Grace Ashiru
Twitter Blue, the paid subscription service for Twitter users, was announced in June 2021 to make the user experience on the platform better. However, when Elon Musk took control of the company, he introduced new features, along with the ability to purchase verification. Thus, making the fancied and widely desired blue tick accessible to individuals who will pay a premium subscription regardless of whether they are popular.
At first, countries that could access Twitter had no access to the subscription service, including Nigeria and South Africa. However, Twitter Blue is now available in these countries for N5,000 and R144.9 per month, respectively, with a 12% discount for South African users who choose the annual subscription. However, the evaluation for Twitter Blue differs depending on the device used, for those who will subscribe on their iOS and Android devices the flat rate is N5,000 and R200.00 monthly, while those subscribing for the web service will pay N3,650 and R144.99 monthly. Meanwhile, those who go for the annual subscription will pay N38,500 and R1,579 for the web, while those on IOS Wed Android devices will pay N52,900 and R2,099.
The popular blue app has gone through a notable transition since Elon Musk took over as CEO in October 2022, with its timeline spotted into “For you” and “Following “ but still users have complained about seeing tweets from people they are not following. While many users are considering subscribing to the service for a blue tick, most haven’t even gotten to see the service on their devices. Despite being in the location, some users still cannot access Twitter Blue in their countries and even though Twitter established a local office in Ghana to show its fidelity to the African markets, Musk’s possession of the company and the subsequent massive layoffs have affected the African office resulting in speculations that the spread of fake news on Nigerian Twitter might be linked to the layoffs.
Regardless, Twitter Blue is now available in Nigeria and South Africa. Elon Musk has made sure of the availability of the new Twitter Blue in over 35 countries and still intends to add more. Also, introducing the trending blue app has brought an additional dimension to the user experience on the platform, allowing purchasing verification and making payments depending on the device used. With the availability of Twitter Blue in Nigeria and South Africa, we wait to see the reaction of users and how they will adapt to the changes made under Elon’s administration.
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