Keep your digital hats on because Elon Musk has entered the monetization ring with X (previously known as Twitter), seeking to make the platform's premium membership, X Premium, the hottest ticket in town. However, the audience is not hurrying to take their places. It's as if Musk attempted to teach X Premium a new dance, but it keeps tripping over its feet.
Consider the following scenario: the grand debut of a creator monetization scheme that promises to transform your clever tweets into cash signs. Musk's favorite inventors took the stage, displaying images of their rewards, some of which were in the tens of thousands of dollars. A tantalizing start, to be sure. But then the spotlight shifted to the smaller creators, and the payouts dwindled to the hundreds range. It's like a theater curtain falling at the wrong moment, leaving the audience a little bewildered.
Musk, on the other hand, was not about to give up. He's been stirring up excitement about this application like a carnival barker, telling people that X Premium is the golden ticket to this creative bonanza. This is a rebranding of X's premium subscription package, Twitter Blue. Users may acquire a dazzling verification badge, the ability to extend their tweets to epic lengths, and even an "edit tweet" capability for $8 per month. This sounds like the internet's VIP area, doesn't it?
Well, here's where the plot thickens. According to Travis Brown, a data wizard tracking X Premium memberships, things aren't exactly hitting the high notes. In the last month and a half, subscriptions increased weekly by 16,000 net new members. Not precisely a standing ovation, especially considering past increases ranged from 7,000 to 15,000 additional members.
Compared to Musk's other magic acts, it's evident that the monetization mojo hasn't been cast on X Premium. Remember when Musk performed a prank and took away the legacy verification badges? That move alone added over 53,000 subscribers in a mere week. It's like Musk had us all enchanted with his every move, except when subscribing to X Premium.
Before you start sending condolence cards to X Premium, keep in mind that around 37% of its members do not match the criteria for monetization. They have less than 500 followers or haven't received enough attention (5 million post impressions) in the last three months. It's like being left outside the theater doors while the performance occurs inside.
However, let us give credit where credit is due. There is a bright side. According to Travis Brown's data-mining skills, X Premium has at least 827,615 subscribers, with a projected ceiling of roughly 950,000. Even if the dance floor isn't filled, there's quite a throng.
We're left with a lingering question mark as the curtains fall on this commercial melodrama. Will the current changes to the monetization standards tip the scales in X Premium's favor? Only time will tell if this is merely a warm-up for X Premium or if it will soon be tapping its way into the hearts of content producers worldwide. Until then, the monetization waltz continues, with Elon Musk as the conductor, leading the orchestra towards a grand crescendo – or perhaps a humbling encore.
Read next: Web Wonders and Musk's Slow-Mo Shenanigans: The X Saga Unveiled!
Consider the following scenario: the grand debut of a creator monetization scheme that promises to transform your clever tweets into cash signs. Musk's favorite inventors took the stage, displaying images of their rewards, some of which were in the tens of thousands of dollars. A tantalizing start, to be sure. But then the spotlight shifted to the smaller creators, and the payouts dwindled to the hundreds range. It's like a theater curtain falling at the wrong moment, leaving the audience a little bewildered.
Musk, on the other hand, was not about to give up. He's been stirring up excitement about this application like a carnival barker, telling people that X Premium is the golden ticket to this creative bonanza. This is a rebranding of X's premium subscription package, Twitter Blue. Users may acquire a dazzling verification badge, the ability to extend their tweets to epic lengths, and even an "edit tweet" capability for $8 per month. This sounds like the internet's VIP area, doesn't it?
Well, here's where the plot thickens. According to Travis Brown, a data wizard tracking X Premium memberships, things aren't exactly hitting the high notes. In the last month and a half, subscriptions increased weekly by 16,000 net new members. Not precisely a standing ovation, especially considering past increases ranged from 7,000 to 15,000 additional members.
Compared to Musk's other magic acts, it's evident that the monetization mojo hasn't been cast on X Premium. Remember when Musk performed a prank and took away the legacy verification badges? That move alone added over 53,000 subscribers in a mere week. It's like Musk had us all enchanted with his every move, except when subscribing to X Premium.
Before you start sending condolence cards to X Premium, keep in mind that around 37% of its members do not match the criteria for monetization. They have less than 500 followers or haven't received enough attention (5 million post impressions) in the last three months. It's like being left outside the theater doors while the performance occurs inside.
However, let us give credit where credit is due. There is a bright side. According to Travis Brown's data-mining skills, X Premium has at least 827,615 subscribers, with a projected ceiling of roughly 950,000. Even if the dance floor isn't filled, there's quite a throng.
We're left with a lingering question mark as the curtains fall on this commercial melodrama. Will the current changes to the monetization standards tip the scales in X Premium's favor? Only time will tell if this is merely a warm-up for X Premium or if it will soon be tapping its way into the hearts of content producers worldwide. Until then, the monetization waltz continues, with Elon Musk as the conductor, leading the orchestra towards a grand crescendo – or perhaps a humbling encore.
Read next: Web Wonders and Musk's Slow-Mo Shenanigans: The X Saga Unveiled!
