I don't use Twitter, but the last week since Elon Musk become the owner, the conversation has got far more interesting, as people "rebel" against the idea of having to pay for the privilege of getting verified, with famous and wealthy people threatening to quit the platform over a potential $20 monthly fee for the blue verification checkmark. Which is interesting, as essentially, that blue verified mark is the thing that protects the rich and famous from people impersonating them on Twitter, a place that they use as a platform to peddle their own wares and agendas.
Entitlement.
But this is part of a bigger problem, where people believe that social platforms should be provided in their entirety for free. If there is some subscription paywall of separation of experience, people complain that it is unfair to those who can't afford it. If there is no paywall, people complain about the amount of spam and scam, and all those ads -
But ads are better than paying.
Well, until tech solutions can block the ads, so then it is free and the adverts are heavily limited. Then people complain because the share price of the social platform they have bought into because it is so compelling to use, has the ass drop out of it like Facebook has.
The average consumer, rich or poor, very much embody the "have the cake and eat it too" mentality and approach to life, expecting not only that what they use brings them far more value than they put into it, but that they want that value without having to put anything in at all.
I think we are familiar with this on Hive.
What people will have to start coming to terms with is, the idea of the "free internet" has been dead for a long time, but how it has been getting financed is through ad revenue models. But, because of this for click and time on site modelling, a whole range of negative outcomes have eventuated, from the bombardment of advertising, to the death of journalism in favor of clickbait stories. Not to mention the continual targeting of children in ways that has fundamentally weakened their potential.
Now, other than paying the bills, the reasoning for introducing the fee for verification means that it is far easier to then manage and filter for spam and scam, because once there is a cost of what is "verified account creation", there is a cost to getting banned, so better behave.
We have seen this on Hive (Steem) also, where at one stage (oldies might remember) there were bot armies of accounts using the starting HP to milk the platform, without one group of 10,000+ accounts, taking out over 20,000 STEEM a month.
Ah... those were the days - Let's get rid of resource credits and the dust threshold and go back to that model!
But on Hive, there is really no cost to the account creation, so what keeps them in check is that in order to spam, some resource credits are needed, which means powering up some HIVE - now, it doesn't take much, but there is very little incentive to actually spam the chain now, as earnings aren't going to happen and rewards can be taken away.
But, Twitter has around 230M monthly users, so the scale of their issue is a bit different, as is the scale of the spam and scam, as well as the trolling. However, as it is such a "public" platform, it is used and relied upon by many people to support their own livelihoods who will defend its usage, but still complain about how other people use it, even though them themselves, when given the option for an improved experience through subscription, are unwilling to open their wallet. Yet the same people are willing to subscribe to other entertainment services that provide them no potential for return whatsoever, like Netflix.
Why is there a mental division between entertainment platform?
Well, I think it is because for a couple decades now, the advertising model has fundamentally changed the way we think about these applications we use, by hiding the true costs. However, I think that one of the things that Web 3 platforms and services are going to do is deliver clarity on the costs through more transparent and direct transactions and relationships.
While people used to complain about the cost of accounts on Hive (they are available for free from many places), what they fail to see is that one of the fundamental differences between what they are paying for here and on Twitter is, on Hive you own your account. You are reserving a little piece of the blockchain that is always yours and with a little HIVE, you are able to use that account as you see fit. This doesn't mean that you won't meet resistance to your behavior, but that account is yours.
Once an account is registered on Hive, it is verified and protected by the chain, meaning that it can never be banned or taken away. Yes, an interface can choose to hide what it writes to the chain, but as long as it has the resources, it can write as it pleases. This is a fundamental difference that other people are only just starting to realize has some value. And this is what the Twitter conversation is starting to explore,
What does digital ownership mean?
It is about resources and assets, as well as skin in the game and what Twitter and Musk are going to discover, is that it is not easy to get people to pay for what they see as part of their fundamental human rights. People believe they have the right to be on a platform like Twitter and to say what they want not only without consequence, but without having a price to pay of any kind.
Have cake. Eat cake.
It isn't a right, it is a privilege.
And privileges are granted or paid for.
And as they say, there is no such thing as a free meal, so when they are "granted for free", there is a cost somewhere. Paying for the privilege grants access of some kind, like a ticket to the movies and when it happens on social media, people say it is not fair. Yet, when was the last time you went to the cinema and said that it wasn't fair that you could see the movie, but all the other people who can't afford the ticket can't? What about all the people who can't afford a Netflix subscription?
It isn't fair!
The world of media is changing rapidly and I think what Twitter and the other platforms are going to find is, they have painted themselves into a corner, where one wall is the tyranny of reliance on an advertising model and the other, made of the expectations and entitlements of their user base who have been conditioned to believe that they aren't paying for their usage. Upsetting the balance on either side is catastrophic, but survival demands it.
A catch-22.
The digital world is pivoting. About time.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Most of the “I am going to quit because…” are just noise.
Most of the people who have benefited from the verification will (some grudgingly) pay and won’t quit, benefit > cost even with the monthly subscription. Simple.
Most people never quit these things, because they feel that the account is theirs.
I hope Musk sticks to his guns about the fee. He has already made a few changes, firing the entire board,and bringing back a video service. So I guess we will have to wait and see what shakes out in the coming months. I am pretty sure twitter will be a different system in Jan 2023 than what it is now.
The challenge always is, if the people who like Twitter now, will accept the difference. People think it is easy to just "add a token" for example, but it fundamentally changes the way the community interacts and why, effectively shifting the usecase of the platform. It will be interesting to see.
This is a really great perspective comparing the benefits of the Hive blockchain verse the free advertising model that much of the population clings to for social media. Thanks for the insightful write-up, I will be sharing this on my blog and in my Twitter feed to see what my thousands of followers think.
Thanks mate :)
Hive is ahead of the curve in so many ways, it just doesn't look like it at the UI level ;D
Don't judge a book by its cover ;-)
Hive is like the VLC media player in some respects: Both are difficult to use at first; interface design needs much work; both are powerful for what they do.
Where VLC is better than Hive is in acceptance. Despite the drawbacks of VLC media player, many people have made it their default media player because it delivers performance. Hive has the performance, but not the acceptance. Yet.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
“If you don’t pay a anything, you are the product. “
This time it is “even if you pay, you are still the product” 😂
If people value online signalling, pay up. Elon’s got your ⚽️⚽️
It may get out of control when every platform follow this genius model.
😅💪
:D
Look at the streaming service market now, or the BNPL market. Saturation leads to downturn, failure and consolidation. There is only so much attention (money) to go around and when having to pay, people will ask themselves what the real value of the services are. Most will come up lacking.
People all wanted something for nothing, I am the same. Lots of us have gotten used to getting content for free or having ad-blockers to make things "free". The ideal of paying for something is lost on the FB/Insta/TikTok generation.
Having a subscription / RC model works well as a barrier to entry, but the content needs be worthwhile. Fingers crossed that Twitter persists with the subscription model and that weeds out the trolls.
Do you use Twitter?
I am still unsure what it is for in terms of entertainment, as the majority I see is just some form of advertising or agenda - it is obvious when looking at crypto projects through the lens of Twitter, but it is the same for everything there.
Sadly, I don't use any of the socials except HIVE. I think HIVE is considered a social. And maybe Discord.
All the rest are just trying to spruik something or ads after ads after ads. After watching too many docos on how bad social media is, I try to stay far away from it if I can.
I don't use Twitter, so I don't care who takes over it. However, it seems Twitter might be a one-man controlled platform, more than centralization :)
Well, he owns it now - he is the board :)
Elon Musk never promised decentralization of Twitter.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I am just wondering if those entitled people would even leave Twitter. From what I see, they like the verification system because it was like something they could brag about. However, if they left Twitter, would they even be relevant? I don't really think so. It makes me wonder if these people even think because I doubt many people would even know who they are after they stop posting.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Precisely. It gives the already famous a platform to maintain and grow their brand. For the average person, it offers nothing.
Many media people using Twitter-- television reporters, columnists, pundits, etc.-- are actually just average people with access to a television/video stream. If we have to ask "Who?" when we hear someone's name, that's not someone who should have a blue check.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I read that there will be different subscription costs for different countries. And it is right. In poor countries, I would subscribe for $1.
Twitter would still have to pay me, as I haven't really seen much benefit in using it at all :D
Guts from Berserk.
I only use twitter to share my hive posts.
I don't use Netflix.
The wealthy are those who can freely give what they have away.
I also don't use Twitter, but a shakeup is always interesting! And this is a big one
It is indeed and I think it is going to have knock-on effects on other companies.
Yeah you're not wrong. I hadn't considered that but the big tech corps are all quite deeply intertwined
~~~ embed:1587909529714524165 twitter metadata:MTIwNTAxNzQzNTE4ODkzMjYwOHx8aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS8xMjA1MDE3NDM1MTg4OTMyNjA4L3N0YXR1cy8xNTg3OTA5NTI5NzE0NTI0MTY1fA== ~~~
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people( @iviaxpow3r ) sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
Congratulations @tarazkp! You received a personal badge!
Participate in the next Power Up Day and try to power-up more HIVE to get a bigger Power-Bee.
May the Hive Power be with you!
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Getting to the point of being blue verified means a big height of influence and pride this pride and influence the platform had made available for you shouldn't be totally fair free as you need to be protected i.e sustained that fakers can't easily break in is worth paying for meanwhile the payment isn't that much after all radio, TV and newspapers aren't free hence the social media space isn't for free either. Who said I don't love this Elon musk of a guy . He's ways are cool.
You think? Anyone can have it.
Not everyone could attend this so the privilege few should pay for it.