What Next TBD: Stephen King Is Just as Confused About Blue Checks as You Are

Slate Technology

Slate

Society & Culture, Technology, History

4.6 • 636 Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Twitter’s “blue check” verification went from something you applied for, to something you could pay for, to something you had to pay for…to something that many celebrities wouldn’t even accept for free. Master of horror Stephen King told us he wouldn’t pay for a blue check, but he’s not going to fight it either—he just doesn’t really understand what’s going on. Does anyone at Twitter understand? Guests: Alex Heath, deputy editor of The Verge Jon Favreau, co-founder of Crooked Media, speechwriter for President Barack Obama Stephen King, freelancer author If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Really? Come on, let's go.
0:05.0	Hear that? That's the sound of my customers leaving.
0:08.7	When your broadband doesn't work, neither does your business.
0:12.1	Will Sky Business keep me up and running? No matter what.
0:15.3	With 4G backup and our stay connected guarantee, better believe it.
0:19.9	Let our dedicated Sky Business team handle your switch today.
0:24.2	That's more like it.
0:26.1	Subject to availability for T's and Cs visit Skybusiness.com.
0:30.8	Hey everyone, just a heads up that there is some swearing in this episode.
0:35.5	Okay, here's the show.
0:41.2	Okay. some swearing in this episode. Okay, here's the show. Steve, can you, um, can you tell me who you are and what you do?
0:47.6	My name is Stephen King. I'm a writer, freelance writer, a novelist, short story writer, and sometimes essays, and that's what I'm a writer, freelance writer, novelist, short story writer, and sometimes essays.
0:57.4	And that's what I do.
0:59.2	That's who I am and what I do.
1:00.9	And you have 7.1 million Twitter followers last time I checked.
1:05.1	If you say so.
1:08.0	Stephen King, yes, that Stephen King, agreed to talk to me because he, like many Twitter users,
1:15.2	had a somewhat confusing weekend online.
1:18.2	Late last week, Twitter began removing verification badges, aka blue check marks, from legacy verified
1:25.1	accounts and only keeping them for people who paid $8 a month for Twitter
1:29.6	Blue. Except Stephen never paid. You tweeted on April 20th, my Twitter account says I've subscribed
1:37.0	to Twitter Blue. I haven't. My Twitter account says I've given a phone number. I haven't.
	...

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