Twitter will let iOS users of its Blue subscription service use NFTs as hexagon-shaped profile pictures

Service will be available to some users of the company's Blue subscriber service — Twitter Inc. will start allowing some users to use nonfungible tokens as their profile pictures …

Wall Street Journal 2022-01-21 Salvador Rodriguez

Context & Ripple Effects

Blue had appeared in the iOS App Store before its in-app launch, so the NFT avatar option gives the early subscription tier a conspicuous, user-facing perk beyond its initial listing. Twitter later continued to add iOS-only Blue features, including a redesigned Spaces destination with audio programming.

The feature was not permanent: X eventually removed NFT profile pictures for paying subscribers, making this rollout an early example of Blue being shaped through rotating benefits rather than a fixed feature set.

First-order effects

Some iOS Blue subscribers can make NFT ownership visible on Twitter through a hexagon-shaped avatar, adding a status-oriented reason for NFT holders to join or retain the paid tier.
Twitter gains a highly legible distinction between Blue users and other accounts without changing the standard profile-picture format for non-subscribers.

Second-order effects

Blue’s product team has a new visible perk to test alongside later media features, increasing pressure to keep the subscription bundle differentiated as more functions are added.
NFT holders receive a distribution surface for their collections on Twitter, tying the appeal of the profile treatment to continued access to Blue on iOS.

Third-order effects

The later withdrawal of the option indicates that paid social tiers can cycle through identity and media perks as product experiments, rather than treating every subscriber feature as a permanent entitlement.
If that pattern persists, Blue’s retention proposition depends less on any single badge-like benefit and more on Twitter’s ability to keep refreshing a coherent bundle of paid features.

The trend: Twitter’s Blue strategy is moving toward a changing bundle of visible identity signals and exclusive media features for subscribers.

Discussion

Twitter Help Center Twitter Help Center on x
Twitter Blue Labs
@twitterblue @twitterblue on x
gm! You asked (a lot), so we made it. Now rolling out in Labs: NFT Profile Pictures on iOS https://twitter.com/...
@twitterblue @twitterblue on x
Ready to show off your NFT? Follow these simple steps to connect your crypto wallet and let's see your NFT PFPs! https://twitter.com/...
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Twitter has just launched NFT profile photos. They're hexagon-shaped https://www.theverge.com/ https://twitter.com/...
@hollanderadam Adam Hollander on x
There's actually a MAJOR PROBLEM with the new Twitter PFP feature. It appears to work for ANY NFT in your collection. Not just verified collections. That means someone can just right-click-save any NFT, mint it, and then use it as their PFP 😢 You were so close Twitter. Why 😭
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
Twitter is spending engineering resources on this bs while crypto scammers are throwing a spambot block party in every thread!?
@opensea @opensea on x
1/ Attn Twitter fam! Today we're excited to see @Twitter launch their new NFT Profile Pictures feature, powered by OpenSea's API https://twitter.com/...
@jsngr Jordan Singer on x
profile pictures: a visual history https://twitter.com/...
@quicknode @quicknode on x
Beyond excited to power @Twitter's new NFT Profile Picture feature on @TwitterBlue. Monumental moment for NFT & Web3 communities, Twitter and @QuickNode. Super proud of all involved in making this a reality and look forward to seeing your NFTs on Twitter! #NewNFTProfilePic https:…
@foone @foone on x
BTW when you start seeing people with the hex avatars, don't reply, don't quote retweet, just ignore or block them. Twitter hasn't missed that a lot of users hate this. Twitter is counting on it.
@thesmarmybum Justin Taylor on x
NFT Profile Photos are here! Connect your wallet and get started today! https://twitter.com/...
@zerohedge_ John Wick on x
He ain't wrong about this. Twitter has turned into a goldmine for scammer bc the company doesn't give a shit. Basically. https://twitter.com/...
@kayvz @kayvz on x
Subscribers of @TwitterBlue can now verify an NFT they own as their profile photo! NFT profile pics will show up as hexagonal avatars, and tapping on them will show metadata about the NFT. https://twitter.com/...
@xanderatallah Alex Atallah on x
Today Twitter becomes one of the first social networks to build NFTs into the app itself Powered by OpenSea 🐳 https://twitter.com/...
@charlesarthur Charles Arthur on x
Gonna have so much fun right-clicking these, flipping them and reselling them https://twitter.com/...
@pwnallthethings @pwnallthethings on x
So just to be clear Twitter wasn't super interested in finding a way to mark accounts of actual medical professionals during a two year pandemic but sure had time to work on give special profiles to NFT owners
@docdre @docdre on x
lmaooooo “...if you sell the NFT that's in your profile Twitter will continue to display the image, regardless of who owns it. however, it will revert to a common circle frame instead of the crypto wallet-only hexagon shape” https://www.theverge.com/...
@fwong Freddie Wong on x
Far and away the funniest part of this is Twitter putting this feature behind their subscription paywall because they realized nft bros will pay for anything https://twitter.com/...
@noearts @noearts on x
Just give us back the animated profile pics and don't make this sh*t https://twitter.com/...
@dbreunig Drew Breunig on x
I'm not mad at Twitter's NFT avatar feature, I'm mad that it took this long for Twitter to ship *any* avatar feature. There are so many things they could have/could do there...
@neerajka Neeraj K. Agrawal on x
twitter will now allow users to prove that they spent $400,000 on an atrocious cartoon ape
@icklenellierose Ellen Rose on x
NFTs are just about pointlessly flexing online. It's a crappy class system, a way for crypto nerds to show off how much money they can spend. And they get excited about stuff like this because - as much as they pretend they don't - they want everyone to care about it SO MUCH. htt…
@g0ffthew Geoff Thew on x
NFT profile pics are a great feature actually. just imagine if Facebook tagged that high school acquaintance who “just reached out to catch up” with a little Herbalife logo so you know to ignore them.
@_tessr Tess Rinearson on x
Paul's leadership was 🎺instrumental🎺 to all of this https://twitter.com/...
@hollanderadam Adam Hollander on x
OK, OK, OK... There are far too many comments to continue addressing them 1-1. So here's a bunch of thoughts in no particular order. 1. I agree that verification on OpenSea is an unmitigated disaster and ideally shouldn't be the basis of the new Twitter NFT PFP feature. (1/6)
@rjcc Richard Lawler on x
Once upon a time, if you saw an egg avatar or a fairly specific kind of anime picture, you could guess that was a Twitter account to avoid. Now Twitter is helpfully giving NFT profile pictures their own special shape, and you can decide what to do with that information. https://t…
@nitashatiku Nitasha Tiku on x
when you minted a crypto coven but dont wanna pay for twittr blue
@thecaptainsauce @thecaptainsauce on x
The digital equivalent of wearing a “kick me” sign. https://twitter.com/...
@mightykeef @mightykeef on x
Wait wait wait. So the NFT bros have to PAY to have their profile pic a NFT??? Lmaooooo. So they legit to pay to get bullied on this app. Hilarious. https://twitter.com/...
@burrddoh Victoria on x
You heard it here. “Crypto is a key pillar of Twitter's future” https://www.wsj.com/...
@levie Aaron Levie on x
Twitter's like “yep today's definitely the day to get into crypto”.
@iancoldwater Ian Coldwater on x
besides this generally being obnoxious, connecting your crypto wallet to your Twitter account seems like a spectacularly bad idea. What could go wrong? https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life @carnage4life on x
Real issue here is that most GIF search engines, which mostly just using GIPHY's API, tend to surface old references. Twitter search is a notorious offender. So you end up with the common GIFs being things that were popular 10+ years ago like The Office. https://www.vice.com/...
@joncomms Jon Cartwright on x
Thank you twitter for easily showing me who I shouldn't interact with https://twitter.com/...
@rdrv3 David Ruddock on x
wow, who thought it was possible to be even less cool Online https://twitter.com/...
@tomaxwell Thomas Maxwell on x
if you're not a Blue subscriber, have no fear. See an NFT pfp you like? just right-click, save https://twitter.com/...
@kylebaker Kyle Baker on x
This made me realize that NFTs could spark a DMCA of images all over the Internet how it's already done for movies and music. Imagine having your profile picture be your idol, let's say Mohammed Ali, but someone purchased that NFT of that image,& you get DMCA striked for using it…
@samfbiddle Sam Biddle on x
I predict a browser extension that auto-blocks people with hexagonal avatars would become very popular very fast https://twitter.com/...
@kevinroose Kevin Roose on x
Biggest moment for NFTs since the Beeple sale? https://twitter.com/...
@anthony Anthony DeRosa on x
Twitter Blue subscribers will have an option to use NFTs as profile pictures, with distinctive hexagonal format “Crypto is a key pillar of Twitter's future” https://www.wsj.com/...
@ricmac Richard MacManus on x
It makes sense you have to pay to use NFT profile pictures on Twitter https://twitter.com/...

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