Twitter’s Working on Tweet Awards, Another Creator Monetization Option

After adding tipping along with its Super Follow and other subscription options, Twitter now appears to be working on a new ‘Awards’ option for tweets, which would potentially provide another way for creators to generate income from their on-platform efforts.

As you can see in this image, shared by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, the new 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.

Awards looks similar to Facebook’s virtual gifts, which are purchasable with Stars, its in-app currency to donate to creators, while YouTube also has its own ‘Super Stickers’ option to facilitate the same. TikTok also has live gifts, while Reddit also has various gifting options.

Awards on Twitter would likely serve the same purpose as these tools, in providing another, more engaging way to donate to creators, which 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.

We asked Twitter about the test, and it provided this statement:

“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.”

So not much to go on, but based on Wong’s history of discoveries that then make their way into the live environment, it could be coming some time soon.