• Twitter has launched a new subscription service for verified organisations to hand out verifications for affiliates and sub-brands.
• Called Twitter Verified Organizations, the service will cost either private companies or governments $1 000 a month for their checkmarks, with further payments of $50 per affiliate verified.
• The service joins Twitter Blue as methods Chief Twit Elon Musk is employing as part of his turnaround strategy for the company.

Every day since Elon Musk took control of Twitter in October last year has had us asking “What will they do next?”

The social media company has been hard at work on its Twitter Blue subscription service which launched worldwide earlier this month. The service, which is more expensive than the usual Netflix sub, allows a host of features, some new and some old like editing tweets and SMS two-factor authentication, for users to take advantage of.

Today, the bird app launched a Blue-like service for private and government organisations, aptly named Twitter Verified Organizations.

“Verified Organizations is a new way for organizations and their affiliates to distinguish themselves on Twitter. Rather than relying on Twitter to be the sole arbiter of truth for which accounts should be verified, vetted organizations that sign up for Verified Organizations are in full control of vetting and verifying accounts they’re affiliated with,” the company explained.

Verified Organizations is now the only way for companies and government agencies to keep their golden checkmarks. Over and above this it will be a way for organisations to manage their own verifications and the verifications of employees and subsidiaries.

In Twitter’s words, “The Twitter Verified Organization portal lets organizations add and remove affiliated accounts and provides immediate verification status to anyone in their network who accepts their invitation to affiliate. This could be for new employees, a newly launched movie franchise, or recent team changes for professional sports groups.”

Affiliates will receive a small image of their organisation’s Twitter account next to their profile picture every time they tweet, send a DM or appear in search.

The service costs $1 000 a month, or R18 100 a month. Further, it will cost an organisation $50 (R910) for every affiliated account it verifies.

Companies that subscribe to the Verified Organizations will be able to use a bespoke web portal, where they can manage affiliated accounts and corresponding verification badges (whether blue, grey or gold).

These organisations will also gain access to all features associated with Twitter Blue and Premium Support. Some users have said that the ability to manage affiliate verifications was already present, and this new service is mainly the same with more costs and more steps.

According to Chief Twit Musk, now the most followed person on his own platform, the service has been created to avoid impersonation. Organisations who buy access to the service will be able to know who they are verifying, or at least that is the plan.

But the launch of another subscription service points to Musk’s larger goal of making Twitter profitable, especially as the billionaire purchased the social media firm for $44 billion which many say was a massive miscalculation on his part.

In fact, a recent report from The Information told of an internal Twitter memo, where Musk highlighted stock compensation options for Twitter employees. The memo apparently valued Twitter at $20 billion, nearly half of what Musk spent on it.

It is also worth noting that before Musk purchased Twitter the company was struggling to make a profit.

In Q2 2022, Twitter reported a $270 million loss. Twitter Blue and now Verified Organizations make part of Musk’s grand “turnaround strategy” for the social media company.

Time will tell if Musk’s strategies for the platform will prove profitable, or if the Musk Twitter saga will go down as a historical blunder in tech. One with a fascinating Netflix documentary.

[Image – Photo by Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash]