'Blue tick on Twitter is signifier of clout': Cred founder Kunal Shah

CRED founder CEO Kunal Shah

Cred founder Kunal Shah has called Twitter's blue tick a "vanity badge" and said that Elon Musk's decision to charge $8 (about Rs 660) a month for the verification would end in chaos. Shah's Twitter profile currently has the blue tick.

"Blue tick on twitter is signifier of clout. Those with clout will lose their clout if they appear to be paying for this vanity badge. Those with no clout will buy and signal it and try to appear important. End result: chaos. But maybe that’s what the end goal is," the Cred founder tweeted.

Blue tick on twitter is signifier of clout.

Those with clout will lose their clout if they appear to be paying for this vanity badge. Those with no clout will buy and signal it and try to appear important. End result : chaos. But maybe that’s what the end goal is. — Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) November 1, 2022

Kunal Shah has been quite vocal about his disappointment with the decision to charge users for the verification badge. He also put up a poll asking Twitter users if they would pay for a blue tick. As of Wednesday afternoon, 75 per cent of the 20,400 voters chose "No".

In a separate tweet, Shah pointed out how the blue ticks could affect different populations. "If blue ticks become a commodity and lose its signaling status, follower count will become alternate signaling status," he said. "Those with followers from populous nations will have unfair advantage of this new signaling. Humans never crave equality. They crave restratification."

If blue ticks become a commodity and lose its signaling status, follower count will become alternate signaling status. Those with followers from populous nations will have unfair advantage of this new signaling. Humans never crave equality. They crave restratification. — Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) November 1, 2022

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has clarified that $8 subscription fee will be “adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity.”

He also added that the subscribers will get “priority in replies, mentions and search” – a feature that the tech billionaire says will help in defeating spam and bots.

It will also allow users to post long video and audio, and experience half the number of ads as compared to people using Twitter for free, Musk stated.