$8/mo for a link to an image of a small blue checkmark is a pretty good scam. I’m thinking of starting a similar business. I’m going to call it “Elmo Genie”, and the terms are even better than Elmo’s. The business model is that you send me only $5 a month (or a one-time payment of $600, good for life) and in return, I promise to wish you good luck (because you’re obviously gonna need it).
It’s now not possible to search Twitter or click on trending topic unless logged into a Twitter account. It’s happened before, albeit temporarily, so we’ll have to see whether it persists.
I just use the “following” tag, and ignore “for you”. I know that everyone in “following” is someone I chose to follow, so I already verified their authenticity.
Unfortunately the change means it’s much more difficult to verify authentic accounts now, so I’m much more reluctant to follow more accounts.
My understanding is that TracFone offers service for a minimum of 90 days (per their refill cards). So Elmo would be able to sell the numbers of people with TracFone accounts just as easily as those with landlines or more-prestigious cell phones.
Of course the telemarketers might come back and complain 91 days later, but why would Elmo care??
Don’t be giving that stain any ideas. ‘Being wished Good Luck by a Certified Genius–that’s worth paying for, right???’
I mean, this is the guy who carried a sink into Twitter headquarters, assuming everyone would be impressed by the brilliance of the concept.
Yes, exactly—it’s clear that it’s just another way for Elmo to make money (from the sale to telemarketers and, presumably, data aggregators in general)—even if the buyers will complain after a mere 30 days rather than the 90 I’d assumed.
TracFones used to be available for $5 apiece. What with inflation I doubt that’s still true, but even so, it would be a relatively inexpensive way to avoid giving Himself anything that actually has value.
IF having a blue check is seen as desirable, anyway.
Gifting Twitter Blue to all the biggest accounts that don’t want them in an effort to stop this protest is both funny and pathetic. I don’t give a fuck, I’ll block them anyway. Goodbye Stephen King, Goodbye Dril, I’ll still see screenshots of all your tweets worth seeing.
Did you know if Twitter gold rejects your verification application, they still keep your first $1000?
She got her lawyers involved and got her money back, so in the end she’s only out the self-respect of letting everyone know you were going to give a billionaire $1000 a month for a gold checkmark. Which is kinda just as bad or worse.
…because I live in the southern hemisphere, I typically alternate between “for you” and “following” because while I’m active on Twitter, most of the people I actively follow are fast asleep and don’t shop up in the following tab. Even with Elon’s multiple changes, it still worked quite well for me. Until yesterday when I started being spammed by fan accounts
I woke up this morning and “for you” seems to have fixed itself. No more having to explain why my feed was wall-to-wall photos of Hailee Steinfeld LOL