Twitter may be the biggest public forum on the internet, but it’s not happy with its current positioning. The firm, which relies on advertising for most of its revenue, is looking to others sources to generate income. For months, it was being speculated that Twitter would roll out a subscription service, something that was supported by the fact that the company had been making acquisitions and launching new features left and right. Today, the speculation is finally over, as Twitter has announced its first subscription service-Twitter Blue.
Twitter Blue will be to Twitter what YouTube Premium is to YouTube, allowing subscribers access to unique features that free users of the app will not get. This includes an ‘Undo tweet’ feature, that will allow Twitter Blue users to roll back a tweet for a set period of time (maximum 30 seconds).
The other part of this premium offering will be better accessibility, where Blue users will be able to use Bookmark Folders so users can organize tweets they save and get access to something called a Reader Mode which will make it easier to read long threads.
And of course, no premium subscription is complete without added cosmetic effects, and hence, Twitter Blue users will be able to customize the Twitter app icons on their phones, as well as use different color themes for the main app.
Last but not least, paid users will also get dedicated customer support, which might become a nightmare for a social media platform to handle but who am I to judge?
For now, the service has only been launched in Canada and Australia, but it might be rolled out in other geographies soon.
All of this fits perfectly into the plethora of reports that have been doing the rounds of the internet for months now, claiming that Twitter is looking to expand revenue sources. The company has already set the stage for live events (much like Facebook) with Twitter Spaces and Tip Jar, where it can take a cut from a creator, and this new Twitter Blue subscription would fit right alongside it.
Ads and data tracking have been getting a bad rap in the industry for quite a while now, with users becoming more and more cautious about the data they share. Thus, at a time like this, a subscription service may be just the thing that can help platforms save face, and Twitter is on to the trend already.
