… The number of locals getting badges is increasing
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Locals are now opting for the birdy blue badge!
Contrary to popular belief that the Twitter badge is mainly obtained by celebrities, public figures and organisations, more emaSwati are opting to being verified on Twitter.
One prominently liSwati who is verified on Twitter is Amapiano queen Lungelihle ‘Uncle Waffles’ Zwane and the numbers of verified emaSwati is increasing.
Another liSwati who has a verified account is human rights activist Phiwa Nkambule, who has taken Twitter by storm because of his art.
Recently added on the list is Melusi Simelane, who is an LGBTQ+ Activist.
LGBTQ+ is the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
Simelane got his blue badge about a month ago and he has been receiving attention from Tweeps for it.
When sought for comment on being verified the social media platform, Simelane quickly highlighted that he was paying for the service.
“There are perks for paying to acquire a blue badge and the main one is having your account trusted,” said Simelane.
When asked what prompted him to get verified, he said it was for data protection, so that it can be easily detected if his identity is stolen.
“Also, a verified account is endorsed to be a trusted source of information and it makes the holder accountable to whatever they write,” said Simelane.
Simelane then went on to encourage emaSwati to have verified badges to protect their identity.
Over three months ago, Forbes online publication reported that verified users on Twitter may soon have to pay to retain their blue tick badges, as the company’s new owner, Elon Musk, looked for new ways to monetise the social media platform.
“In a characteristic vague tweet, Musk on Sunday said the ‘whole verification process’ was being revamped, without providing any details. Journalist Casey Newton first reported that Musk is planning to charge verified accounts by pay walling the feature behind the subscription service Twitter Blue which presently costs US$4.99 (E91.50) a month.
“According to the report, Musk wants the feature to launch by November 7, 2022 and the team working on it has been warned they will be fired if they fail to meet that deadline. It is unclear how this change will apply to verified accounts of government institutions, political leaders or companies, although Musk has previously indicated he wants to charge these entities to use Twitter,” read Forbes.
According to Wikipedia, introduced in June 2009, the Twitter verification system provides the site’s readers with a means to distinguish genuine notable account holders, such as celebrities and organisations, from impostors or parodies. A blue check mark displayed against an account name indicates that Twitter has taken steps to ensure that the account is actually owned by the person or organisation that it is claimed to represent. The check mark does not imply endorsement from Twitter, and does not mean that tweets from a verified account are necessarily accurate or truthful in any way. People with verified accounts on Twitter are often colloquially referred to as ‘blue checks’ on social media and by reporters.
Social Media Specialist Penny Bouwer said the world was continuously evolving, and communication and information dissemination of global news had become competitive across multiple social platforms.
“It is not surprising that billionaire Elon Musk has identified his newly acquired Twitter as an opportunity to not only monetise the platform, but to also create a premium platform to share fair and accurate information.
“There are many free social platforms, but with the pending introduction of paid verification badges, this will gradually encourage users and readers to pay to share and consume accurate information. Why pay if no-one will buy?” commented Bouwer.
She continued to say in essence, as much as this seemed liked the move for celebrities and personalities to pay to be verified, it would ultimately ripple into the consumers who would eventually start paying a subscription to use the platform to keep up-to-date with the latest news in real time.
“For too long, Twitter has caused unnecessary disruption, chaos and misinformed communication. Even though it has been the fastest info-sharing platform we have seen in recent times, it has also been misused. Now is the time to have it streamlined into a fair global sharing eco-system, and this payment introduction could be the gateway to its start.”
