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X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

fortune.com

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Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#81

Post by janalsncm »

iamdelirium wrote: post #34
amerine wrote: post #12

Not a x/twitter user much these days (mostly quit a long time ago) but I’m happy when companies put a minor barrier up to stop botting. So meh, good idea I guess?

Bots and spammers are already using stolen credit card to pay for Premium. This isn't going to stop them.

Maybe the top end of the distribution is doing that. That’s an entire criminal operation which no doubt does happen of course. But not all spammers put in the same amount of effort. Cutting down spam is about sealing off the big leaks first.

Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#83

Post by pard68 »

gdulli wrote: post #30
pard68 wrote: post #4

I know people are down on the-social-networking-platform-formerly-known-as-twitter, and I have no skin in the game, I gave up on social networking about a decade ago, but I think this is the model to beat. Forever the FOSS world has said, "if you do not pay for the product, you are the product". Well, here is X trying to make a product you pay for. I do not know their new policy on tracking/ads/spying but even if the…

There's a difference between the idea of paying for a service in the abstract, and paying for one that's past its prime and has gone through extreme enshittification. Would I pay this much for 2015 Twitter? Sure.

Sure at a value level, but it's still setting a precedence and making the way. I could see small time Mastadon operators getting more traction for charging a nominal fee for running an account.

A lot of great ideas have come from companies that the idea killed (Xerox comes to mind).

Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#84

Post by Scipio_Afri »

slg wrote: post #73
tiffanyh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At $1/ year , this isn’t a revenue play because after card and/or platform fees - it won’t amount to much at all. However, account signup will definitely drop considerably, because that’s a pretty big barrier for most users. So I’m actually inclined to say, this probably is a strategy purely to combat bots.

>At $1/year, this isn’t a revenue play because after card and/or platform fees - it won’t amount to much at all. It isn't purely about the $1 per year revenue. It is about having a customer credit card on file which reduces friction for every future situation in which the user is charged which increases future revenue.

It’s not staying $1 forever. You subscribe and then they boil the frog with upping it to $2, or higher

Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#85

Post by ElongatedMusket »

bccdee wrote: post #67
stevehawk wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love to mock Elon but even I am inclined to agree with him. It seems like the only other solution is something like Google's Web Environment Integrity thing, which scares me. The best/easiest solution is to make it more expensive for the botters to play the game,

Nah. Twitter never had this much of a bot problem before Elon bought it, which is a big clue as to what's actually gone wrong: He laid off all the moderators and all the staff who were training the automated bot detection algorithms. Extremely formulaic spam which would have been instantly flagged a couple years ago just piles up in my notifications.

It absolutely had a bot problem before! What Twitter were you using?

Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#87

Post by addicted »

pard68 wrote: post #4

I know people are down on the-social-networking-platform-formerly-known-as-twitter, and I have no skin in the game, I gave up on social networking about a decade ago, but I think this is the model to beat. Forever the FOSS world has said, "if you do not pay for the product, you are the product". Well, here is X trying to make a product you pay for. I do not know their new policy on tracking/ads/spying but even if the…

A: Lots of spying, tracking, ads, etc A-next: The exact same spying, tracking, ads, etc. but also you must pay $1.

Im struggling to understand how A-next is in any way better than A.

Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#88

Post by addicted »

pard68 wrote: post #71
skyyler wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Well, here is X trying to make a product you pay for. No, this is an attempt to have it both ways. To do data collection / data brokerage and ALSO charge users for the service.

Please read my conclusion where I commented on this exact point.

So if I understand correctly, you’re arguing that making a product worse is good because it makes it easier for competition to beat it?

I mean, I guess, but it still means the product that got worse got worse, and didn’t get better.

Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#89

Post by karakot »

codetrotter wrote: post #60
rimunroe wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Them charging for access may make more people comfortable with the idea of paying for social networking, so that in the future more people will join when new social networks are made that don’t mine the data of the people Won’t that just make people get used to paying and having their data sold? Why would future companies not follow that same model?

> Why would future companies not follow that same model? Because some companies are happy to be profitable without having to squeeze out ever last cent possible of their customers. When enough people are willing to pay for social media, someone will realize that there is room to build a business that doesn’t abuse its users and they will have enough money to run it.

paying customers is the most desirable target audience for Ads.

Re: X/Twitter will begin charging new users $1 a year to access key features

#90

Post by lapcat »

slg wrote: post #73
tiffanyh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At $1/ year , this isn’t a revenue play because after card and/or platform fees - it won’t amount to much at all. However, account signup will definitely drop considerably, because that’s a pretty big barrier for most users. So I’m actually inclined to say, this probably is a strategy purely to combat bots.

>At $1/year, this isn’t a revenue play because after card and/or platform fees - it won’t amount to much at all. It isn't purely about the $1 per year revenue. It is about having a customer credit card on file which reduces friction for every future situation in which the user is charged which increases future revenue.

> after card and/or platform fees

> It is about having a customer credit card

It's interesting that you mention platform fees, because if this subscription plan is available in the App Store, then Twitter wouldn't have your credit card on file, Apple would.

Indeed, if new users get a paywall in the app, then I think Apple's rules would require the subscription to be available in the App Store.

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