This week was brimming with the freshest perks offered from Twitter to its Blue for Business subscribers, starting with quite a perplexing verification revamp to the profile pictures of businesses and brands.

On December 19, Twitterland woke up to many profile avatars having suddenly metamorphosed into oddly squarish shapes with rounded corners. These modifications were getting implemented across accounts already bestowed with the unbuyable golden badge, as an extra layer of assurance and authenticity. Elon Musk resuscitating the $8 verification program wreaked havoc, opening the doors to a labyrinthine impersonation fiesta within hours of release.

Second in line are company badges, which pretty much allow businesses to stalk their employees and mark them as “affiliates”. It can be a nice shot for sports teams linking up with their star athletes or even movie characters sporting their logos of pride. Journos – not yet banished by Musk into Mastodonverse – can benefit too from extra exposure and credibility. 

Wrapping up with novel ad placement controls, another attempt from Twitter at reassuring advertisers after becoming an anathema to the disheartened deserters. This includes new Adjacency Controls in addition to expanded partnerships with brand safety platforms DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science.