A paid Twitter blue tick announcement by the Chief Twit Elon Musk has left many users divided. While some have supported the move, others have touted it as a mere ‘money-making’ exercise. But to address these concerns, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO’s micro-blogging platform has reportedly come up with a new plan called the ‘Official Label.’ The new check, which may disguise as the current unpaid blue tick, may also be available free of cost.
According to Esther Crawford’s Twitter, whose bio reads, “early stage products @twitter”, the micro-blogging platform is planning to role out ‘Official,’ a label as a distinguishing factor. The post mentions that this label will help to distinguish between a normal Twitter Blue subscriber with a blue tick and an account ‘verified’ as ‘official.’
The official Tweet reads, “A lot of folks have asked about how you'll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the “Official" label to select accounts when we launch.”
As a brownie point to the verified users with the ‘official’ label, Crawford mentions that it will not be available for purchase. Largely, the accounts that will get this ‘official’ label are expected to be government accounts, commercial companies, some business partners, major media outlets, publishers and even some public figures.
The tweet thread goes on to add, “The new Twitter Blue does not include ID verification – it’s an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a blue checkmark and access to select features. We’ll continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.”
The introduction of the ‘official’ label, over and above the Twitter blue could also mean that the Elon Musk-owned company could possibly have control on who gets the ‘official’ label. If rolled out as per the plan mentioned by Crawford, the Twitter ‘official’ label could be somewhat similar to the current free blue tick verification feature. However, more would be known once it is released officially.
Till now, Crawford has also shared a screenshot of what the ‘official’ label on Twitter accounts may look like. However, interestingly, it is currently not available on the actual Twitter handle. Hence, a lot of things with regards to distinguishing accounts are expected to get clearer in the coming days, once information is released in official capacity.
