SOCIAL
X is Reportedly Looking to Charge $50k for Dormant Handles in the App

Look, I get that X needs to expand its income streams, and I understand the logic behind charging for different elements, in the hopes of both combating bot peddlers and bringing in more money.
But some of the price points that Elon and Co. have come up with are… well, they’re at the higher end, to say the least.
Today, Forbes has reported that X is putting together a new program to sell dormant X @handles, with a starting price of $50k.
Yes, fifty thousand dollars for the handle of your choice.
As per Forbes:
“Emails reveal that a team within the company, known as the @Handle Team, has begun work on a handle marketplace for the purchase of account names left unused by the people who originally registered them. In at least some cases, X/Twitter has emailed solicitations to potential buyers requesting a flat fee of $50,000 to initiate a purchase.”
Which seems like a lot, putting these handles beyond the reach of almost anybody but big-name brands.
But maybe, if some of them bite, I guess it’s worth a shot?
X owner Elon Musk has been discussing options for dormant handles since he took over at the company late last year, noting last December that X would be looking to make these usernames available for new use.
Twitter will soon start freeing the name space of 1.5 billion accounts
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2022
Back in January, The New York Times reported that X had considered an auction system to sell off the most popular usernames. But it’s since been pretty quiet on the @handle sales front, with X seemingly moving on from the idea.
Evidently, that wasn’t the case, with X simply taking the time to formulate the structure of this new process, which now looks set to move to the next stage, with X selling usernames to the highest bidder.
Which will no doubt upset some users who’ve had their name on a specific handle, but then again, with X’s popularity seemingly in decline, it’s hard to see many people or brands being willing to fork out $50k for a better-suited name.
As noted, under Musk, X has been keen to explore new revenue streams, as he looks to get the business back in the black, and on a path to becoming a more viable, long-term option.
The main push here has been cost-cutting, with Musk culling 80% of the app’s former staff, while X has also implemented higher costs for API access, and new charges for X Premium, including its $1,000 per month gold checkmark package for brands.
Which also seems beyond the realm of viability for most brands, though X’s pitch is that businesses that pay also get additional exposure benefits, which makes it worth $1,000 per month in comparable ad spend.
But then again, X has been giving the gold tick to all brands that spend $1,000 per month on ads, negating that premise, as the only way it would be of value is if you weren’t already spending that amount in the first place. More recently, X has informed verified organizations that it will cut them off from the program if they don’t keep up their ad spend.
Overall, there does seem to be a disconnect between what X thinks its various offerings are worth and what users are willing to pay. Fewer than 1% of X users are paying for X Premium, and while it has now added some new pricing tiers for the program, in order to entice more interest, it’s hard to see this catching on, and becoming a major consideration for the vast majority of the platform’s 244 million active users.
X even seems to have conceded this point with its new program, charging new account sign-ups in New Zealand and the Philippines $1 per year if they want to post or engage in the app. That’s a more viable fee, though even then, I’m guessing that most people won’t pay. 80% of X users only ever read posts in the app, without engaging in any way, and if you force more people to pay for the privilege, it seems more likely that even more of them will just stick to reading, with the eventual outcome being fewer posts in the app, for not much return.
But money’s not really the main objective in this effort. Elon is convinced that charging a fee is the only way forward for X, and social media in general, in the battle against bots.
INSIGHT: Elon explains why X needs to introduce payment verification for all users (the $1 Not A Bot program).
He says the problem of AI bots may become insurmountable in 2024, and any social platform that doesn’t implement verification will be overrun.pic.twitter.com/hU7iiR3aPj
— X News Daily (@xDaily) November 3, 2023
The argument makes some sense, but at the same time, X is also rolling out an ID verification program to confirm that real people are behind accounts. That would be another way to combat bot profiles, but it’s currently only available to those who are signed up to X Premium.
So, by Elon’s logic, paying profiles are real people, and those real people can double confirm that they’re genuine by undertaking this additional ID verification element. But non-paying users can’t do it.
It’s contradictions like this that hint at another motivation for X’s payments push, like maybe connecting a bank account to user profiles to expedite its shift into payments, shopping, etc.
It’s hard to know exactly what the longer-term view is, but X continues to seek new methods for squeezing more money out of users, for anything that may be deemed as being of value in the app.
So if you really want that cool @handle, better go have a word to your bank about extending your mortgage.
SOCIAL
TikTok announces $1.5 bn deal to restart Indonesia online shopping business

TikTok has around a billion montly users and its growth among young people far outstrips its competitors – Copyright AFP/File SEBASTIEN BOZON
Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on Monday announced a $1.5 billion investment in GoTo group in a deal that would allow it to restart its online shop in Indonesia, the companies said in a statement.
Under the deal, TikTok Shop will be merged into GoTo’s Tokopedia, and TikTok will have a controlling stake in that entity.
“TikTok has committed to invest over US$1.5 billion in the enlarged entity over time, to provide future funding required by the business, without additional dilution to GoTo,” the Indonesian firm said.
“TikTok, Tokopedia and GoTo will transform Indonesia’s e-commerce sector, creating millions of new job opportunities over the next five years.”
“The strategic partnership will commence with a pilot period carried out in close consultation with and supervision by the relevant regulators,” GoTo said, adding that it expected the deal to close in 2024.
TikTok in October shut down its online shop in Indonesia, one of its biggest markets.
That came days after Southeast Asia’s largest economy banned sales on social media to protect millions of small businesses.
The regulation means social media firms cannot conduct direct transactions but only promote products on their platforms in Indonesia, the first country in the region to act against TikTok’s growing popularity as an e-commerce site.
Indonesia’s e-commerce market is dominated by platforms such as Tokopedia, Shopee and Lazada but TikTok Shop gained a significant market share since launching in 2021.
Indonesia, with 125 million users, is TikTok’s second-largest global market after the United States, according to company figures.
The Indonesian ban came after calls grew for regulation governing social media and e-commerce, with offline sellers seeing their livelihoods threatened by the sale of cheaper products on TikTok Shop and other platforms.
The regulation was yet another setback for TikTok, which has faced intense scrutiny in the United States and other nations in recent months over users’ data security and the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese government.
SOCIAL
TikTok spends $1.5B on Tokopedia JV to get around Jakarta social e-commerce ban

Just two months ago, ByteDance-owned TikTok abruptly closed its shopping platform in Indonesia to comply with surprise regulations from the Southeast Asian country’s government. Jakarta ordered social media companies like TikTok and Facebook to stop selling goods on their platforms, demanding a separation of social media and e-commerce services.
TikTok now seems to have found a way to revive its e-commerce dreams in Indonesia by spending billions to start a joint venture with Indonesian tech giant GoTo. On Monday, the two companies announced that TikTok Shop will now be available on GoTo’s Tokopedia platform.
“Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia’s businesses will be combined under the existing PT Tokopedia entity in which TikTok will take a controlling stake. The shopping features within the TikTok app in Indonesia will be operated and maintained by the enlarged entity,” TikTok said in a statement Monday.
TikTok will invest over $1.5 billion into Tokopedia, taking a 75% stake in the platform. GoTo will remain an ecosystem partner to Tokopedia and receive an “ongoing revenue stream from Tokopedia commensurate with its scale and growth,” but will not be required to continue funding the platform. Further funding from TikTok also won’t reduce GoTo’s remaining 25% stake.
Getting back into the Indonesian ecommerce market will be a win for TikTok. Indonesia, which is the platform’s largest market outside of the U.S., is key to Tiktok’s online shopping aspirations. In June, CEO Shou Zi Chew pledged to “invest billions in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years.”
ByteDance wants to replicate its Chinese e-commerce successaround the globe. Last year, consumers spent in China 1.41 trillion yuan ($196 billion) on products sold on Douyin, the version of TikTok for the Chinese market, The Information reported in January. ByteDance, through TikTok, is expanding its online shopping services in both Southeast Asia and the U.S. Yet the company is struggling to win over American consumers: The Information reported in August that U.S. shoppers are spending just $4 million a day, equivalent to $1.4 billion over a whole year, on goods sold on the social media platform. (TikTok officially launched TikTok Shop in the U.S. in September, though sellers have complained about a flood of low-quality products on the platform).
Before Indonesia imposed its ban in September, the country’s president, Joko Widodo, complained that social media platforms were threatening local micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. Government officials also accused TikTok of engaging in predatory pricing.
GoTo’s deal with TikTok means the Indonesian tech giant is giving up its majority ownership of Tokopedia . Tokopedia started in 2008 and grew to be one of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce platforms. The company merged with ride-hailing startup GoJek in 2021, becoming GoTo Group. The company debuted on Jakarta’s stock exchange in April last year.
Yet the company has struggled to wow investors since then. GoTo has yet to make a profit since becoming a public company. The tech firm reported 2.4 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($147 million) in net losses last quarter, significantly less than the 6.7 trillion rupiah ($428 million) it lost this time last year.
Investors do not appear to be thrilled by the news of GoTo’s TikTok partnership. Shares fell by over 19% by 2:30pm Indonesia time on Monday, erasing gains made late last week as rumors began to build of the new partnership.
SOCIAL
How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]
![How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic] How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Your Brand’s Tone of Voice [Infographic]](https://articles.entireweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1702266964_How-to-Train-ChatGPT-to-Write-in-Your-Brands-Tone.jpg)
Are you looking for ways to improve your ChatGPT output? Want to train it to write in a more unique tone of voice, in order to better suit your branding?
The Creative Marketer shares his ChatGPT prompt tips in this infographic. To enact these, add “Write like [INSERT CHARACTER]” at the start of your ChatGPT instructions.
TCM breaks things down into the following categories:
- Innocent
- Sage
- Explorer
- Ruler
- Creator
- Caregiver
- Lover
- Hero
- Everyman
- Magician
- Jester
- Outlaw
Check out the infographic for more information.
A version of this post was first published on the Red Website Design blog.
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