I think if anything, that probably is going to make it more of a pay-to-play model, and not everyone is following the ups and downs of the Twitter drama. And I will say that I don't think charging people for the blue check really sort of puts Twitter in the position to monetize off creators and creation of content on their platform, especially when they're trying to incentivize more people to use it. How do you monetize that? And in the case of this, monetize it ethically, if you're thinking about that. That was a fundamental place for organizing protests like the Arab Spring over a decade ago. And one of the things that I've been thinking a lot about, and I'm sure that Elon and many other people have been thinking about is how do you get this platform that in many ways has sort of seen itself as having a social mission to be a place where people can have conversations and get information. And in Twitter's case, because it has been so tied with civil society and journalism more than, I think you could argue, some of these other platforms, it's been a real way to identify who's spreading misinformation, who is a valid source of information to follow. And obviously anyone with a blue check is a super user or a power user, generally. And I think what that does is create a different sort of relationship between the platform and creators. Vittoria Elliot: I mean, I think the first important thing to note is that it's fundamentally different than how a lot of other platforms treat their creators, right? If you're a creator on YouTube or TikTok or Instagram, you are not necessarily paying for the blue check, or you're not paying for the sort of recognition that you're an official creator. Vittoria, first tell us about paid verification and what we know about it and how it might change Twitter. But we're here today to talk about the long future of Twitter and how it's going to be monetized. So please forgive us if Elon decides to turn Twitter into a dating app between now and then, or do something even more consequential, like let Donald Trump back onto Twitter just before the midterm elections. It's moving as we are recording this, and we should note that we're recording this on Tuesday, November 1st, which is a couple of days before you will hear the show. Now, since this is a fast-moving story, I wasn't joking earlier when I said I didn't know what was going to happen in the next couple of hours. So far he has already fired top executives, dissolved the board of directors, and well, he has spread some misinformation. As you've surely all heard by now, Elon Musk has officially bought Twitter for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share, and he is moving pretty fast. Vittoria, you cover power and platforms for WIRED, which is why we've asked you to come on the show because we want to talk about what else? Twitter. And I should also note that I am remote this week, so if I sound a little bit different, it's because I'm not in our San Francisco studio with Mike.
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