In what seems like a somewhat baffling turnaround, social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has announced that subscribers to its X Blue offering are now able to hide the blue checkmark that indicates their subscriber status.
Traditionally, back when the platform was known as Twitter, blue ticks were only available to those accounts who were deemed ‘verified’, with the prestigious symbol reserved for notable individuals like celebrities and world leaders. Shortly after Elon Musk’s takeover of the app back in November 2022, however, the CEO announced that he would be overhauling the “lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark”, providing the option to effectively purchase a blue tick by subscribing to Blue.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.
Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
True to his word, Musk then granted the “peasants” more power, by announcing some months later, in March 2023, that the legacy verification system in which notable individuals were granted blue ticks was getting wound down and those blue ticks removed.
Now, in what appears to be a U-turn in selling the Blue offering as a way for the “common people” to purchase themselves a symbol of power in the form of a blue tick, subscribers of Blue are now able to hide the very checkmark that provides this perceived power. In a statement, X explained:
“As a subscriber, you can choose to hide your checkmark on your account. The checkmark will be hidden on your profile and posts. The checkmark may still appear in some places and some features could still reveal you have an active subscription. Some features may not be available while your checkmark is hidden.”
This begs the question: what’s the deal with this turnaround?
Well, it seems that Musk’s dreams of equal footing on Twitter haven’t panned out as he hoped, with the uptake of Blue being very meagre, accounting for fewer than 1% (0.3%) of the platform’s users. What’s more, it seems the once-prestigious blue tick has now turned into a negative symbol, with some individuals opting to block any blue tick accounts they come across, according to Social Media Today.
Offering the ability to hide this symbol does seem to be Musk’s best bet of encouraging subscribers, allowing people to access exclusive features without proclaiming you’re paying for the privilege. Of course, if some of these features are used, it will be obvious a user is a subscriber, blue tick or not – such as the ability to post a longer tweet, use text formatting or edit a tweet.
As X undergoes more and more upheaval, it really does remain to be seen whether Musk is changing the platform for the better or attempting to patch up a sinking ship. If you need help with getting your business seen and heard on social media platforms, check out EngageWeb.Club or sign up to our next social media training workshop.
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