Pay please!
A banknote symbol will soon appear next to the “Follow” button on some Twitter profiles. Other users can send the operator a “tip”.
Twitter is introducing the function with which users can support the operators of their favorite profiles worldwide after a test run. The function will initially be introduced on the iPhone and should also follow in a few weeks for Android devices, the short message service announced on Thursday.
Twitter does not process the transfers itself, but allows payment service providers to be integrated into the profiles, to which the users are then forwarded. With the opportunity to earn money through the “tip” function, Twitter tries to close a gap that drove users to other services such as Patreon.
Payments are also possible in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. This is the best solution for regions in which the supply of banking services is weak, said the Twitter manager responsible for the project, Esther Crawford.
In addition, Twitter is experimenting with innovations that should make everyday life with the short message service safer. This includes an improved filter for unwanted terms – as well as a feature that can automatically block accounts that are similar to those that a user has already blocked. It should also become easier to inconspicuously “unfollow” profiles.
Product manager Kayvon Beykpour emphasized that Twitter will accelerate the pace of innovation and will also get rid of unpopular functions more quickly. “You won’t see us clinging to things that don’t work,” he said. Back in July, Twitter had declared its experiment with tweets that disappeared on their own after less than a year as a failure. The “Fleets”, which were only introduced worldwide last November, did not, as hoped, have encouraged more users to post more on the service, it said.
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