verification for Organizations early access program, formerly known as the Blue for Business program. If you want to receive a golden check mark for your business, you can apply to be put on the waitlist here.
Twitter says that “eligible” businesses can be added to the waitlist, but it does not identify eligible businesses. We sent a note to the Twitter team for clarification. If we hear anything back, we’ll post it here.
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The fact that ZDNET has gold tells you that a degree must be your business must be absolutely amazing.
Icon after check mark
Twitter has long allowed a user’s display name to include character icons. But now there is an icon afterward the display name of the account associated with the organization yellow check mark… at least for some organizations.
Here is an example. Disney parks have a small blue Disney logo behind the gold badge.
Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort also have a small blue Disney logo, but Disney itself does not.
Clicking on the blue icon for Disney Parks will take you to the Disney profile.
These are called “affiliate badges.” According to Twitter’s Crawford, they are used to connect accounts together, like an internal linking cloud. They are available to businesses that have been granted a golden check mark.
The label “Official” may not happen
Finally, let’s talk about the “Official” label. This is a small white check mark and label below an account’s Twitter profile name on the main profile page. It was tweeted by Crawford in November, but it doesn’t appear to be going live.
On Twitter today, there is no “Official” sign.
My thoughts on the blue check mark
Create Twitter Blue Checkmarks Blue is a mistake that will affect Twitter in the future. Twitter knows it has a valuable item in the blue checkmark, and selling perceived power and influence could yield some signups.
But to turn the blue checkmark into a dairy cow at such a low price would need to open it up to millions of Twitter users. This has the unintended but completely predictable consequences of giving a mark of notoriety to those who probably shouldn’t be glorified.
If Twitter wanted to turn the blue checkmark into a money-making tool while still maintaining its reputation, I would have advised it to take a page from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is the famous section of Hollywood Boulevard that has stars on the sidewalk with the names of famous people. Having such a star is a big thing. But what most people don’t know is that if a celebrity wants a star, they have to be nominated and selected, and then pay $55,000 for the privilege — obviously to offset installation and maintenance costs.
Twitter could have sold the blue checkmarks, but priced them much higher, and then handed the nominations over to some sort of selection committee, who would examine each nomination. When valued somewhere between $1,000 and $10,000, the cost offsets the costs associated with fact-checking candidates, while greatly reducing the number of applicants.
Another approach might be to remove the blue checkmark entirely and replace it with another color, such as green. Those with a green check mark will be the ones who can verify their identity and nothing else. Here, Twitter could have charged their $8 or $11 per month, and without the huge fuss (and accompanying mockery) that the new blue checkmark inspired as part of the Twitter Blue program.
As for the “Official” marker, it starts to look like Twitter is following its own tail in determining what it’s trying to convey. If the company really wants to convey some level of popularity, influence or legitimacy, then they should keep the blue check mark and clean up the nomination, endorsement, and selection policies. Monetization can happen in any of the ways I have suggested or maybe even in other ways. Share your ideas and suggestions below.
Overall, adding validation and verification is a good idea. But programs must be internally consistent, fair, and predictable to users and potential participants. As we have seen in recent months, how the company is doing because its acquisition does not appear to favor the kind of deliberation, analysis, and deliberation that new programs need before implementation.
What do you think? Did you have or buy a blue check mark? Have you noticed that people with blue checkmarks are more important than those without? Let us know in the comments below.
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