Twitter logo at their headquarters in downtown San Francisco, California. AFP PHOTO
Kenyan companies and State agencies will now pay Sh132,520 monthly fee for
Twitter accounts, under the new verification policy by the US-social media giant.The Elon Musk-owned firm on March 23 announced that it would phase out the legacy blue badge and strip verified accounts of their verification marks starting April 1, making the symbol of authenticity available for purchase.
Twitter has set a $1,000 (Sh132,520) fee a month for Kenyan firms, ministries and other government agencies that would want a gold check mark verifying their account and Sh6,626 ($50) monthly for affiliated accounts including CEOs, directors, staff and subsidiaries.
The changes could see the government and firms spend millions of shilling monthly to have all Twitter accounts verified.
“A Twitter verified organisations subscription is $1,000/month (plus any applicable tax) and $50/month (plus any applicable tax) for each additional affiliate in the US. Prices may vary by region and are subject to change,” Twitter stated.
Organisations that purchase the subscription will receive a gold checkmark and square avatar if they are a business or non-profit, or a grey checkmark and circular avatar if they are a governmental or multilateral organisation.
An affiliated account receives verification denoted by either a blue, gold, or grey checkmark as well as an affiliate badge, a small image of their parent company's profile picture, displayed next to their checkmark.
Some of the Kenyan organisations that have since paid the fees include Statehouse, KCB Group, National Bank, I&M Bank Group, Equity Bank, Co-operative Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Absa Bank.
Others are NCBA Bank, Stanbic Bank, Safaricom and Kenya Airways
“By subscribing, organisations can access our new tool to manage verification, meaning you have full control over your organisation's presence on Twitter. You will be able to add and remove affiliated accounts at any time. Affiliates must accept an invite and double opt-in in order to receive verification,” Twitter added.
The firm has also made changes to individual account verification. Users will pay a monthly fee of Sh1,457 ($11) to obtain a blue badge.
Verified accounts show users on the social media platform that the profile is credible and authentic---a critical issue for business brands and personalities seeking to keep their customers updated.
The new changes are expected to help the company grow its revenues as advertising takes a hit following the Covid-19 pandemic book.
Mr Musk took over the ownership of Twitter Inc with brutal efficiency, firing top executives but providing little clarity over how he will achieve the ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform.
The second-richest man in the world has indicated he sees Twitter as a foundation for creating a "super app" that offers everything from money transfers to shopping and ride-hailing.
But Twitter is struggling to engage its most active users who are vital to the business. These "heavy tweeters" account for less than 10 percent of monthly overall users but generate 90 percent of all tweets and half of the global revenue.
→ ekivuva@ke.nationmedia.com
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