Twitter has been making some significant changes since Elon Musk took over. Most of them have had people up in arms against the company. Between the leaked emails to staff and the blue check mark requiring payment, many are seeking a new format and want to leave Twitter behind. Not to mention, Musk polled the Twitter audience and 57% of them wanted him to step down as CEO. Public opinion of the company is clearly not in a great spot.
However, I think they may have finally moved in a positive direction. Tech Crunch reported on the release of Twitter Blue for Business. It would allow companies to provide a badge to those that are affiliated with the company, individuals, and other businesses. Apparently, there is no limit on how many people and businesses they can link as well.
Now, this feature is only in the test phases, and no one is sure what Twitter plans to charge for it. This can go one of two ways: very right or very wrong.
The idea of being able to link employees and affiliated businesses sounds great. You’d be able to stop fraudulent accounts or people claiming to be a part of your business and leaking false information. It would give businesses on Twitter much more control. This feature may also allow companies to link their executives or publicity managers, so you know any announcements made are coming from the top. That would make the public interested in your company and feel more secure in what they are reading from designated people.
There is no information on how the linking will work, however. Does a company link a profile and the owner of the profile accepts it, or is it automatic with no way to hide it? The reason this question is so important is that it could take away an employee’s right to privacy.
What if the company wants to monitor the personal Twitter accounts of its employees to see if there are complaints? Someone should be allowed to freely complain about their work without being monitored, especially if they are not on the clock or in the workplace. Not only that, but what if employees simply don’t want others to know who they work for?
When I was working for a large communications company, everyone would always complain to me about their internet not working. I didn’t want them to know who I worked for, and it’s a lot of pressure working for a company that doesn’t sit in the best of light with the public.
I want to believe this type of tool will only be a good fraud detector for companies. In any case, we always have to look at how social media tools may be abused by those with more power. Once the tool officially releases, I am sure we will have a better understanding of how businesses plan to use it.
