While there are all kinds of problems with badges at Twitter, Meta is all about it. You can get a blue badge on Instagram and Facebook for a fee, to show that you are ‘verified’. It is now also coming to the UK and we expect it won’t be long before we get it in the Netherlands as well.
TwitterBlue
Twitter Blue is the first company to get very fanatical about asking for money for ‘verified’ accounts, and Zuckerberg liked that too. Still, you may wonder to what extent it is catching on: 290,000 people have Twitter Blue, of which 180,000 are Americans. In the Netherlands we also notice few people who have it, although we do not have any official figures.
The big problem with Twitter Blue is that it has made the badges a paid feature that is open to abuse. The requirements you have to meet if you want such a badge are mainly financial, rather than actually having to prove that you are your authentic self. You do have to prove something, but that would be less than when a badge came at no cost. In any case, Musk has inspired others with it, because as we wrote in February, that blue check mark now also appears in Instagram and Facebook, called Meta Verified, and now also in more and more countries.
Meta Verified
It is striking that a blue color was chosen: with Twitter that made sense, because a blue check mark is just as blue as the Twitter color, but the check mark in Instagram is just as bright blue. Especially when you realize that in America the association with ‘blue badge’ is that you are in a wheelchair and therefore have a special parking space (for example) it is a special choice. And somewhat confusing, probably.
Anyway, Meta Verified is expanding and it’s not exactly cheap. It will cost you $14.99 per month on iPhone and $11.99 per month for the browser. We expect it to cost something like this in Euros once it lands in mainland Europe. Meta Verified comes with more than just that badge: you also get more direct access to customer service and your account is better protected against identity fraud. The latter in particular is remarkable: shouldn’t that apply to everyone? Of course, this paid subscription also means that your posts are more likely to appear higher in the timelines of others and that you therefore have a greater reach.
Blue badge
In the case of Meta, it is not yet the case that the old check marks are gone, but they will probably disappear in the long run. However, it hasn’t said anything about that yet, so for now you can still get a badge with enough popularity. So do it while you still can without having to pay for it. Still, this also applies: what is a badge worth if you can simply pay for it? And why would you pay for a badge that you can currently score with sufficient popularity? As far as we’re concerned, Meta Verified can stay away from the Netherlands for a while, but we’re afraid that’s a vain hope.
Laura Jenny
When she’s not tapping, she’s traveling around the wonderful world of entertainment or some cool place in the real world. Mario is the man of her life,…
