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But the trick is that the badge also gives you preferential positioning in replies and search, so that for dedicated hobbyist trolls, it allows their comments t

by Pxtl 4y ago

But the trick is that the badge also gives you preferential positioning in replies and search, so that for dedicated hobbyist trolls, it allows their comments to bubble to the top. And the worst reply-guys on twitter love this. As a result, viewing the replies of any moderately progressive tweeter yields a heap of blue-check abuse as the first glance. So basically, the twitter stereotype of "Hello my name is firstname bunchanumbes and I have some really shitty opinions" is now bluecheck-boosted.

joegahona 4y ago
The "preferential positioning" seems to be just a belief at this point. Anecdotally I've seen far more people saying they've seen no difference in Tweet engagement since subscribing. But I agree with you -- it's the belief they'll get preferential positioning that crypto grifters, SEO lunatics, and marketing slimeballs are banking on. Personas of people who would buy Blue at this point fall into a few buckets: • The aforementioned group of users hoping for preferential positioning • People who simply want to show support for Elon/Twitter by paying • People who are desperate for a blue check, to feel important • People who find value in the features of Twitter Blue (which, if we're honest, are meager) Lots of overlap in these -- e.g., I think people who are desperate for a blue check are claiming to be subscribed because of the Twitter Blue features -- a modern take on "I read Playboy for the articles."
- mgiannopoulos 4y ago
  This happened today: “Verified accounts are now prioritized” - https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1650731557164818437?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1650731557164818437?s=20 It has been kind of crazy to see people be mad that their “for you” feed was filled with promoted “blue checks” when no such change had been done yet.
  - Pxtl 4y ago
    It was very obviously happening in replies, which is different from "For You". The reply system had a different sorting algorithm that AFAIK prioritized verified accounts even before Elon came along. It was very visible now that the "pay for verify" system was available where you'd have a viral tweet with a solid wall of verified replies for pages before you'd see the far-more-popular unverified replies. The quality hit was bad enough I wouldn't be surprised if Twitter is quietly turning down the weighting of Verified in replies, because it's so extreme.

by Pxtl 4y ago

joegahona 4y ago

The "preferential positioning" seems to be just a belief at this point. Anecdotally I've seen far more people saying they've seen no difference in Tweet engagement since subscribing. But I agree with you -- it's the belief they'll get preferential positioning that crypto grifters, SEO lunatics, and marketing slimeballs are banking on. Personas of people who would buy Blue at this point fall into a few buckets: • The aforementioned group of users hoping for preferential positioning • People who simply want to show support for Elon/Twitter by paying • People who are desperate for a blue check, to feel important • People who find value in the features of Twitter Blue (which, if we're honest, are meager) Lots of overlap in these -- e.g., I think people who are desperate for a blue check are claiming to be subscribed because of the Twitter Blue features -- a modern take on "I read Playboy for the articles."

mgiannopoulos 4y ago
This happened today: “Verified accounts are now prioritized” - https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1650731557164818437?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1650731557164818437?s=20 It has been kind of crazy to see people be mad that their “for you” feed was filled with promoted “blue checks” when no such change had been done yet.
- Pxtl 4y ago
  It was very obviously happening in replies, which is different from "For You". The reply system had a different sorting algorithm that AFAIK prioritized verified accounts even before Elon came along. It was very visible now that the "pay for verify" system was available where you'd have a viral tweet with a solid wall of verified replies for pages before you'd see the far-more-popular unverified replies. The quality hit was bad enough I wouldn't be surprised if Twitter is quietly turning down the weighting of Verified in replies, because it's so extreme.