Meta Verified: A Review
My experience with the blue check
Thanks to Elon Musk, the blue check was democratised and people with notional status online were shown their place. The ad revenue model that didn’t work quite well for Twitter shifted towards other sources of revenue by offering the coveted blue check to whoever could pay. This was revolutionary but also created a lot of chaos online due to impersonation.
The second avatar of the Twitter Blue product did a better job at curbing impersonation and gave different identification markers for organisations and government officials. As per numbers from March 2023, the feature made $11 million, a small number for a big tech company.
Zuck Copies, But Cleverly
Mark Zuckerberg is the master of copying. I am unaware of the previous criteria for blue checks on Instagram or Facebook. I am assuming it would be very similar to that of Facebook. Unlike Twitter, Facebook has almost perfected the art of converting user attention into ad dollars (and continues to do so).
Apple’s privacy policy hit Facebook quite hard and pushed Facebook to become Meta. We still don't know if the pivot towards metaverse can pay off, but the Apple jolt led Zuck towards innovation.
What are the benefits of Meta Verified? The Meta website lists the following.
Verification
Proactive account protection
Exclusive features
Direct account support
Let’s see if these promises play out in a way that can make people pay of this.
Value Delivered?
I decided to try out the feature and paid ₹800 to Zuck. I did not have my Aadhar card handy. I was not allowed to upload a PDF and was forced to click a picture.
Two observations at this juncture.
The feature allows only a rectangular doc to be clicked. If I didn’t have the smaller, sleek card, I would not have been able to click a decent pic of this document.
There’s no way to understand what an ideal ID proof looks like. This gap in information does create a void for the user.
I got periodic nudges to upload my ID proof. This is indeed a good user journey. After reaching home, I uploaded my Aadhar, and the verification was almost instant. Either some AI model validated this quickly, or it was just a random step that didn’t check the validity of the information on the card. My Aadhar has the old address instead of the latest one. So, I am not sure how secure the verification process is.
One can’t check how proactive the account protection features are, but it is a good value proposition for big creators with a large following. I have seen even moderately big accounts complaining of impersonation. Zuck hit the right spot with this one.
The pitch of the ‘exclusive features’ didn’t materialise as I had anticipated. Firstly, the user doesn’t know which sticker is exclusive. And, user delight from these stickers is not tangible. I am yet to see people praising this offering. On the other hand, Twitter Blue’s exclusive feature make you feel special (edit, longer videos, better reach and access to DM non-followers).
I have still not sought any direct account support. However, the CTA where I can seek support is not easily accessible. I have yet to think of situations where I would need account support in the first place. That’s probably because I am not a professional creator myself.
Apart from these benefits, some commentators say a blue check can increase your reach/engagement among non-followers. However, their experience suggests that the additional reach/engagement doesn’t convert into new followers.
Like a typical shopkeeper who charges for every chocolate sold, Zuck asks you to pay for every blue check on a connected account. It’s clever, but I am unsure how much extra money came in via this feature. Analysts believe that Meta Verified could rake in $2 billion annually. But we are yet to see if the blue check is selling like hotcakes.
Conclusion
Is meta verified worth it? Can I become a part-time creator? The feature doesn’t quite lead me in that direction. It is an interesting product that deserves our attention and has huge potential. Meta can add creator tools and offer advice on becoming a successful creator. It can also create a platform for brands to work with creators.
It does feel good to have a blue check on my account. I may or may not continue the subscription. I believe Zuck must add value to this offering to make it a stunning success.