Blue ticks, grey ticks, "official" labels. It's all become a little confusing on Twitter in the past few days.
Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner following his $44 billion purchase, is trying to change the landscape at the social media platform.
But only days into his tenure, confusion reigns as he makes alterations, even admitting that some of the changes will be "dumb".
What is happening with the verification?
Firstly, Mr Musk, the world's richest person, introduced an $8 per month Twitter Blue subscription plan for verification, giving subscribers the blue tick.
The idea was that it would help to cut down on the spam and bot accounts on the site, which led to Mr Musk attempting to pull out of the deal before it was eventually completed six months after his initial offer.
The fee also creates a new revenue stream at a time when Twitter is losing $4 million a day, according to Mr Musk.
Twitter Blue users get to post longer videos and get priority ranking in replies, mentions and searches, plus see fewer adverts.
Who is eligible for Twitter Blue?
This is where the waters start to muddy.
Only accounts subscribed to Twitter Blue on iOS on or after November 9, 2022, are eligible for the blue checkmark, Twitter says at its Help Centre.
"As a result of this change, at this time, Twitter will no longer be accepting new applications for Verification under the previous criteria.
"Note that all accounts subscribed to Twitter Blue on iOS on or after November 9, 2022, will automatically receive a blue checkmark, which will persist for the duration of the subscribers’ subscription term."
So, it is currently available only on iOS in the US, Canada, Australia New Zealand and the UK.
Mr Musk tweeted that the intention is to roll it out worldwide.
"Roll-out of new verified Blue is intentionally limited just to iOS in a few countries with very little promotion," he said. "As we iron out issues, we will expand worldwide on all platforms."
He added that "in days to come, we’ll add granularity to verified badge, such as organisational affiliation & ID verification".
Currently, Blue subscribers are not required to verify who they are.
Accounts that receive the blue checkmark as part of a Twitter Blue subscription will not undergo review to confirm that they meet the active, notable and authentic criteria that were used in the previous process.
Then an 'official' profile label was introduced …
Yes, this was a grey tick, which accompanied the blue tick on a user's profile.
However, it wasn't around for long.
Product manager Esther Crawford was tweeting about the introduction of the new label, and then provided an update from Twitter Support saying the "Official" label is not being put on "but we are aggressively going after impersonation and deception".
Mr Musk had deemed it “an aesthetic nightmare” and had it removed just hours after introducing it.
"Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t," he tweeted.
The idea for the official label was that it would distinguish Blue subscribers from those the platform has verified as official.
However, it seemed to just make the whole system more confusing, especially when users saw that they had the "Official" badge, and then hours later it was gone.
"The problem with Official is that, apart from it being an aesthetic nightmare when looking at the Twitter feed, is that it was simply another way of creating a two-class system,” said Mr Musk in a call to advertisers
“Therefore, it wasn’t addressing the core problem: (that) there are too many entities that would be considered official or have sort of legacy blue check marks.”
What else did Mr Musk have to say?
He seems to think the new verification systems will tackle deception — he told advertisers that Twitter is going to be "extremely vigorous" in this area.
"So, if someone tries to impersonate a brand, that account will be suspended, and we will keep their eight dollars," he said.
"And they can keep doing that, and we will just keep their eight dollars again, and again — great — we can do it all day long, they will stop.
"So, the key point here is if an account is engaged in trickery, we will suspend it.
"They will try, of course, they will try.
"But it starts to get expensive, and they will start to need a lot of credit cards and a lot of phones — and eventually they will stop paying."
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
Honeymoonish
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
