Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new feature called Meta Verified, a subscription product that offers perks like higher visibility, deeper security, and priority access to its customer for $12 per month, per platform. More importantly, it includes the hottest new social media perk — a verified badge. Rings a bell? Well, that’s because the Lord of Twitter, Elon Musk, sent the entire internet into a meltdown with the announcement of Twitter Blue a few months ago, a service that hawks the coveted Blue Badge of influence for $8 per month.
Now, the world of social media is no stranger to products. Snap already offers something called Snapchat+ that sells access to a bunch of exclusive and experimental features. Discord also has its own tier. But so far, none of the social and communication behemoths have tried to sell legitimacy and influence disguised in the form of a verified badge for a price high enough that you can pay for a decent video streaming service. Twitter set the ball rolling, and now, serial copycat Meta is brazenly aping that strategy.
No Verification Is Bad For Business
But there is a crucial difference between why Twitter did it, and what Meta apparently wants to do. Twitter was desperate to make money, while Musk made bold promises that revamping the old “lords & peasants” verification system needs go in order to create a more equitable space that will also solve the platform’s bot problems. But Meta is not desperate for money, at least not publicly, nor do its billions of s have any qualms about the existing verification system. In fact, the very concept of a verified badge has an entirely different perception on Twitter vis-à-vis Instagram and Facebook.
On Twitter, a verified badge on your profile means you command a certain level of public importance and mass influence. A "notability" that is high enough for your social media handle to stand out with a blue tick so that a bad actor doesn’t use your name to scam or mislead people. The same goes for businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions. The verified frenzy was more pronounced in the case of Twitter — aka the internet’s public town square — than Instagram or Facebook. For better or worse, Twitter has always maintained an image for disseminating critical information, while likes of Instagram and Facebook enjoyed the lion’s share of social media love.
All that begs the question: Why would Meta sell a service that barely commanded the same level of verified recognition on Instagram and Facebook, as it did on Twitter? Zuckerberg says Meta Verified is “about increasing authenticity and security across our services.” It doesn’t take much pondering over the Meta CEO’s post to deduce that Meta Verified is targeted at businesses that stand to lose real money from impersonation. But the promises made for Meta Verified mean businesses that don't pay will have an uphill battle getting their problems solved, and they may have to compete for attention in the face of rivals with a verified badge.
Straw That Breaks The Camel’s Back
Expert opinion on the business appeal of Meta Verified is not too favorable either. Screen Rant talked to Luke Lintz, CEO of HighKey Enterprises, who isn’t a fan of Meta’s shortsighted decision and believes that it will do more harm than good. Lintz’s company has helped businesses get verified on social media platforms, but at the same time, he worries that the incredible ease with which social media followers can be purchased only elevates the risk potential of Meta Verified.
“So now a business that just starts up could buy 1 million fake followers, get verified, and then start conducting illegitimate and fraudulent business very easily,” Lintz explains. Of course, trust in platforms will take a hit, but it’s the sheer potential for scams that is truly worrying. Look no further than Eli Lilly, which had billions of dollars wiped from its market worth after a single tweet promising free insulin shots from a fake with a verified badge.
Lintz notes that so far, s have been okay with platforms making billions of dollars off of their attention and living with the reality that they can be censored or booted off if they don’t abide by policies — all because their social and communication tools were free to use. But now, Meta is essentially telling s that they need to pay to get their videos seen and get access to critical , while still living with the aforementioned drawbacks. He adds that Meta Verified and Twitter Blue are leading social media in a direction where it is no longer sustainable for s, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see both creators and influential personalities migrating elsewhere.
Another Chapter Of Subscription Hell
We live in an age of subscription excess. Naturally, there is visible discontent among the audience, which is increasingly getting tired of paying subscription charges for everything from music and games to reading news and a heated car seat. Social media was the only avenue where one could go, kill some time with friends, discover interesting content, and feel connected to a global community – without paying a single dime. Twitter’s move into the subscription territory was a desperate move with a different objective, but Meta’s reasons are hard to justify. Of course, Meta will make easy money from those who pay for its subscription product, but in doing so, the fundamental appeal of Facebook and Instagram is also at stake.
“Subscription features usually provide ongoing value in exchange for ongoing payments. This “feature” as I understand it is based on a one-time verification, but will be charged on a monthly basis,” says Robbie Kellman Baxter, a Harvard and Stanford Alum who has worked for over two decades building online businesses. She adds that Meta Verified’s key offering is personal protection against impersonation, and as such, businesses will find it more useful. However, it is still nowhere near as useful as LinkedIn , which offers a ton of tools for expanding reach and business.
So, what’s the outlook for the regular social media ? “This is kind of like a hotel charging extra if you want a lock on the door,” Baxter notes. Meta is yet to outline plans for adding more features, if any, to the Meta Verified bundle that could make it more tempting for businesses and influencers. Right now, it just seems like scam protection for them, and a high price for a verified status symbol that most of Facebook and Instagram’s combined base of over four billion people will have little use for.
Source: Meta