It's Not Just About You, Elon. It's the $8 Fee.

tech.hindustantimes.com:

An interesting and revealing thing happened on Twitter in recent weeks. The infamous blue check mark, once a status symbol among people in media and others who spend time too much time online, took on a negative connotation. There are even hashtags shaming subscribers to the new fee-based “Twitter Blue.” On its face it's not clear why; There should be no shame in paying for a better Twitter experience — especially if you spend many hours consuming it.

The drama revealed many of our behavioral biases and why they pose a challenge for an economy in transition. The tech economy bet on a business strategy that offered free services as a lure to build a network that they could one day monetize. That day has arrived, and it turns out networks may not be able to convert to a profitable model. In fact, charging money now may kill their current money-losing model entirely.

The Twitter snafu is in some ways a special case. New owner Elon Musk is a polarizing figure. The blue check mark started out free and was only given to confirm the identify of people who had some public notoriety, or as in my case, people who worked for a media company. It conferred status and made your tweets more visible. Now you get the blue check only if you pay for it — or you're extra-special notable, like LeBron James.

It's like buying your way into nobility, except worse because most of the old nobility lost their status at the same time. You don't have to read much Regency Era literature to know that nothing is more gauche that buying your way into status, especially if the original status holders' position feels precarious. Never mind that subscribing to Twitter Blue has some useful features and offers a better user experience. The check mark now brands