The new twitter in development option, the super followers, is not just a new possible feature of the platform. In fact, it may be a prelude to a radical change in the philosophy and operation of social media as we know it.
The rationale is to enable popular accounts (with more than 10,000 followers) to activate the super follower option. A super follower, in theory, for a subscription of $ 4.99 per month could have access to exclusive content such as subscription newsletters, special discounts and more.
The possible complications of such a development for users and the platform are thoroughly analyzed by socialmediatoday.com in an interesting article. An important take-away for the time being, however, is the ongoing effort to find ways of commercial utilization of social media, with the goal of expanding their impact.
And this is where a paradox arises. Towards the users of any platform, social media were established and successful for many reasons, including free access.
Turning part of their operation into a subscribers-only access zone may serve those who want to use them commercially but may also put a brake on their expansion to the masses.
Either way, in this case as in so many others, ultimately, it is a matter of perception.
