• Musk said in an interview on Friday that Twitter Blue subscribers would receive prioritisation on the app.
• This includes within search, mentions and replies.
• Twitter also took a harsh stance toward parody accounts on Sunday.

What a wild weekend it’s been for Twitter and its new owner Elon Musk.

On Friday large swathes of the workforce were fired as Elon Musk looked to streamline Twitter and reduce its costs. After that, the billionaire appeared in an interview at the Baron Investment Conference where he addressed a number of aspects of his purchase. You can watch the full interview below.

The billionaire explained that part of what he was trying to do with Twitter Blue was to generate revenue while the other was to have payment-verified users.

“There is a huge problem with spam and bots and trolls on Twitter and organisations trying to manipulate public opinion and just generally making the system worse,” said Musk. “And I think the answer to that is to get as many regular users of Twitter to be a subscriber for eight dollars a month.”

This fee will, Musk says, give users access to long-form video content, podcasts and other features that require significant infrastructure investment. This $8 subscription will also be used to support content creators.

Right now, Twitter is used to direct folks to other platforms, and Musk does acknowledge this but wants it to change.

“We’re going to prioritise Twitter search, replies and mentions by verified users first,” Musk said. “So if you’re payment verified with a blue check mark then you’ll be prioritised.”

What Musk isn’t saying is that if you don’t pay for verification, you are essentially going to be treated as if your account is a bot. Twitter Blue then, is looking more like an essential feature than an add-on.

Comedy is no longer legal

Since taking the reigns at Twitter, Musk has been impersonated online by many users. Truthfully, this occurred before the acquisition as well.

However, despite declaring that “Comedy is now legal”, it appears it depends on who finds that comedy funny.

On Sunday, Kathy Griffin was suspended from Twitter for impersonating Elon Musk. As Vulture reports, Griffin implored folks to vote for the Democratic Party as Musk. This prompted Musk to get rather upset and Griffin was suspended.

Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022

Twitter does have a policy regarding parody accounts but we aren’t sure if Griffin was warned before being suspended as per that policy.

Moving forward, no warning will be issued at all and should you pay for verification and then change your name, you will lose the checkmark.

We have to wonder how Musk is formulating these rules and how they will be enforced. Changing names on Twitter is common practice during big events and seasonal occasions so to remove this feels like a misstep.

From where we’re sitting, Musk’s plans for Twitter don’t just seem to involve Twitter Blue, they seem to depend on it entirely. Paying for infrastructure that enables long-form video content and podcasts while supporting content creators sounds like a lot of work for that $8 subscription.

And while Musk can lament that people pay $8 for a coffee, the fact of the matter is that Twitter Blue, and Twitter as a platform, doesn’t provide any real value. The promise of supporting content creators, while great, is not something that will happen overnight nor will creators come to Twitter on the promise of payment.

Of course, we’re curious to see just how many regular Twitter users fork out money for this subscription. Truth be told, we like our lattes more than verification on one of the most toxic social media sites.

The idea that bots, spammers and disinformation and misinformation actors will be put off by an $8 fee is also laughable when you consider some of these campaigns can draw in millions in revenue.

Let’s see what happens to Twitter once these plans are fully realised.