Elon Musk is apparently considering putting Twitter behind a paywall in an additional effort to commercialize the platform, as the business reports it has actually gained users since Musk took over as CEO a week ago.
Sources acquainted with Musk’s plans told Platformer on Monday that the 51-year-old entrepreneur has discussed the possibility of implementing a paywall for all Twitter users with tech investor David Sacks.
The CEO tweeted over the weekend, ‘Twitter user numbers have climbed dramatically around the world since the acquisition was announced,’ indicating that the company had gained more users since he became CEO.
Uncertainty surrounds the design of a paywall for Twitter, but a source with knowledge of the plans stated that one possibility would be to enable everyone to browse the site for a limited period of time per month and then require a subscription to continue browsing.
As Musk strives to monetize the website he purchased for $44 billion, the amount a user pays to bypass the barrier would be in addition to the $8 monthly fee Twitter users might pay for verified blue check marks.
However, the SpaceX creator is also struggling to retain the site’s existing revenue streams, as numerous advertisers have departed the platform out of concern that it will not be a “safe place for companies.”
Elon Musk is rumored to be considering the addition of a paywall for all Twitter users. He is photographed here exiting Twitter’s New York City offices.
It is just one among the numerous ways Musk seeks to monetize the $42 billion social media firm he acquired.
Musk tweeted over the weekend that the number of Twitter users worldwide had climbed dramatically since the agreement was announced.
Twitter management delivered an internal FAQ to its sales team on Monday, ostensibly in an effort to entice advertisers such as General Mills, Audi, and Pfizer back to the site. The sales team can refer to the FAQ when speaking with potential advertisers.
The FAQ acquired by The Verge emphasizes that more individuals have joined the social networking site since Musk assumed control.
It states that Twitter’s monetizable daily users, a metric used by advertisers to gauge a site’s profitability, have increased by more than 20 percent, while ‘Twitter’s largest market, the United States, is expanding even faster.’
According to the FAQ, Twitter surpassed 250 million monthly active users (mDAUs) at the end of the second quarter, when it ceased disclosing financial information as a publicly traded company.
At that time, Twitter had 237.8 million monthly active users and an annual growth rate of 16.6 percent.
General Mills, the manufacturer of Cheerios, Pillsbury, and Haagen-Dazs, announced last week that it will stop s on its website.
Mondelez International, creator of Oreos, has apparently ceased investing on Twitter advertisements.
In addition, the FAQ aimed to reassure advertisers over content moderation and Musk’s leadership.
It was published by Alex Josephson, a 10-year company veteran and current vice president of Twitter Next, a group that has assisted brands in creating campaigns.
According to the document, levels of hate speech remain within historical averages, including 0.25 percent to 0.45 percent of daily tweets out of hundreds of millions.
In addition, it emphasizes that Musk will be subject to the same rules and content moderation as any other Twitter user, and it reiterates Musk’s claims that Twitter will not change its content moderation policies until it forms and convenes a “content moderation council of widely diverse viewpoints.”
And it states that the planned overhaul of Twitter Blue “will not affect existing verified accounts at this time” and that “major brand advertisers who are already verified will get a “official” label beneath their name at the debut of Twitter Blue this week.”
Twitter deferred the introduction of its new Twitter Blue membership until after the midterm elections after launching it over the weekend.
Twitter deferred the introduction of its new subscription plan until after the midterm elections after introducing it over the weekend.
As part of the redesign, the firm announced — primarily via Musk’s personal account —that it will unveil new features, including fewer advertisements, the ability to post longer videos, and a function that gives users priority ranking in answers, mentions, and searches.
The plan, however, has been met with considerable skepticism from Twitter employees and users.
According to Platformer, the previous version of Twitter Blue had just over 10,000 users, and the new version will be 37.5 percent more expensive, requiring verified account holders to pay $8 a month to keep their blue check mark.
Employees apparently attempted to persuade Musk and Sacks that business accounts should pay for the additional capabilities, as many use Twitter to reach larger audiences.
And, as some employees pointed out, the new feature that would reduce ad loading time in the Twitter app by half would also cost the firm money. According to some estimates, Twitter would lose almost $6 in ad income per user in the United States.
However, according to Platformer, these concepts were discarded in favor of delivering large-scale verification, although it is unknown how many individuals or corporations would join up for the new service.