Twitter's Super Follows represent a surge of interest in tools that let individuals create real economic value for themselves on social networks

Will Super Follows shake up the media industry? — 16 hr ago — Today let's talk about Twitter's move into subscriptions …Tweets:@caseynewton,@bijanstephen,@ellenhuet,@chrismessina,@ellenhuet,@ellenhuet,@josephpalbanese,@josephpalbanese,@mikeisaac, and@caseynewtonSee also MediagazerTweets:Casey Newton /@caseynewton:In the interest of sowing more chaos inside American newsrooms, I have made yesterday's @platformer free for all to read 💪🏻 https://twitter.com/...Bij /@bijanstephen:something i've

Platformer 2021-02-27 Casey Newton

Context & Ripple Effects

Coverage had already identified a renewed contest among social networks, TikTok, Clubhouse, and Substack, while services such as Cameo and Substack showed that prominent writers could earn from smaller audiences. Twitter’s paired Super Follows and Communities rollout brings those creator-economy mechanics into its own feed and interest-group structure.

The significance is less a single paid-post feature than Twitter joining the competition to make individual accounts economically sustainable without sending their audiences elsewhere.

First-order effects

Twitter users gain a native way to charge followers for posts, giving journalists and other prominent accounts a new on-platform revenue option.
Twitter adds Communities alongside paid posts, giving creators a means to gather interest-based audiences that can be more distinct than a general follower base.

Second-order effects

Substack and Cameo face a more direct contest for creators whose businesses depend on smaller, paying audiences, since Twitter can combine discovery and monetization in one service.
Media organizations that rely on individual journalists’ public followings face greater pressure to clarify what remains available through their own products versus a reporter’s paid Twitter offering.

Third-order effects

If social platforms continue to pair audience discovery with direct payments, creator businesses may become more dependent on platform-controlled distribution rather than standalone subscription services.
Twitter’s later newsletter subscribe button for Revue accounts points toward a broader model in which the social profile becomes the entry point for several creator revenue channels.

The trend: Social networks are competing to turn influential individual accounts into native, paid micro-media businesses.

Discussion

@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
In the interest of sowing more chaos inside American newsrooms, I have made yesterday's @platformer free for all to read 💪🏻 https://twitter.com/...
@bijanstephen Bij on x
something i've been thinking a lot about is the quiet part of the monetization conversation: the attention economy is massively unequal. for example, according to twitch itself, there are 2 million broadcasters; 27,000 of those are partnered channels.
@ellenhuet Ellen Huet on x
good @CaseyNewton on Super Follows, which raised this q for me: for a lot of reporters, Twitter already feels like work. so would having people pay for your tweets make tweeting feel ... more fun? more work? https://www.platformer.news/ ...
@chrismessina Chris Messina on x
Two questions about #SuperFollows: 1. Once we get paid by Twitter, does that mean that we work for them? 2. Will #AB5 apply to us if we all become Twitter Gig Workers? Anyway, I've changed my userpic to prepare for my first Twitter paycheck! 🤑
@ellenhuet Ellen Huet on x
oh my god is there a way that someone could monetize a group of people to pay them to NOT tweet because that's genius
@ellenhuet Ellen Huet on x
monetizing your followers has some successful outliers and a very, very long tail of others https://twitter.com/...
@josephpalbanese Jpa on x
“For the past 15 years, though, most reporters have steadily been building escape hatches from their employers. They are called Twitter accounts” -@CaseyNewton in today's @platformer ( 👇 paywalled but a must-sub) https://www.platformer.news/ ...
@josephpalbanese Jpa on x
“The long-term solution for this is for publishers to create incentive models for their employees that have uncapped upside...That arrangement could involve shared revenue on a newsletter, or YouTube sponsorships, or podcast ads.” 🎯🎯🎯🎯 https://twitter.com/...
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
really good email last night from casey https://www.platformer.news/ ...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
I wrote about the coming battle between the reporters who want to enable Super Follows and the newsrooms who will absolutely not let them https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Vox Rebecca Heilweil on x
Coming soon to Twitter: Tweets you have to pay for
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
Twitter announces “Super Follow”, like Patreon but on Twitter https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@samleecole Samantha Cole on x
I asked Twitter if sexual content will be allowed as part of the new Super Follows feature (https://www.theverge.com/...) and this was their response. tl;dr: they haven't decided—or won't say—yet. https://twitter.com/...
@sethabramson Seth Abramson on x
This is a bad idea. And in fact, I had a venture capitalist pitch me on a similar idea here in New Hampshire 3 years ago—a pilot program to let people pay to increase certain tweets' visibility—and I told him the same thing: this is a bad idea, and one I want nothing to do with. …
@wongmjane Jane Manchun Wong on x
Twitter announces Communities, like Facebook Groups but on Twitter (they've started working on it in the web app since at least few weeks ago) https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Whether reporters are allowed to enable Super Follows, and how they can use them, feels like it could cause a lot of controversy within newsrooms when it arrives. Could also raise conflict of interest concerns with reporters who, uh, cover Twitter 😬
@jeremiahlee Jeremiah Lee on x
The big question is if Twitter—and its payment provider—will allow adult content. Super Follow could kill OnlyFans overnight, but I suspect it will start Twitter down a path to banning adult content, just like Instagram, Patreon, and Tumblr. https://twitter.com/...
@mikedrucker Mike Drucker on x
You want to make real money, don't charge people to see tweets; charge people to *reply* to tweets. You'll only get the worst of humanity, but they'll pay for the right
@mshannahmurphy Hannah Murphy on x
NEW: Twitter announces it's exploring tipping and “Super Follows” - where users can super follow accounts, paying them a subscription for exclusive content, like Patreon Curious whether newsrooms will allow reporters to generate extra revenues for themselves in this way or not? h…
@sarafischer Sara Fischer on x
Twitter's plan to double revenue by 2023: — Subscriptions — Performance ads — Better ad serving performance — Communities and topics https://www.axios.com/...
@jmbooyah Johana Bhuiyan on x
Obv the only good premium tweet model is to subtweet ppl and then make you pay to see who I'm subtweeting
@jayrosen_nyu Jay Rosen on x
Twitter announced today a new payment tool called “Super Follows,” which would allow Twitter users to charge for premium content, like a newsletter subscription, badges showing support, or bonus tweets. https://www.axios.com/... Hmmm. I would have to consider making use of that.
@timherrera @timherrera on x
everyone is dunking on the super follow thing but imo it's very good because twitter is work and people should be paid for their work!! i don't think it'll be very widespread or successful cuz we are ofc paying for *tweets* but i think it could make a difference for some people
@eliothiggins Eliot Higgins on x
Pay to follow me for access to unnecessarily long arguments with accounts with 12 followers. https://twitter.com/...
@timmaughan Tim Maughan on x
ah cool this sounds great well done good work everyone involved https://twitter.com/...
@btrillaaa @btrillaaa on x
I'll count every piece of sand at the beach before I ever pay to follow any fuckin body https://twitter.com/...
@rkrigney Ryan K. Rigney on x
love y'all but I'm never paying a single red cent for any of your tweets lmao https://www.theverge.com/...
@malwaretechblog @malwaretechblog on x
Cool, I always wanted to sell nudes via Twitter. https://www.theverge.com/...
@derekjgz Derek Johnson on x
When I was a kindergartener, I would walk to the neighbors with my dad's old high school trumpet, some sheet music I couldn't read, and a little portable stand, offering paid performances on their doorsteps. More than once I was given money not to play. What if we tried that? htt…
@stpaulsaints St. Paul Saints on x
Does answering questions when it's raining at 9 a.m. on whether we'll be playing 10 hours later count as “more content?” Asking for a couple hundred friends. https://twitter.com/...
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
People paying money for things. I like this business model. https://twitter.com/...
@megturney Meg Turney on x
Everyone: It'd really nice if you did something about the unchecked harassment creators face on your app. Twitter: ... Everyone: Maybe do something about misinformation? Twitter: ... Everyone: How about a simple edit button? Twitter: ....super follows. https://twitter.com/...
@kateconger O...K on x
I wrote about this website https://www.nytimes.com/...
@ed_solomon Ed Solomon on x
This just makes me wanna tweet more “exclusive” stuff (whatever the fuck that means) for free. I can't believe people even *read* this shit - I would never have the hubris to think they should pay for it. Plus: who wants that stress? https://twitter.com/...
@ryangrim Ryan Grim on x
There will be no refunds for any of my bad tweets. Buyer beware. https://twitter.com/...
@umairh @umairh on x
Honestly tho instead of tech companies making us beg each other for pennies we just need a basic income https://twitter.com/...
@mjmckean Michael McKean on x
Related: everybody's instantly blocking ALL promoted stuff on their timeline, right? https://twitter.com/...
@wroetoshaw Harry on x
I'll be posting all my old offensive tweets here for a bargain price! https://twitter.com/...
@edmundlee Edmund Lee on x
News organizations could create a paywalled Twitter account where they'd tweet exclusive news a few mins ahead of their own website ... would be lapped up by HFT traders and hedge funds https://twitter.com/...
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
I have to admit I get the desire to create something that helps people grow engagement beyond tweets like with a newsletter or a daily twitter moment on topics or people that is somewhat AI curated. I am less sure about pay to follow mostly cause it's unclear what I would see htt…
@dbreunig Drew Breunig on x
What's the problem with people finding an audience on Twitter? Same problem it was on Tumblr: success meant taking your talent to marketplaces that weren't Twitter or Tumblr. Book deals, TV pilots, podcasts, presidential campaigns, etc.
@alexstamos Alex Stamos on x
Interesting questions with superfollows (and Substack) is how monetization changes platform responsibility. Traditionally, recommendations and ranking have been seen as reasons why platforms have more responsibility for content. Taking 10% for handling payments will be another. h…
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
Lol. As if any media org would allow employees to use this to get extra revenue for their own work product. Substack is often a fine line as it is. https://twitter.com/...
@alexrkonrad Alex Konrad on x
tired: raise a fund, invest in startups, see payouts in 5-7 years wired: sell shares in your future tweets, take them public immediately via SPAC https://twitter.com/...
@fmanjoo Farhad Manjoo on x
I agree. I'm not at all sure it could work or how people will use it, but the fundamental idea makes a kind of sense. the tweeters you love are providing a lot of content for you for free. it wouldn't be wrong for them to ask for some money for it https://twitter.com/...
@odannyboy @odannyboy on x
In all seriousness, I think Super Follows is a great idea. There are journalists, comedians, and specialists who are providing real content of value here. Just as one recent example: would you pay to see NASA's Mars Rover Tweets?
@kfury @kfury on x
Yup. I'm in favor of the Super Follow functionality. Let content producers monetize their content if it has value. Like Etsy, it's a democratizing force that brings monetization to anyone who makes content of value. https://twitter.com/...
@ohmdee @ohmdee on x
The mythical Twitter subscription is almost reality. I'm surprised it took this long, honestly—Twitter has waited on the sidelines for 4+ years. It seems if not for the success of Substack, OnlyFans, and even Medium Membership & YouTube Premium, Twitter might've shelved this too.…
@sbyrnes Sean Byrnes on x
“Super Follow”, really? I am old enough to remember “Super Poke” on Facebook. Good times... https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
This is ...... an incredibly good idea https://twitter.com/...
@delrey Jason Del Rey on x
Twitter gonna sell its private-label tweets for $2 less than mine
@inafried Ina Fried on x
Good news: The tweet is free. Bad news: Shipping is $4.99
@inafried Ina Fried on x
What I love is that Twitter has made it really easy to sign up for Super Follow. All you have to do is tweet out a snarky joke about the feature and you are committing to 10 years of the service. Congrats to everyone in my feed, as we have all signed up.
@liahaberman Lia Haberman on x
They have been busy! New Twitter features: *Fleets (like Stories) *Spaces (audio social) Experiments: *Subscription products (Revue newsletters) Coming up: *Community Groups *Super Follows (like Patreon) https://www.nytimes.com/...
@brianpoliakoff Brian Poliakoff on x
There's a lot of momentum here at Twitter! Proud of what we've done and where we are going. Read more 👇 https://www.nytimes.com/...
@jessedamiani Jesse Damiani on x
Twitter Shakes Off the Cobwebs With New Product Plans. Though it has received outsized attention for the last few years, the company has not changed very much. But a recent acquisition spree signals a new course. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@dianelyssa @dianelyssa on x
Aside from the fact that nobody's forcing to y'all pay for anything, there are people on Twitter with large platforms who provide content and services and, until now, had no way to monetize (but have followers who tip via Venmo, etc). https://www.theverge.com/...
@imbeccable Becca Laurie on x
me after paying $5.99 to read a super tweet where the entire tweet is “super tweet” this website costs money
@luulubuu Lulu on x
Bet this feature to instantly share stuff with folks will not be used to bully or harass people at all. https://twitter.com/...
@c_davies Chris Davies on x
Super Follows but every time someone subscribes a tweet from your drafts is automatically posted
@tomgara Tom Gara on x
Seems very likely that paid social is going to become a real thing, a lot of people are going to make serious money off this. https://twitter.com/...
@dcseifert Dan Seifert on x
i would pay to not see most tweets, tbh
@shiraovide Shira Ovide on x
It's easy to make fun of internet companies for just ripping each other off or making trivial things. (I do it, too.) But there are genuinely fresh ideas coming from old and new internet players and it's good. https://twitter.com/...
@stevenspohn Steven Spohn on x
I see a few people dunking on Twitter for the idea of letting people financially support their favorite Tweeter. This is anger stemming from fear people wouldn't pay for your content. Perhaps focus that negative energy into upping your content game and then people might pay you. …
@scottbelsky Scott Belsky on x
the hidden killer feature here: ability to share ideas/content more liberally with an opt-in group of people that are so interested they're willing to pay for it. this “safer engaged audience,” will encourage content creators to share more and take more risk = better content. htt…
@reneritchie Rene Ritchie on x
Basically, going after Patreon's extra content and community model, and Facebook's groups. I... think I love it? https://twitter.com/...
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
Twitter is back baby. It's good again. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@digiphile Alex Howard on x
Wow. @Twitter says it will introduce #SuperFollowers to let us charge for tweets. https://www.theverge.com/... One of the biggest changes in Twitter's history. I'm curious how it will go, & how my experience with @CivicTexts will transfer. Would you pay $ to subscribe to me? How …
@andyrichter Andy Richter on x
Sure, I'm an asshole, but I'm not THAT much of an asshole https://twitter.com/...
@jasminelwatkins Jasmine on x
Y'all tweeted “how is this app free 😭” one too many times https://twitter.com/...
@chrislhayes Chris Hayes on x
I don't know why this made me laugh so hard but it did. https://twitter.com/...
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
Already looking forward to ‘Super Mute’ and ‘Super Block’... https://twitter.com/...
@hshaban Hamza Shaban on x
A twitter account that uses Super Follow to tweet out corrections to inaccurate viral tweets that only like 7 people interact with. And people have to pay to see them. https://twitter.com/...
@jericho Tucker on x
Finally people will stop posting “HOW IS THIS APP FREE LMAOOOO” tweets https://twitter.com/...
@theryanford Ryan Ford on x
Makes sense and could impact Patreon quite a bit. https://twitter.com/...
@philipmichaels Philip Michaels on x
You want me to keep sending out Gambit tweets, that'll be $20. You want me to stop tweeting about Gambit, that'll be $25. https://twitter.com/...
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
Will be interesting to see how media figures and journalists use this. FWIW I think this development is a far overdue, creators deserve to be paid for their content and value they drive for the platform! https://twitter.com/...
@_cingraham Christopher Ingraham on x
Going to roll out a service like this, except you pay me to *not* tweet. https://twitter.com/...
@kurtwagner8 Kurt Wagner on x
This is somewhat inside baseball but important: Twitter just said that 85% of its ad revenue comes from brand ads. Only 15% comes from direct response ads, which are very valuable because they lead to actual sales. Big missed opportunity/room for improvement there for their biz
@jamestitcomb James Titcomb on x
Who's going to be the first PR department to introduce a policy of ‘super following’ friendly reporters? https://twitter.com/...
@fmanjoo Farhad Manjoo on x
I understand that not everyone on Twitter wants to pay for my tweets. I have a special deal for those folks: $5 for each tweet I don't tweet.
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
A bunch of interesting features here https://twitter.com/...
@sidharthajha Sid Jha on x
Seeing this, Spaces, Groups, Revue, etc. makes me wonder what the organizational unlock at Twitter was to get all this out the door after sleeping at the wheel for years. Any ideas? https://twitter.com/...
@kurtwagner8 Kurt Wagner on x
One bit of news so far from Twitter's Analyst Day: The idea of “super follows” where users can charge people to follow their account. More on the company's subscription efforts here: https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
Twitter is enabling paid subscriptions via Super Followers which will enable restricting your audio conversations in Spaces, tweets and eventually newsletters to just your Super Followers. If executed well this unifies Substack, Clubhouse, OnlyFans & Patreon into one product🤯 htt…
@kurtwagner8 Kurt Wagner on x
NEW: Twitter set new public goals today for revenue and user growth * Double revenue to $7.5b by end of 2023 * Add 123m new users to reach 315m globally by end of 2023 Why today? It's Twitter's first Analyst Day since 2014 https://www.bloomberg.com/...

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