Twitter Blue was offered to users in Malaysia a few weeks ago at a price starting at RM35 per month or RM369 per year. This is the price offered for the web version and will increase up to 40% if done through the smartphone app store.
The first question in every reader's mind is surely is it worth it? The short answer I can give at this time is "worth it" for most users. Why am I saying this? Below are the reasons why.
The Promised One
Twitter Blue offers.
Submitted comments are given a higher rank in the discussion thread.
Send a 4000-character short story that allows a short story to be published by the writer in the form of a short story only.
Edited a posted tweet 5 times within 30 minutes of it being sent.
"Undo" feature that retracts the message before it is sent.
Upload videos up to 60 minutes at FHD resolution.
Reader – Facilitates reading long threads in one simple interface.
NFT's profile picture.
Customization of application icons on smart devices.
Customization of navigation on the application.
List of hottest articles without any ads.
2FA support using SMS.
Half as many ads as usual.
WORTH IT
Edit Feature Features
The reality is that there are promises that are kept, there are promises that remain promises. Let's start with the positives first. The feature that I use most often is editing the sent messages because many readers may realize that I can't spell correctly. Often the idea comes pouring out like a sprout but the fingers don't have the dexterity to type properly.
After using Blue, if a spelling mistake is noticed I can edit or change the content sent immediately. This will eliminate extreme embarrassment because of how a chief editor of a Malay website does not spell well such as Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
If there's one change I'd like it to be that all entries should be editable. At this time if the tweet sent is to reply to another user's tweet it cannot be edited. Ciapan in thread also cannot be edited. Why? Only Elon son of Errol can answer this enigma.
Undo – Reversible Boat Launch
Undo is a feature that we think is a waste but actually works. When the "Send" button is pressed, the written message is not sent directly. Instead it is placed in a waiting room for 15 seconds before being sent. During this period I can press "Send now" to send directly or "Undo" to withdraw it again.
This feature should be available to all not just Blue users. Surely many people have sent messages full of abusive words because they were angry about an issue. If you have sent it and forget to match it the day after tomorrow, you may receive a warning from HR for violating the company's social media ethics.
In the case that I was sent to court by mistake, I was fined RM10,000. The feature of waiting before sending is good for people who are angry like me because it can make us take a moment to breathe before realizing that the message we wrote should not be sent.
4000 Characters – The Longer the Better
I am one of the people who is a bit skeptical about the 4000 character limit announced by Twitter before. But after two weeks I can finally see why it's actually a useful feature. Often times I try to explain a topic such as what phone is the most suitable and I need 400 characters to give a complete explanation. Too lazy to send a second message because the character limit is 280 now.
Before blue, I used to give a long explanation up to 2-3 times in the thread. But there are many people on Twitter who are the type to read one piece and don't want to read it all the way through. After that he went berserk like Private Adam. To avoid this kind of incident the character limit of 4000 characters is very useful.
Customization
There are interface customization features and icons are provided. Personally, I feel this feature is the least used because the existing Twitter application is sufficient. Never thought of changing the color of existing icons or interface elements. If you want the Twitter icon to turn purple, this is the feature you've been waiting for.
SMS as a Two-Factor Authentication System
This two-factor authentication (2FA) feature was previously free for all before being made exclusive to Blue. It's one of the reasons why I actually subscribed to Blue. Within a week it is common for me to change phones at least once due to producing review articles. It is very tedious to use the Google Authenticator app or the Twitter backup code. SMS may not be the most secure but for people who need to change phones frequently, SMS is the easiest 2FA system.
Twitter Blue – The Best Feature
In social media attention is what people who want to be popular want. So far, the Verified blue badge has only been given to certain people who are deemed worthy by Twitter. I myself have tried to go through this identity verification process five times over the past 12 years and was rejected five times because I was still not eligible. Although I have appeared many times on Astro Awani, BFM, South China Morning Post and Malaysiakini Twitter feels that this is not enough.
Twitter Verfied Verified
This is okay because being blue isn't the most important thing in the world. But it can't be denied that it can give the impression that a person with a blue coat has authority and that you are an expert in your field. Since Blue was launched, all this has changed and smearing blue has a negative connotation. The status of a Blue customer with blue skin is the same as a person who bought the rank of Datuk from the Malacca sultanate which we know does not exist.
However, I realized that the blue color helped me to get answers from people with the legacy blue color who did not care at all when reprimanded. In this case the blue color Blue works like you buy Super Chat on YouTube. Using a personal anecdote, my reprimanding of leading people is now answered at an 80% success rate compared to only about 30% before subscribing to Blue. Obviously this blue paint purchased increases your visibility with important people on Twitter. If this is what you want I think Blue is worth it.
Want To Be Popular Quickly? – Subscribe to Blue Now
After three weeks, I managed to increase my Tweet Impression up to 30.5% so far. This is a dramatic increase in performance because on average (after 12 years on Twitter) I only get one skyrocket per month. Blue does have an impact to further spread the message sent. Why? Maybe when it looks blue people still believe what is written is trustworthy. We are also informed later, only Blue customers will appear as recommendations in the For You tab.
Some see this as unfair and unfair. I see it as one of the time-saving growth hack techniques for those who don't want to increase the number of followers organically. Just like company A can buy ads on Google Search so that their website appears at the top and not their competitor company B.
It's not fair but let me tell you something you already know. The world is not all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very cruel and evil place and I don't care how hard you are, it will bring you to your knees and keep you there forever if you let it. You, me, or anyone else will be hit hard. But it's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you get hit but still keep moving forward. How much can you accept and keep moving forward. That is how victory is achieved.
The Worthless
Still Too Many Ads
Elon Musk said ads will be halved but the feature has not yet been activated with no timeline for when it will appear. Perhaps like Gandalf, this feature will arrive neither late nor early but on time. I want this feature right away because the amount of ads showing up on Twitter's timeline right now is overwhelming. Much more than in the days before it was taken over by Elon.
Advertisements now also proliferate with it as if there is no direction. As time goes by, real estate ads that I can't afford to buy appear interspersed with individual ads that try to promote themselves using other people's popular quotes. It's rare that an ad matches my soul or my Google search history. Where are the ads for PC components, phones, audio systems and animated series action figures? If the ads are halved even after subscribing to Blue, these irrelevant junk ads still exist.
Share Advertising Profits?
At the same time, Musk once said that profits from advertising would be shared with Blue's customers whose jokes went viral. With Twitter's advertising revenue badly affected, the probability of this promise remaining a promise is very high. Even if activated how much will be generated? From personal experience managing your own site, it is much easier to make money by dealing with brands than relying on advertising through the number of clicks.
NFT profile
Twitter NFT Profile
HAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry to laugh but this NFT is the most useless feature because the era of immutable tokens is dead. Just waiting for this feature to be removed like how Meta stopped their NFT support recently.
So Is It Really Worth It Or Not?
A Twitter Blue subscription is well worth it for those who really want to have a career as a social media influencer. A small blue smear on the edge of the name has a big impact on other users' perception of the account holder. You must have seen the meme below. But the fact is that the MAJORITY of Twitter users won't go to the profile to check you're a Blue customer. Blue with less than 400,000 customers so far targets only a certain group of people who are willing to pay for a small advantage on the platform.
If you want attention and want to build a personal social media empire on Twitter, this is a shortcut that can be taken by paying only RM35 per month. For those who don't aspire to be a Tweetfamous, I can say that for you it is better to use this RM35 to subscribe to Netflix or buy more luxurious iftar food than usual today.