Recently, I got curious about all the excitement and quest to get the blue tick on social media platforms especially Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Curiosity had its way with me and I set off to make, let’s say, an informative research to keep up with trends. In my quest, a colleague, whom I had to poke several times with questions, shared his experience that helped me understand. While most of us might think that it requires a certain number of followers to be verified, at least some platforms like Twitter don’t, otherwise, it would be a lifetime journey for people like me, who just scroll through the feed and post some content once in a while. That has got to change. According to a reliable source, some people wake up to find themselves verified depending not on their number of followers but the content they associate with and traffic thereof. What is a verification code? A verified account is one which has a blue tick badge right next to the display name on profile. Recently, Twitter re-launched its verification application, where an eligible account can apply. It has to be under the enlisted types of accounts namely; government, companies, brands and non-profit organisations, news organisations and journalists, entertainment, sports and gaming personalities, activists, organisers, and other influential individuals. In addition to the category-specific eligibility criteria, your account must be complete, meaning you have a profile name, a profile image and either a confirmed email address or phone number. Your account must also be active within the last six months and have a record of adherence to the Twitter rules. If you fall under any of the above category, then you can go ahead in your account settings and open the application feature to start the process. Instagram and Facebook mostly require a certain number of followers, and the accounts must adhere to terms of service and community standards, as well as have a profile photo, cover photo and a page name (for Facebook pages). Generally, one account per entity may be verified, with exceptions for language-specific accounts. General interest accounts (e.g. puppy memes) can’t be verified. Benefits of being verified Authenticity: The blue badge is one of the ways people distinguish the authenticity of accounts that are of high public interest. It gives context when determining whether the conversations are trustworthy, healthy, and informed. On conditions of anonymity, a twitter source with a verified account says, “The public trust that the content you put out is authentic and reliable, however it comes with responsibility. If your account keeps getting reported, Twitter takes away your badge without notice.” “Verified people are cautious not to put out misleading or fake content, those are some of the reasons that are likely to cause it. But this is not an endorsement; it’s not something you base on to feel somewhat important,” he adds. It prevents copycats and imposters: One of the best things about getting the blue badge is that anyone searching for you or your brand will immediately see that you’re the real one, making sure that you don’t lose any potential followers to fan accounts, parody accounts, or imitators. It’s great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO): If you want your account to rank at the top of the search results for terms relating to your account name, getting the blue check means an automatic win. Verified accounts always rank above non-verified accounts. A symbol of recognition Leana Bisa, a social media user, says that it’s a symbol of recognition for the work people have been doing, “If you are a content creator or celebrity, it comes as a level up. They can use it to make a difference or not, depending on what they post.” She says that the value of verification goes in line with what you do, “if your work depends on authentication, it would spare you identity theft but if not, why get verified.” Jeremiah, a Twitter user expresses that “Social media platforms need to implement some sort of identity related verification in order to create an account. Many people are hiding behind burner accounts, hurling insults they wouldn’t say in real life.” He however decries the lack of consideration of visual artists. “Why won’t they consider verifying visual artists? People steal our work on this platform every day and post it as their own to profit from it. There are no categories in the verification process for visual artists.” Though the application is open to anyone, not all pass the thorough checkpoints by Twitter. A lot of people have claimed to meet the criteria but still got rejected. Twitter has different reasons why certain accounts may not get verified.
