2 min Applications

Twitter Blue expands globally but struggles to attract subscribers

Twitter Blue expands globally but struggles to attract subscribers

Twitter Blue, the social network’s premium plan, has expanded its reach to over 20 new European markets, bringing its total coverage to more than 35 countries worldwide.

For $8 per month, subscribers in countries such as the Netherlands, Poland, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Romania, Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta, or Cyprus can enjoy the exclusive features of Twitter Blue.

Under the leadership of Elon Musk, Twitter Blue has added various perks for its paying users since its launch in December.

The perks

These features include the Blue verification badge, the ability to upload videos up to an hour long, tweet up to 4,000 characters, get priority access to conversations, edit tweets, read threads in a simplified format, and organize bookmarks into folders. Subscribers can save money by opting for the annual plan at $84 per year, which Twitter introduced in January.

The annual plan is also available on iOS and Android devices for $114. Despite Musk’s hope of boosting revenue with subscription plans, Twitter Blue has yet to attract many users, with reports suggesting that the service has fewer than 300,000 subscribers.

In addition to the slow growth of Twitter Blue, the platform recently suffered from widespread glitches that affected timelines, searches, and direct messages.

More layoffs

According to reports, another round of layoffs at Twitter resulted in the termination of at least 200 employees, including the executive in charge of the social media platform’s paid premium service. This latest move by Elon Musk equates to about 10% of Twitter’s already reduced workforce, which stood at 7,500 employees before Musk acquired the company in October.

Product managers, data scientists, and engineers responsible for ensuring the site’s smooth operation were among those affected. The New York Times broke the story of the job cuts on Saturday.

With all these challenges, the question remains: is Twitter Blue worth it? Or is it too little too late for the struggling social network?

Also read: Facebook and Instagram get paid subscription option