The legacy of the Blue check mark ✔️
I’ve been on Twitter since 2009; long enough to witness the birth of the “legacy blue tick/check” and what it meant.
It’s main reason was to give those in government and the entertainment business a platform where a blue check meant you are the official account of the name created. For the entertainment industry it allowed fans of celebrities to follow them, knowing the person you followed was the legitimate account and not some troll, trolling social media for shits and giggles. For official government accounts it meant you could follow factual political information. For entertainment news channels (like Fox) it meant you could get the latest about the entertainment world. For media industries, it meant you could follow their page for up to the minute news.
For years it’s been like this, normal, safe, reliable…until recently you could post quite happily, follow your favourite celebs, engage in political or domestic subjects. Report accounts (it was very rare in the early yrs) accounts that were being abusive or spamming. And then came a loud mouthed bigoted buffoon, who used the platform for political and personal hits. This dawned a wave of abusive, racist, homophobic, xenophobic behaviour to start crawling out of the gutter. Flooding the platform with vile threats, vile behaviour and very vile people. Twitter suspended the worst of the accounts and pretty soon most social media platforms did the same. The cries of “freedom of speech, first amendment rights being taken away from them” rang out like the wails of a banshee into the night.
This was seen as an abuse of power and then the owner decided to sell the platform on the open market - did Jack Dorsey get bored or was he pushed out? He left Twitter out in the open for anyone to buy at a high price…high price indeed. Twitter during 2020 was instrumental in keeping disinformation as much away as possible by fact checking, adding disclaimers and warnings on posts that were not telling the truth. Suspending accounts abusing the rules and cooling off periods for those not following them. This did not sit well with the loud mouthed who wanted to be able to say what they wanted, lie bare faced on their page or threaten those who opposed their rhetoric. One such loud mouthed opinionated person is Elon Musk. Not the brightest spark in the room. Inherited a wealth from his fathers ownership of an emerald mine in South Africa (actually fact) in other words just like the orange Buffon who used the platform to abuse and lie through - Musk is a trust fund billionaire. Bought Tesla (no he didn’t invent anything) picked the brains of scientists to create SpaceX (his money funded it he’s not the brains behind it the scientists are) the billionaire playboy likes to throw his money around to feel important, has always felt his freedom of speech was hampered by the rules of the previous owners of Twitter. So he put 44b across and bought the platform. Fired practically everyone who had spent several decades working for the company and installed a bunch of yes men to help him run the social media empire.
worst.mistake.ever
Top advertisers fled the platform
Installed a repeatedly nauseating algorithm that doesn’t make sense. It also throws up accounts you have either blocked because of content or accounts you have never followed but hey it’s Musk running the show.
Added sponsorship from pretty crappy, cheap advertisers that flood the area worse than google pop up ads.
And now decided that the blue check mark you had been given by the ownership and proof of who you are to distinguish you from those who would use your name for other trolling means - you need to pay for.
Will remove the blue check mark if you don’t pay up.
No wait, will reinstall your blue check mark if you have over 1mil followers
Has decided to reinstall your blue check because you publicly claimed you wouldn’t pay for it just to rub your nose in it, by inserting a clause that YOU the owner of your page - verified it by your phone number.
How very gracious of the aSSclown. Now for me, the blue check mark doesn’t mean anything. I’m of no importance, I’m not famous, I don’t have a massive following, but I do have an opinion and understand why celebrities have kicked off regarding their check mark that’s been there since they registered with Twitter. I do feel their annoyance because why not? They like to know that their fans are following the real deal. It also helps their careers when they can be seen by advertisers and can advertise their up and coming projects on a social media platform but Musk’s idea of playing the “teach you all a lesson” behaviour is just another step of proof, that he’s as incompetent at running this platform as he is with everything else he touches. Once admired businessman and philanthropist, he’s become more of a laughing stock with his unstable views of trying to clean the platform up. He’s allowed previous banned accounts back on (banned because of their disinformation and hatred) cozied up to dictators, pleaded with others to come back. Spread disinformation regarding people’s support on the ongoing conflict In Ukraine and sided with the opposing side. Posted misinformation and when caught out - claimed the algorithm wasn’t working properly. In other words Elon hasn’t got a clue. While others are creating different platforms to transition too, all eyes are on the orange buffoon, who used this once good media platform, inspire to create as much havoc in the next election, knowing full well that in 2020 he was silenced for his part in sending out misinformation about the election he claimed (falsely) that was rigged against him. Stirred up enough trolls in the gutter by organising a crowd of homegrown terrorists to attack the nations Capitol building to stop the election being certified against him. Musk has proven that he is more in favour of allowing the media platform he doesn’t really care about as it’s losing money, due to his poor handling crash spectacularly into the ground or walk away and allow the likes of the dishonest Republican Party take over and finish what the orange buffoon started. The fact remains that the more he can turn away from Twitter through loss of faith, loss of blue check mark the better - you’re only interfering with his course of carnage anyway.
Or
You can stay and fight - remove his hold on you.
Go into your settings, edit your profile, remove your name and put it back in again - the blue check mark disappears. Add more symbols after your name, it too removes the check mark. Those who have always followed you, know who you are because they will still stay on your followers list. Your account will still be the same just no blue check. Add a photo to your profile that states it’s you. Don’t give Musk the satisfaction of owning you - your legacy mark was given to you as validation, but your fans or followers already know that.
Remember the reason you were given that little blue tick - Musk should never hold that kind of power over you. Those who have paid the $8 well that’s on them and the only reason they’ve done so is for their own reasons or possibly self entitlement - either way, they’re paying a billionaire the privilege of owning them.
#bluechecktwitter #muskdestroyingtwitter #legacybluechecksgone
