Tackles abuse
The site makes it easier to submit abuse reports and triples its number of staff to handle the abuse reports. The Company is also improving its methods to deal with trolls, with one method rumored to be telephone number tracking of users that have earned a reputation for repeated harassment.
Bans revenge porn
Twitter bans the posting of naked photographs and videos without the permission of the person in that photograph or video. Updated rule:
You may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject’s consent
Anti-abuse policy update
Twitter updates its abuse policy to make it tougher for trolls to flood it with threats and harassment.
We are making two policy changes, one related to prohibited content, and one about how we enforce certain policy violations. We are updating our violent threats policy so that the prohibition is not limited to direct, specific threats of violence against others but now extends to threats of violence against others or promot[ing] violence against others.
Twitter, Shopify partner
Twitter adds a buy button on its website. Users can browse products from over 10000 merchants on Shopify and purchase directly from Twitter. Twitter:
Users will get access to offers and merchandise they can’t get anywhere else and can act on them right in the Twitter apps for Android and iOS. Sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales
Plans to go beyond 140 characters
Sources say Twitter is building a new product that will allow users to share tweets that are longer than the company’s 140-character limit, enabling users to publish long-form content to the service. Users can already tweet out blocks of text with products like OneShot, but those are images, not actual text published on Twitter. The company is also considering changing how it measures its 140-character limit, possibly removing links and user handles from the count.
Twitter plans paid user verification
Musk says Twitter will revise its user verification process, without detail. Separate reports say that users would have 90 days to subscribe to Twitter Blue at $19,99 (up from $4.99) or lose their verified badges. Employees working on the project were told that they need to meet a deadline of November 7th to launch the feature or they will be fired. Musk:
The whole verification process is being revamped right now
The whole verification process is being revamped right now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 30, 2022
Musk later jokes about about the verification levels:
Oh no, all our diabolical plans have been revealed!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2022
Musk reveals $8 Twitter Blue details
Musk announces that the revamped Twitter Blue will cost $8; will grant a verified user blue tick; priorities in replies, mentions and replies; ability to post long video and audio; and have half as many ads. The price will be adjusted by country.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month. Price adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity, You will also get:
- Priority in replies, mentions & search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam
- Ability to post long video & audio
- Half as many ads
And paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us. This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators. There will be a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.
Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Twitter to charge for verification from next week. Edit function given to all for free.
Twitter will start selling blue verification badges for user profiles as soon as next week, part of a plan by Musk to fight fake accounts and increase profits. Verification will cost $8 a month. Twitter also plans to make the edit function, which is currently available through a $5-a-month Twitter Blue subscription, available to all users for free, also starting next week.
Musk: Twitter will drop 280-character limit ‘soon’
After a user complains about a Twitter thread that is 82 posts long, Musk says:
Ability to do long tweets coming soon
Ability to do long tweets coming soon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 17, 2022
Musk later says he is working on the project personally.
Musk offers ‘amnesty’ to suspended accounts
After a poll that Musk ran, asking users if Twitter should offer a ‘general amnesty’ to suspended accounts, provided they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam, ends in yes, Musk says Twitter will restore accounts from the end of November. Musk does not give details on how the amnesty process would be carried out.
The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
More than 3.1m Twitter users responded to the poll, with 72.4% of them voting “Yes”. Mask has already reactivated some accounts, inculding Kanye West, Donald Trump and influencer Andrew Tate.
The people have spoken.
Amnesty begins next week.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2022
Twitter to launch blue, gold and grey verification ticks
Musk says Twitter verification will return on Friday next week with colour-coded categories for individuals, government accounts and companies.
Sorry for the delay, we’re tentatively launching Verified on Friday next week. Gold check for companies, grey check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates. Painful, but necessary.
All verified individual humans will have same blue check, as boundary of what constitutes “notable” is otherwise too subjective. Individuals can have secondary tiny logo showing they belong to an org if verified as such by that org. Longer explanation next week.
Sorry for the delay, we’re tentatively launching Verified on Friday next week.
Gold check for companies, grey check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates.
Painful, but necessary.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2022
Musk: Twitter to launch ad-free subscription tier
Musk says Twitter is planning an advertising-free version of its subscription product. Increasing subscription revenue is a key part of the social media platform’s business plan under his ownership.
There will be a higher priced subscription that allows zero ads.
Also, there will be a higher priced subscription that allows zero ads
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2023
Musk locks his Twitter account
Musk makes his Twitter account private – only visible to his followers – after hearing reports from users that posts on private accounts were getting more reach than public accounts. Normally, an account would see less engagement when going private as doing this blocks users from being able to retweet posts. When a Twitter user showed that, of two similar tweets posted in the same five-minute period, the one posted when the account was locked received five times as many likes, Musk replies:
Wow, this is extremely concerning
Followed by:
Made my account private until tomorrow morning to test whether you see my private tweets more than my public ones
This helped identify some issues with the system. Should be addressed by next week.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2023
Some users questioned why Musk was doing this test, when he owns the platform.
Twitter to end free API access
In a series of tweets, the Twitter Developer account says the company will discontinue offering free access to the Twitter API (version 1.1 and v2) starting February 9 and will launch a paid version, as it looks for more avenues to monetize the platform. It did not immediately say how much it plans to charge for API usage.
Twitter data are among the world’s most powerful data sets. We’re committed to enabling fast & comprehensive access so you can continue to build with us,” Twitter Dev account said Thursday. “Over the years, hundreds of millions of people have sent over a trillion Tweets, with billions more every week.
Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead 🧵
— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) February 2, 2023
Musk: Twitter For You tab, polls to be restricted to verified users
Musk announces that from April 15th only Twitter verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations and polls. Musk says this change is to stop ‘advanced AI bot swarms taking over’.
Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations. The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle. Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.
When some users question the decision, he says:
My prediction is that this will be the only platform you can trust
Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.
The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.
Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
Musk: Subscriptions replacing Super Follows on Twitter
Musk says content creators on Twitter will now make money through Subscriptions rather than Super Follows.
Apply to offer your followers subscriptions of any material, from longform text to hours long video! Just tap on “Monetization” in settings.
But, the subscription program appears mostly unchanged from Super Follows, which Twitter originally introduced as a way for creators to charge for exclusive tweets. Creators can charge $2.99, $4.99 or $9.99 a month, with exclusive content including subscriber-only chats in Twitter Spaces and special badges for subscribers.
Musk also says Twitter will help promote creators’ content (he does not elaborate on how) and will not take a cut of the revenue for “the next 12 months.” Instead, creators will get all that remains after app store and payment processing fees: about 70 percent of their earnings from mobile and 92 percent from web-based subscriptions.
For the next 12 months, Twitter will keep none of the money.
You will receive whatever money we receive, so that’s 70% for subscriptions on iOS & Android (they charge 30%) and ~92% on web (could be better, depending on payment processor).
After first year, iOS & Android fees…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2023
Musk: Publishers can charge Twitter users for article views
Musk announces that Twitter will allow media publishers to charge users for access to their content with just one click. The exact percentage of each transaction that will go to Twitter and the conditions for media publishers have not yet been disclosed. Musk claims that this will be beneficial for both media organisations and the public.
Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click. This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article. Should be a major win-win for both media orgs & the public.
Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.
This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2023
Musk says he will ‘delete’ X’s block feature
In response to a post asking if ‘there is ever a reason to block vs. mute someone,’ Musk says that he will delete the block feature from the app, except for DMs.
Block is going to be deleted as a “feature”, except for DMs. It makes no sense.
Later, a community note is added to Musk’s post, saying that the block feature cannot be removed as it is a required feature for social media apps sold on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
It makes no sense
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
X to train AI models with users’ posts
X plans a change to its privacy policy that will allow information posted by users to be used to train its AI models. Musk says X will train AI models only with publicly available information. It will not use “DMs or anything private.” The updated policy states that the company:
may use the information we collect and publicly available information to help train our machine learning or artificial intelligence models for the purposes outlined in this policy.