The Curse of the Blue Tick

Ah, Twitter. I love Twitter. It’s the smoking shelter of social media, where everyone is talking over one another but no one knows who’s quite listening. A pixelated realm of funny ‘facts’, public debacles, and home to sarcastic trolls. It is a bit of everything and anything, and yet also a microblog of nothing and mindless bullshit.

I’ve been on Twitter since 2013 and I think like most people I wasn’t entirely sure what to do or what it was really for. Then one day I switched to dark mode and kept scrolling. I've been coming back ever since. I am four months and twenty-seven days older than South Park, so I remember life before social media but have grown up with social media as it has grown. Out of all the platforms available to me, Twitter has become my absolute favourite.

I remember when people were discussing why they use Twitter (this was around about 2013/14). Their declaration usually involved an utterance along the lines of: "You get to follow celebrities. It makes you feel like you're closer to them and they are just like us.' I mean, when the Queen joined Twitter it actually made the news, and how did we know it really was the Queen? Well, the infamous blue tick of course!

But not for long...

Elon Musk brought Twitter for $44 billion, officially becoming CEO on the 27th of October 2022. Fast forward to this week celebrities and influencers alike saw their blue tick privileges stripped from them as if they were lands and titles. Only on Twitter would you see Elon Musk trolling Stephen King. The introduction of Twitter Blue has had very mixed responses. Who knew a blue tick could have such an impact?

While some view Twitter Blue as levelling the playing field, others see it as a quick cash grab as Twitter is valued at half its worth since Musk brought the social media platform. Although, I must admit, since the start of King Elon's reign I have noticed more engagement and fruitful outcomes with my work. As a writer who is now competing against AI, Twitter has been a great way to get my work out there and to get my voice heard.

Regarding Twitter Blue, however, my first reaction to everyone losing their blue tick was literal evil laughter. I'm not even exaggerating. I think it's so funny because it's all so pointless in the end. I couldn't give a damn, and those who are whining about losing a blue tick need to...

And go outside more... please for the love of all the Gods existing and none get off your phone and go the fuck outside!

I have seen fellow Twitter users (commoners in Elon's Kingdom), describing the blue tick as a badge of shame, and associated with right-wing neo-nazis. [I really want to stress this is what I saw on my feed and it seemed to be the theme of this particular thread, apologies for not having the receipts, but seeming as it is bringing in a lot of discourse, I'm sure you'll see it anyway].

Either way, you see it, Elon has successfully managed to get a reaction out of all and any type of people, and he is now being paid for it - quite literally! What do you think? Is Elon just trolling all of us and making us pay for it? Or is there more to this than meets the eye?

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As always; stay safe, stay hopeful and stay blessed! :)