Twitter has announced a new paid 'Super Follow' function

Twitter has set out plans for a “super follow” tier, allowing users to charge for certain content, expected sometime in 2021.

This comes as the microblogging site dreams up new sources of revenue for both the company and users, separate from ads, and responding to criticism.

“Why don’t we start with why folks don’t believe in us,” said Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey at their virtual presentation. “It comes down to three critiques: we’re slow, we’re not innovative, and we’re not trusted.”

Plans were announced on 25 February to permit people to charge for additional content, such as newsletters, videos and discounts. The fee would be paid monthly to obtain access to these offerings.

This comes after other sites, like Patreon, Substack and OnlyFans who offer a subscription-based model for their content creator’s output, cashing in on their audience. Twitter users and investors have pushed for the site to offer a similar service.

In a statement, Twitter said, “Exploring audience funding opportunities like Super Follows will allow creators and publishers to be directly supported by their audience and will incentivize them to continue creating content that their audience loves,”

A move like this will allow Twitter to diversify their income, relying less on advertisements. Google and Facebook currently operate a dominant share of this market.

The Super Follow is not being launched until later in the year but they have teased more upcoming features, such as Revue, a newsletter function and “Twitter Spaces” inspired by audio chat site Clubhouse.

The company has given themselves a 2023 income goal of $7.5 billion (£6.5 billion), which is more than twice their 2020 income of $3.7 billion (£2.6 billion)

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