Verified on Twitter? Its not that serious!
That up there, was going to be my title for this blog but the subtitle (sub-tweet maybe) works better. I believe it never that serious for one to have a blue ticket on Twitter and brag about it. It used to be 3 years ago when Twitter did the verifications itself but now people can request to have that ‘prestigious’ blue tick on their accounts.
TheNextWeb called it a desperate move and goes on to say
So let’s be really clear on something: verification means nothing. It doesn’t get you anything, and it doesn’t profoundly change your Twitter experience.The ‘verified’ badge simply means that whoever is verifying Twitter accounts at the company feels confident that you’re you and not some bot or impostor. Do you have an email and maybe a website? Cool, you’re you.
It looks like Twitter is verifying users at rocket speed and this to me is suspicious.
But what does verification on Twitter mean?
There is that blue verified badge, that -> 
<- on Twitter next t your handle that lets people know that your account is authentic.
Twitter approves accounts maintained by users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas. It used to do this by it’self, looking out for those accounts it knew was really owned by the actual people and it would verify them. But now if you believe your account is of public interest and should be verified, you can submit a request to them here.
There is a criteria to follow before you request to be verified as stated on Twitter’s support site, this includes;
- A verified phone number
- A confirmed email address
Note: If the account is a company or organization account, the email address associated with the account should be a company or organization email address. - A bio
- A profile photo
- A header photo
- A birthday (for accounts that are not company, brand, or organization accounts)
Note: This information will be displayed to the audience that you’ve chosen. There are visibility settings available for your birthday that allow you to separately control who on Twitter can see your birth year and who can see your birth day and month in your Twitter profile. Read more here. - A website
- Tweets set as public in Tweet privacy settings
It should be noted that for requests to verify individual accounts (that do not represent a company or organization), Twitter requires a copy of your official government-issued photo identification (e.g. passport or driver’s license) in order to confirm your request. This information is used for this purpose only and will be deleted after its used for this purpose.
Twitter Recommendation before Verification
Twitter also says you have to have some common characteristics before you are verified;
- Your account must reflect your real name or stage name of the person.
- If the account is a corporation or company account, the name reflects the real name of the corporation or company.
- The profile and/or header photo reflects the person, the corporation’s branding, or the company’s branding.
- The bio specifies an area of expertise and/or a company mission.
Twitter also asks that
– you to tell them why your account should be verified. If the account represents a person, they want to understand the impact you have in the field, and if the account represents a corporation or company, what is your mission.
– and that you provide URLs to support your request, choose sites that help express the account holder’s newsworthiness or relevancy in the field.
After all that is done, you can submit and wait. If your request is denied, you can submit another request for the same account after 30 days of receiving the email from Twitter. If the response from them requesting edits to your account and/or additional information, you will need to submit another request any time after completing the steps outlined in your response.
Now go and get yourself verified, it’s not that serious.
