X’s New Control Lets Only Verified Accounts Reply to a Post – After extensive testing in recent months, X has officially introduced a new feature for audience control. This feature allows users to limit responses to their posts exclusively from verified accounts within the app. In addition to the three reply control options initially introduced in 2021, X has now included “Verified accounts” as a new engagement control choice.
This means you can now restrict interactions to users who have a paid Premium package, although it’s worth noting that less than 0.5% of X’s user base is subscribed to this package. While this feature might not have broad appeal, it can be beneficial for those who specifically want to engage with Elon Musk’s fans or like-minded individuals in response to their posts, ensuring a more focused interaction experience.
People Also Read: Meta Debuts Generative AI Features for Advertisers
X recently clarified that only 20% of its users actively post content, with the majority of engagement on the platform coming from replies, re-posts, and quotes. This makes limiting replies to a fraction of users seem counterintuitive, especially for those participating in X’s creator ad revenue share program, as they earn based on ads within their post replies, specifically targeting verified users.
While it’s true that only replies to verified users can be monetized in this context, one would assume that more replies could lead to increased responses and broader visibility among both verified and non-verified users. In essence, most users aim to maximize their responses, so restricting replies to less than 1% of X’s total audience may not appeal to the majority.
However, there might be a case for this approach. X could be using it to encourage adoption of X Premium (formerly “Twitter Blue”) by devaluing the experience for non-subscribers. This potentially establishes a class system on the platform where the voices of those who can afford to speak hold more weight, albeit counterintuitive in several ways.
People Also Read: Elon Musk’s X to Test Livestream Shopping in Partnership With Paris Hilton
Ultimately, X seems to view verification as a means to combat bots and create a new revenue stream, even though it may have counterintuitive implications for the platform’s dynamics. Following this strategy, X intends to introduce a range of tiered pricing plans for X Premium subscriptions. Additionally, they have plans to reserve the upcoming video call feature exclusively for X Premium subscribers, along with the introduction of Premium-only polls. This aligns with their broader effort to expand their subscription offerings.