Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) has selected Canada and Australia as the initial markets for a subscription service called "Twitter Blue."
The service will allow Canadian users to pay $3.49 a month to access additional features that are not currently available on the free version of its platform. The monthly fee is based on the planned price for a U.S. rollout of Twitter Blue, which is expected to be available for $2.99 U.S. later this year.
One feature that Twitter users have long craved is something resembling an edit button. With a new “undo” function, Twitter Blue members will be able to set a timer of up to 30 seconds before a post shows up in their timeline. An obvious benefit would be the ability to fix typos before a tweet goes live.
Another feature — "Bookmark Folders"— offers an improved bookmarking system for saved tweets. Canada and Australia are viewed as some of the company’s more mature markets, where there are enough users who might pay for advanced levels of customization and control.
In the first quarter of this year, Twitter reported that it generated 87% of its revenue from advertisement sales. Conceptually, Twitter Blue enables Twitter to lessen its reliance on advertising.
Aside from Twitter Blue, the company has been working on other subscription offerings, such as one for popular Twitter creators — what it calls "super follows" — who would be able to charge followers in exchange for access to extra content. Twitter would take a cut of the creator’s subscription revenue.
Another aspect of Twitter Blue that may appeal to subscribers: faster response times from Twitter’s support team to address user issues.
Tech Insider
