Twitter is one of today’s largest social media platforms and is widely used for different types of communication: from tech support, product update notifications, to daily lifestyle updates by various celebrities. Until now, Twitter had a unique verification procedure by which it would certify profiles of famous personalities as verified, with a blue tick beside the name. The blue tick has been a privilege reserved for the famous and established entities, be it an individual or a company. In a fundamental change to the verification procedure, Twitter recently enabled a feature that would allow any user to apply for the blue tick. If certain conditions are met, the account will be marked verified by the social media platform.
There are certain key benefits to having a verified Twitter account, the most important being the trust followers automatically put on a verified account, thus increasing credibility, and also enhancing the audience. A verified account holder also has access to analytics which is usually reserved for advertisers. This additional feature allows them to monitor details about followers and tweet outreach. The user also has more control over direct messaging and replies to tweets. The authenticity of the profile also has a significant impact on the user base and audience of the profile.
In a recent development, Twitter is increasing the number of accounts marked as verified at a significant rate. The company has also opened up a portal to apply for a verified account. According to noted entrepreneur and blogger Jason Calacanis, this is part of a larger plan to verify the entire userbase of Twitter. Doing this would weed out fake profiles, and also identify trolls and people who encourage or participate in hate speech, essentially making Twitter less toxic and more user-friendly. Calacanis says that shortly, anyone will be able to apply for a verified Twitter account with a real name, and necessary documents to prove their identity. The verification process will help curb the illegal activities, trolling, and duplicity as using real names could land the user in legal trouble.
Although the mass-verification process is still a theory, Calacanis, a person close to the upper echelons of the tech industry claims that this is ‘insider information’ and is likely to be true. Twitter introduced the verified accounts system in 2009, and about 187,000 accounts have been verified out of a total base of 310 million active users.