Twitter has announced two new major new features to expect from the social media platform soon. The first one is called Super Follows and allows content creators to get people to subscribe and pay for additional content from them, sort of like Patreon but on Twitter. The second major feature to expect is the ability to create and join groups in order to build communities around specific interests. While there has been no announced schedule yet for when these will roll out, these are pretty exciting new things to expect from Twitter.
With the success of things like Patreon and other direct creator payment features on Facebook, YouTube, and Github, Twitter is bringing a way for writers, artists, musicians, and other creators to engage with fans and monetize at the same time. Super Follows will let followers subscribe to get access to more content like bonus tweets, community groups, newsletter subscriptions or even just a fan badge. One example shows a creator charging $4.99 per month for access to perks.
Twitter has not yet given mechanics as to how Super Follows will work both on the side of the creator and on the user end. We assume of course that Twitter will be taking a cut from this a they have previously said that subscriptions will be a new source of revenue for the company, aside from ads. But they will be positioning this probably as a monetization opportunity for creators and publishers.
Another new thing that Twitter is bringing is called Communities, which is their own version of Facebook Groups. Users will be able to create and join groups that will be built around specific interests. These could be about things like cats, books, specific TV shows, plant parents, and even issues like racial justice, LGBTQIA rights, etc. This can also be a new way to get users onto Twitter as The Verge says it can sometimes be difficult for new users to get into the open-ended nature of the platform.
There’s no specific timeline yet for the launch of these new Twitter features. They have been marked as “what’s next” in the presentation for analysts and investors the other day.
Twitter announces “Super Follow”, like Patreon but on Twitter https://t.co/5YBmEfgsUn pic.twitter.com/aY9g1ozoJz
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 25, 2021
