Wrong, thanks. Twitter has spoken out and that’s why we know that a paid subscription is coming. We already know this about Twitter Blue.
Read on after the ad.
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Twitter Blue is coming
Who now to the Twitter download page in the App Store goes, sees something new. At the very bottom of ‘In-app purchases’ is Twitter Blue.
You can’t take out the paid subscription service yourself yet, but thanks to the developer’s research Jane Manchun Wong we already know what you can do with it. Time for a first look at a big step for Twitter (and perhaps all social media apps).
First, Twitter Blue is a subscription service. By paying 2.99 euros per month you get extra functions that make the app just a little nicer.
Twitter seems to have spoken its mouth, because you can not yet take out the subscription in the app. We do know for sure that a paid Twitter package will arrive.
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Multiple things. According to Wong, Twitter Blue allows you to retrieve tweets that have already been sent within a certain period of time. This is useful if, for example, you encounter a major spelling error after typing. With Twitter Blue you can retrieve and improve such a message shortly after posting.
Twitter subscribers also get the option to set different color themes and app icons. Non-paying members only have two options: the normal color scheme (blue and white) and the dark mode, which is calmer on your eyes.
You can also create so-called ‘Collections’ with Twitter Blue. This makes it easier to categorize tweets that you want to read again later. You can put tweets about the same subject in the same ‘tray’.
Finally, Twitter Blue gets a special reading mode. This function makes it more pleasant to read long messages, such as Twitter threads. Authors use these ‘Threads’ to comment on complex topics by pasting multiple tweets together.
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It looks like that. According to Wong, Twitter Blue is an extra package for avid users of the app. You do not have to use the subscription.
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That is still the question. It probably won’t be long though. The option has already been added to the App Store and probably has Twitter so everything is ready to really roll out Blue. When the time comes, you will of course read it on iPhoned.
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To earn money. The company currently makes most of its money from advertising and probably doesn’t want to depend on it any longer. By having multiple sources of income, you are less dependent on one lender.
The advertising industry has come under increasing scrutiny lately. Consider, for example, the battle that Apple and Facebook are currently fighting. The latter believes that the iPhone maker is destroying the advertising industry by blocking trackers. Apple introduced that capability with iOS 14.5, which came out last month.
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Twitter and make money
Twitter is pretty busy making money. For some time now, for example, users of the app have been able to turn on a tip jar. When you appreciate someone’s tweets, you can give them some money.
Twitter also bought the Dutch newsletter service Revue a few months ago. Since then, twitterers can start their own (paid) newsletter.
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