Why hate the Blue Tick (or the loss of it)?

Hey there, 👋🏼

Spring is here and so is my bout of allergies. ‘tis the time of the year when Allegra and I become BFFs.

Despite my drowsy spells thanks to the anti-allergics lounging through my bloodstream, I have got some good stuff for you right here.

Before we jump onto this week’s topic, here is a quiz for you:

Now, let’s talk about the raging hate around blue ticks. There’s more to the story than we know and understand here.

Twitter’s blue tick has been perceived and accepted as a medal of prestige and prominence by most celebs and people of prominence.

You did not need to have a large followership to get the blue tick. All you needed to be was a person who seemed as the one and only (or one among a few) who is credible source of information on the platform.

In short, the previous criteria to gain access to the blue tick was any person who was active, notable, and authentic.

In no way did Twitter ever mention that the tick was there to divide the Twitter population between the Elites and the commons. This was a perceived notion and what was hit hard when Musk changed the idea behind the blue tick. 

This means journalists with published articles in verified dailies also got the blue tick showing that the tweets they put out there are by “them” the actual journalist and not some impersonator.

The move Musk made was a pure business genius.

Before that, how about the real story, how did the Twitter blue tick even come about, and when?

Shortly after being launched in 2006, Twitter was sued by former American baseball player Tony La Russa given the unauthorized accounts that were run by impersonators.

Twitter needed to act quickly to ensure the authenticity of profiles and hence launched the Blue Tick verification badge.

This brings me to the current day.

Are the “prominent” and “notable” the only ones privy to verification and authenticity? Can’t the common man be duped, too?

Plus Twitter Blue v 2.0 comes with its own flurry of features.

Features I love:

1. Longer tweets

2. customization on the web app

3. undo tweets

4. prioritized rankings

5. and the blessed bookmark folder option that lets you sort your bookmarks into different niches.

   Take a look at all the features here.

I have been pretty vocal about why Twitter Blue is not such a bad decision. Previous Twitter Blue holders feel like something has been taken away from them. Well, that’s not the case. You still get access to a verified account that’s only yours along with some really good features. Think of it like you’re paying the $8 for the features and not the tick. That’ll hurt less.

Just live with the fact that more people have access to this feature apart from you. If that’s something that bothers you, then it’s time for some introspection.

Plus, for those who don’t know, there were tons of Twitter Blue badge holders who were not really eligible for it and managed to buy it from questionable sources. I had received “cold messages” for the same on Twitter, too.

Without further ado, let’s jump to our next topic:

How to keep growing on Twitter despite the tsunamic change wave

Easy peasy lemon squeezy…it isn’t.

The platform is undergoing constant churn. A couple of days back tweeples lost followers like you lose hair during the rainy season, in clumps.

Well, Musk is definitely trying to make the platform not just profitable, but also functional. Bots and fake account cleansing are a must when you are promising people interaction with verified accounts and reliable sources. So that’s that.

Now, my reach has also suffered and I have also lost followers during this time. But I am in it for the long haul and want to reach credible folks, like yourself, so I don’t mind the ups and downs.

For me, 7000 followers are more important than a hundred thousand followers, who either don’t engage or troll me every time I tweet. A tight-knit community of intellectuals is what I aim for.

Be very clear about what you want from the platform. Don’t try desperate shitposting to increase your followership (unless that number is important to you to bag brand deals). You won’t see traction immediately but what you build is a strong brand that people trust and know what they stand for.

Here are some things you can do:

• Have a clear bio that tells people who you are and why they should follow you

• Share relevant and useful content specific to your niche

• Share about yourself from time to time, and let people know YOU behind the scenes, too

• Post visual content (all platforms are prioritizing this)

• Reply to all the tweets your receive on your posts

• Engage with others’ tweets as well

• Promote your own mentions (@promanautiyal) as much as you can

• Be consistent on the platform

• Share your experiences of the day and your learnings and observations if you can’t come up with anything new

There are a ton of more things you can do, but just start with these and let’s see how it goes.

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Till I see you next, I hope you get a lot done and tweet more!

Cheers,

Answer to Quiz: Loss Leader Strategy (Used by Walmart, Amazon)