WASHINGTON: Meta Platforms has become the latest social networking company to require users to pay a fee to verify their accounts, joining attempts by competitors including Twitter to diversify revenue streams away from advertising.
Called "Meta Verified" for Facebook and Instagram, the new service will allow users to join celebrities and public figures by obtaining a blue verification badge confirming their identity, starting at $11.99 per month, Bloomberg News reported, citing a company statement.
And while Twitter CEO Elon Musk described his rival's move as "inevitable" in a tweet, the impact on revenue is likely to be marginal for now. The Meta Verified feature could add between $2 billion and $3 billion to annual Meta sales, Bloomberg analyst Mandip Singh wrote in a note.
It is noteworthy that the company's revenues last year amounted to about $ 117 billion.(dpa)
25% increase in Twitter users in Jordan
A recent global report revealed that the number of users of the micro-blogging network “ Twitter ” approached one million users at the beginning of 2023, at a time when the network is witnessing a change in its operations, services and advantages it provides after it was acquired by the American billionaire Elon Musk .
The global report issued by the “Hootsuite” company on the state of the Internet in the world stated that the number of Jordanian users of the “Twitter” network is constantly increasing and recorded at the beginning of this year about 922 thousand users, as it is expected that the number will reach one million users during the current year.
The global report indicated that with the Twitter user base reaching this level at the beginning of this year, it would have increased by 186,000 users, or 25%, when compared to the number of users registered at the beginning of last year, which at that time amounted to 736,000 users.
"Male users accounted for 65%, and the remaining percentage is for females," the report said.
The report indicated that the number of Jordanian users on the "Water" network formed, at the beginning of this year, more than 8% of the total population in Jordan, which is estimated at about 11.3 million people.
For years, Twitter has become a media tool that conveys political and elite opinions par excellence, as it is characterized by speed, ease, and brevity in the transmission of news and opinions, often preceded by traditional media.