I'm Nicole Lapin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand.

It's time for some money rehab.

Think back to when you first got an Instagram account and think about the accounts that you

followed then and the things you would post about.

Now think about what your feed looks like today.

I don't know about you but my algorithm is feeding me very different content than it used to.

I remember back in the 2010s I used to see people posting edits with colorful text over

their photos and goofy collage photos with their friends.

Now it's a bunch of filters and those get ready with me videos and businesses.

Increasingly, Instagram is being used by businesses to reach their customers.

But just as our feeds and algorithms have changed, so too has the business model of social media.

Increasingly, influencers and companies have figured out ways to monetize their brands on social media.

But the social media platforms themselves haven't kept up with their users in the money-making department.

So social media networks have to experiment with new premium offerings.

One experiment? Twitter?

Dabbling with its pay-to-verify system.

A subscription where Twitter users can pay 8 bucks to get the verified blue checkmark added to their account.

The verification means exactly what you think it means.

The account holder has been verified by the platform as some sort of legit human or business.

It's helpful for businesses because if you're trying to get people to pay for a product through your social media account,

you want some sort of proof that customers can see that you're an actual business and not a scam.

But beyond that, in the influencer world, it's a symbol that's become associated for better or worse with clout.

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