Twitter, arguably the last bastion in vanilla social media semi-“okay” with adult entertainment (even though they aren’t), now appears to be working on a new “Awards” option for tweets. This, on the heels of adding tipping along with its Super Follow and other subscription options last fall, would potentially provide another way for creators to generate income from their on-platform efforts.
SocialMediaToday reported this news in response to a tweet from reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong.
Per SocialMediaToday, “The award option appears as a gift icon in the lower tweet function bar. There’s also a microphone icon before Wong’s user name in this example, which appears to be connected with Super Follows, though what it actually means is not clear as yet.”
See Wong’s tweet below for reference:
Twitter is working on Tweet Awards pic.twitter.com/4b8MSeIWNh
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 11, 2022
Other social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Reddit, have their own version of “awards” — ways to donate to creators or give gifts. Awards on Twitter would likely serve the same purpose as these platforms’ comparable tools/functions and provide another way to donate to creators.
According to SocialMediaToday, Twitter awards “would help to get the attention of your favorite users, or just support them for their efforts. But rather than donating, you’d be able to allocate an award or gift based on each individual tweet – which could be great if a tweet of yours goes viral, providing a means to prompt more specific response.”
When others asked Twitter about the new feature, the platform stated: “We’re always looking into new ways for people to engage with others on Twitter and don’t have further information to share at this time.”
Great! So, here’s yet another way in which 1) the mainstream is essentially copying the adult industry with 2) a function that members of the industry likely will not be able to use.
Yawn. Moving on…
Aside: In my opinion, there’s only one tweet in the history of Twitter that deserves an “award,” and it’s this one:
The Evangelical women trying to make onlyfans disappear don’t realize if I lose that income I’ll start fucking their husbands for money again
— Sydney (@sydneyelainexo) August 19, 2021
