Twitter To Test Subscription Feature Allowing Users To Charge Followers For Exclusive Content

February 26, 2021

Twitter plans to start testing several new features, including a subscription-based program called "super follows" that will let users earn revenue from followers by offering exclusive content, in the company’s first step away from a free-of-charge format.

During its annual Analyst Day presentation Thursday, the company showed a mock screenshot of a Super Follow account charging $4.99 per month.

The exclusive content could reportedly consist of "bonus tweets, access to a community group, subscription to a newsletter, or a badge indicating your support."

Twitter said it also plans to explore a tipping option and would provide additional details "in the coming months."

Another upcoming feature the company is planning to roll out is called Communities, which, similar to Facebook Groups, will enable users to create and join groups focused on specific interests.

Twitter didn't say when it would begin testing any of the new features or when they might formally launch.

"Exploring audience funding opportunities like Super Follows will allow creators and publishers to be directly supported by their audience and will incentivize them to continue creating content that their audience loves," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

Prior to the start of its Analyst Day presentations, Twitter said it plans to at least double total annual revenue and daily users over the next four years. According to a regulatory filing, the company expects annual revenue to increase from $3.7 billion in 2020 to $7.5 billion or more in 2023, and it is projecting daily active users will exceed 315 million by the final quarter of 2023. In his introductory remarks on Thursday, CEO Jack Dorsey stated that, in the past, "we believe we haven't been innovative," but that the company has set a goal to increase "development velocity" by doubling the number of features shipped per employee that "directly drive either mDAU or revenue."

Twitter stock jumped more than 10% in early trading Thursday on the projections, reaching an all-time high of $79.28 at around 11:30 a.m. It had settled back to $74.61 by market close.

Source: Forbes
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