Welp, Elon Musk bought Twitter and the internet has been broken ever since. It's all anyone can talk about! And no wonder--the $44 billion deal sees a major change in who has power over arguably the most socially-relevant platform of our time. The landscape of social media platforms hasn't seen this big a shakeup since the arrival of TikTok on the scene.
It's hard to miss updates about the changes firing off since the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) named himself "Chief Twit." He set to work immediately, firing the entire Twitter board and making it clear that Twitter town only has room for one sheriff. Trolls have been testing Musk's resolve as use of racial and anti-semitic slurs increased by almost 500% in the first hours after Musk took over.
There has been speculation over whether Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, will allow the return of former President Donald Trump to the platform. Trump was permanently kicked off twitter following the fatal Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, for fears of inciting further violence. Musk has said Twitter will create a new committee to review those decisions.
Musk has also been vocal about his new ideas for monetization on the social media platform. His first suggestion was that verified users would have to start paying to have the blue "verified" checkmark on their profile. Twitter Blue, which already collects $4.99/user each month, is rumored to be increasing its pricing to a whopping $19.99--and requiring any verified users to participate if they want to stay verified.
But Twitter Blue isn't the spiciest change going down at the new Twitter HQ. The bird app is looking at another more alluring way to make a few extra dollars.
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Twitter is Considering Paywalled Content
According to an internal Twitter email reported by the Washington Post, the social media platform is testing a new feature that would allow users to charge money for video and other content. The "Paywalled Video" could launch as early as next week.
Of course, the feature still needs to get through some legal hurdles first. According to the email, the idea has “risks related to copyrighted content, creator/user trust issues, and legal compliance.” It’s unclear if this is an idea that was already in the works before Musk took the reins, but it clearly falls in line with his desire to make the Bird app more profitable. Because of course, Twitter will be taking some of that revenue for their troubles to pay off the interest on the huge loans Musk took out to buy it.
Twitter Steps Into the Adult Entertainment World
There are plenty of users who stand to benefit from Twitter's new potential monetization policy. Visual artists, drag performers, musicians, and filmmakers would be able to offer premium content on one of the most well-known and highly-trafficked sites online, which is great. But the real opportunity for creators will likely come from the adult entertainment industry.
Since 2018, Twitter has been the only major social media site that still allows users to post adult content. The app allows "sensitive" content, like sexually-explicit materials, to be posted on the site. The app has become a space where online sex workers can promote content on major sex-work-centric sites like OnlyFans and ManyVids.
But now, these creators will have another avenue to monetize content--one that sees over 200 million sets of eyes per day. While advertisers debate about the viability of Twitter as a platform, the social media site could see a large increase in monetizable "NSFW" or "not safe for work" content. Will it be enough to boost revenue lost from dwindling ad sales? Sites like OnlyFans are able to operate ad-free thanks to the ubiquity of porn online. Either way, there is a winning takeaway for adult content creators.
