India's 'first' Twitter user undecided on whether to pay for blue tick

Naina Redhu says she joined social media platform in 2006 after getting an invitation email

Amid the controversy over Twitter charging $8 for verifying an account with a blue tick, the social media platform’s likely first user in India said she is yet to decide whether she will pay for the subscription.

Twitter’s chief executive officer Elon Musk has announced the pay-for-verification feature as part of his plans to turn the company profitable. The subscription to get a blue tick for $7.99 was launched on Saturday for iOS users in Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The blue tick will cost alike for celebrities and other users already having verified status.

Naina Redhu, an entrepreneur based out of Jaisalmer, joined the platform in 2006 after getting an invitation email from what was then called ‘TWTTR’. Redhu joined as she was intrigued by the possibilities of the internet and also had a good internet connection, she said. Redhu has a verified Twitter account.

Musk has also announced “a secondary tag below the name for someone who is a public figure, which is already the case for politicians.” He announced it while addressing the worries of some Twitter users about their ‘blue tick’ status.

Redhu said: “I need some more clarity on what is going to happen to the blue tick. I have read a Tweet by Musk that there will be a secondary tag for public figures. I don’t know what that secondary tag will look like. I will take a call once I get answers on these points.”

Twitter will also offer a list of features that a user will get along with a blue tick subscription. It includes fewer ads, the ability to post long videos and to get priority ranking for quality content.

US technology news website The Verge has reported that Musk is considering removing blue ticks of users who already have verified accounts if they do not pay for the new service.