What will happen to Twitter: new records and prospects

Publication date: 11 November 2022

In November 2022, experts note the sharp increase in the daily audience of the social network Twitter. This came after billionaire Elon Musk bought the service and announced planned updates.  

According to The Verge, daily global user growth increased by more than 20% in the week following the purchase. In the US, their numbers are growing even faster: there were 237.8 million active users in the 2nd quarter, after which the audience grew by 15 million people.  

• According to We Are Social and Kepios at the beginning of 2022, Twitter is among the top 15 most popular social networks in Russia. It is used by 11.7% of the social network’s audience (12th place) with 2.95 million users in Russia.  Consequently, Twitter’s advertising reach in Russia is equivalent to 2% of the total population. 

American entrepreneur Elon Musk bought Twitter on 28 October 2022 for $44 billion. The first thing he did as the owner: he fired a number of executives and about 50% of the employees. Musk also announced that accounts that had been blocked for questionable and minor reasons would be available again.  

Afterwards, concerned about plans to restore the scandalous accounts, including that of blocked former US president Donald Trump, numerous major advertisers have suspended their Twitter posts. Companies fear their brands’ ads could appear in toxic and other inappropriate contexts. For example, cosmetics and perfume maker L’Oréal, automobile corporation General Motors and automaker Stellantis, pharma companies Gilead and Pfizer, food manufacturers General Mills and Mondelez International have “taken a break”.  For 2021, the social network generated $5 billion in advertising revenue (its main source of income).

What’s new on Twitter in 2022?

1. A new monetization tool will allow videos to be posted on the platform with paid access. When uploading a video to the social network, a user will be able to select the paid access function and then specify the cost of viewing the video (from 1 to 10 dollars).  The author will get the money through electronic payment system Stripe, and a part of the sum will be sent to Twitter. 
2. The paid subscription (about $8 per month) will let the user see twice as many ads and get a blue “tick” of verification. Additionally, the service will allow users to post long-form video and audio recordings, receive information from paid publications and get priority in replays. Currently, the Twitter Blue subscription costs $4.99 and enables you to edit tweets, while the verification (“blue tick”) is given for free. 
3. A two-factor verification system: in addition to the traditional blue ticks confirming account verification, which will be available for a fee, the company will also use a special “official” symbol for “preferred” accounts. 
4. New design of the main page of the platform: apart from the login field (login and password input), it will contain the main world events and popular posts of influencers. 

Let us remind you that Twitter was blocked in Russia in early March 2022. The social network was fined around 60m roubles for failing to remove banned content. The service has also failed to comply with the law’s requirement to “land”, i.e., set up a representative office in Russia. For almost a year – from July 2021 to August 2022 – the microblogging service Twitter has been blocked in Uzbekistan.