Words by Comfort Nnana Kalu
A verified account on social media appears to be recognized as a sign of status. Across Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, a blue checkmark indicates that you have an account big enough to warrant a more in depth verification of identity. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hopped on Periscope Livestream where he expounded upon future plans to make it an easier process for users to become verified.
In a statement made to Verge, Jack said,
“The intention is to open verification to everyone, and to do it in a way that’s scalable, where Twitter is not in the way and people can verify more facts about themselves and we don’t have to be judge or imply any bias on our part.”
Twitter did not reveal how this process will come about but other platforms that verify user’s identity include Airbnb where users must submit a government issued I.D., Facebook profile and phone number to verify identity.
“The main problem is we use the check mark to mean identity. But in user research… users think of it as credibility that Twitter stands behind the person and what they are saying is great and authentic, which is not what we meant.”
The battle in discovering the meaning of a verified account will definitely become confusing but time will bring clarification as users become accustomed to the status quo.
