Twitter Blue is a subscription to upgrade your experience on Twitter.
According to Twitter, it provides subscribers the chance to customize the app and make it more expressive. Here’s a deep dive into all the reasons these aesthetic changes aren’t worth it.
Twitter Blue Is Here
Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription available to users in Australia and Canada. Costing users $4.49 AUD or $3.49 CAD, Twitter Blue equates to a cup of coffee a month. This is the first subscription model implemented in the social media app, with a seemingly small price to pay for a premium experience.
Many apps and online services offer subscription models to monetize their offerings. People sign up for these to experience the benefits of the upgrades, like removing ads.
Twitter Blue, on the other hand, offers features that just don’t deliver significant changes. Instead, its upgrades are superficial changes to the look and feel of your version of the app, and one or two features that people feel should be built-in and available to all.
Why We Hate Twitter Blue
Here’s a look at the perks offered by Twitter Blue and why it isn’t worth the price it's asking for.
You Still Can’t Edit a Tweet
Twitter Blue allows users to “undo” a tweet. This undo option is limited to a maximum of 30 seconds after posting a tweet, reply, or thread. All this feature does is delay the sending time, allowing you a few extra seconds to proofread what you’re uploading.
Mistakes made on Twitter are often not picked up in the heat of the moment, nor in the immediate aftermath. If a mistake is picked up after the tweet is sent, you will either have to leave the error or delete and resend your tweet.
Glorifying Organization on Twitter
If you’re a stickler for organization, then Twitter Blue might appeal to you. A number of features fall into this category, from colors to bookmarks. Let’s dive into these a little deeper...
- Colors: You can change the color of Twitter’s user interface, plus the Twitter icon. Realistically, we all know and love Twitter for being blue—in fact, that color is even attached to this subscription model’s name, so we’re missing how this is a true draw factor for users. Themes are great but coming it as an expense? It’s not necessary, or warranted, if you ask us.
- Reader Mode: With Twitter Blue, you can improve the readability of threads. It’ll take away the clutter of showing individual tweets by showcasing the content as one long text. This is a nice feature, but is it worth it? What if you want to tweet out certain sections? How many threads do you read anyway? Nice, but not nice enough, if you ask us. Twitter has simply made it easier to read and save Twitter threads.
- Bookmarks: If you’re in the habit of saving tweets, you can now do so with categories. Essentially, this Twitter Blue feature allows you to create folders and save tweets accordingly. But realistically, how many people are on Twitter saving tweets? And even if you are, you can always screenshot them or use Pocket—for free. In fact, there are a number of ways to improve your experience on Twitter without paying to upgrade.
More Support...If You Ever Need It
We won’t bash customer service, but having Twitter support more easily accessible is a feature that would benefit businesses or public figures more than the everyday user. Support is there either way if, for instance, you need to report threats on Twitter like fake profiles or copyright issues.
Whether or not having this service is worth paying extra for each month is something you’ll have to decide for yourself, but our bets are that it won’t be.
Twitter holds a reputation of being the voice of the people. It is where ideas are expressed and news is shared. It is for this reason that people expect the app to offer more than the superficial perks of Twitter Blue.
One could go as far as to say that the premium features included in Twitter Blue are purely aesthetic, going against the essence of what the app represents in the social media sphere.
Heavy Twitter users are likely to be the ones to benefit from the premium features offered in a subscription model. The changes overall are personal to each user's experience on the app, with no significant changes that are expected with premium upgrades.
The Upgrades People Are Asking For
Let’s be honest—the features included in Twitter Blue have missed the mark for many Twitter users. On the contrary, there are a number of features that people want to see on the app.
Since Twitter Blue is the first iteration, users are hoping its future versions will include these:
- Editing Tweets: There is no way to edit a tweet once it has been published. The potential ramifications of edited tweets have been expressed, but there are ways in which the app could make it possible. For example, allowing for edits for a short period of time.
- Removing Ads: Many subscription services in the realm of music offer users the ability to see fewer ads or to remove ads completely as they inhibit one’s experience on the app. This is another feature that people would be willing to pay for in a Twitter subscription. In fact, this is arguably the most important premium feature that Twitter Blue should include.
Twitter Blue Is Not Worth It (Yet)
The first version of a Twitter subscription has proved to be disappointing for users. It includes features that many feel should be standard, and misses the mark on what people really crave out of the Twitter experience.
Hate may be a strong word, but in its current state, it just isn’t worth it. We’ll be keeping an eye on the future features offered with Twitter Blue, hoping that the changes are more substantial and worthy of payment.