In a bid to retain its user base and compete with emerging Meta platform Threads, Twitter has launched a new revenue-sharing program. This initiative is designed to compensate content creators based on the revenue generated from ads displayed in responses to their posts.
Twitter’s CEO, Elon Musk, confirmed that the company has allocated $5 million for the first round of payments. However, this program is only available to verified creators who have received more than 5 million impressions on their tweets each month for the past three months. The payments are cumulative and have been accruing since February.
Several content creators have already received their first payments, with some reporting surprisingly high figures. For instance, writer and journalist Brian Krassenstein, who has over 700,000 followers, claimed that Twitter paid him $24,305. Similarly, Andrew Tate, with more than 7 million followers, reported receiving $20,379 from Twitter.
Ashley St. Clair, a writer for Babylon Bee, provided a more precise figure for the payout per impression. She claimed to have received $7,153 for an average of 840 million impressions from February to July. This suggests that Twitter is paying approximately $8.52 per million impressions.
However, not all content can be monetized under this new program. Twitter has stated that it will not monetize sexual content, even though such posts are allowed on the platform. Additionally, accounts that post content related to violence, criminal behavior, drugs, alcohol, gambling, and quick-rich schemes will not be eligible for compensation.
This new monetization strategy from Twitter is certainly an interesting move. However, it does raise concerns that creators might resort to generating controversial or hate-inciting content to provoke massive responses and, consequently, more ad impressions.
In conclusion, Twitter’s new revenue-sharing program represents a significant shift in the platform’s strategy to retain its user base and compete with other social media platforms. It remains to be seen how this will impact the platform’s content landscape and whether it will succeed in preventing a user exodus.
