On Saturday, the Twitter app on the Apple App store was updated. Twitter users can now pay $8 for a ‘blue check’ verification mark next to their name.
It’s one of the first big changes since Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter in a $44 billion deal. Musk, the CEO of electric car company Tesla and space company SpaceX, also fired half of the staff at Twitter.
Previously, the blue check mark next to a person’s username meant that Twitter confirmed who the owner of the account was. It’s not clear if users who pay the new fee will have to confirm their identities.
There are some benefits for users who pay the monthly $8 fee. The users will see less advertisements, and they can post longer videos. Their content will also have better ranking, so more people will see it.
Soon, users with the blue check will also be able to post longer tweets and monetize their content. Musk wants to give creators more ad revenue than YouTube pays.
The new service will first be available in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Musk says that the service will come to other countries as soon as everything is working well. He also says it will hopefully be available in India in less than a month.
According to Musk, another priority is fixing Twitter’s search tool.
VOCABULARY
- App (application) – software, especially for smartphones
- Verification – an action that establishes/finds the truth; confirmation of the truth; authentification; certification
- Mark – symbol; sign; character; figure
- Deal – agreement; business contract; arrangement
- CEO (Chief Executive officer) – the top person in a large company; president; boss
- Fire – to remove someone from their job; dismiss a worker from a job; to let go; to lay off; dismiss
- Username – the name that you use/choose when accessing/using a computer program, website, or service (my Twitter username: @practicewthnews)
- Confirm – to prove true or accurate; to report that something is true or fact
- Account – a user’s profile/page on social media or internet service
- Identity – who someone is; the name of a person;
- Benefit – advantage; something good; merit; strong point; perk
- Monthly – every month; once a month
- Fee – the cost of something; an amount of money that you pay; price; charge; rate
- Post – to write or publish something on the internet; to put a message on social media
- Content – information, images, video, etc. that are included as part of something like a website or social media account; material created by a person
- Ranking – position, order, or standing within a group of something; grade; rate; place
- Monetize – to turn into money; to change into money; to earn money from/for;
- Creator – producer; someone who makes something new; a person who makes content
- Ad (advertisement) – marketing or sales material; a notice or sign to promote something
- Revenue – income; money that comes in; money earned; earnings
- Available – able to be used: ready for use; accessible
- According to – as ‘someone’ said; as stated by ‘someone’; in the opinion of ‘someone’
- Priority – most important; regarded or treated as more important than others; preference;
Original story from Reuters below:
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