Social media site Twitter has launched a new feature it calls “Super Follow” which will allow accounts to charge users to see their tweets.
In what is in effect a subscription service and a branch away from the traditional advertising model, Twitter is offering a feature that will allow a user to pay a monthly subscription to see another user’s exclusive tweets.
This means certain accounts with high followers can post traditional tweets like normal which can be seen by all their followers, and also exclusive tweets that can be seen only by those who pay the subscription cost.
However, following the announcement, the hashtag #RIPTwitter soon began to circulate as Twitter users collectively responded to the unspoken question being asked by Twitter – “Would you pay to see someone’s tweets?” with the answer largely being a definite “no we would not“.
But trending hashtags are not necessarily reliable prognosticators, and similar features on other social media platforms (e.g. Facebook’s Fan Subscriptions) show that some people may be willing to pay for extra content posted by brands that they follow.
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It also shows that large social media platforms are still continuing to look for innovative ways to increase their revenue that doesn’t rely on bombarding their users with adverts.
But there are potential issues with such a feature. For example, tweets are, by design, simple and short. Would users really be willing to pay for exclusive tweets that will inevitably still make their way onto public Twitter via screenshots?
And will this feature really help struggling brands make money, or is it more likely to play into the hands of the already successful and influential Twitter glitterati, just making the rich richer?
The feature is not yet available to the public, but Twitter have promised more information in the coming months. Let us know what you think on our Facebook or Twitter pages.