I never dreamt of having a Verified account on Twitter. I always thought that you had to have millions of followers, be a big time celebrity or have a huge international brand/institution to get one.
What is a verified account?
Any account with a blue verified badge on their Twitter profile is a verified account.
Why does Twitter verify accounts?
Verification is currently used to establish authenticity of identities on Twitter. The verified badge helps users discover high-quality sources of information and trust that a legitimate source is authoring the account’s Tweets.
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According to Social Media Today, “Twitter verified accounts are used to denote the authenticity of certain pages on Twitter. The verified badge helps users identify that a legitimate source is authoring the account’s Tweets (or at least officially ghost-tweeting on behalf of a legitimate source).
Beginning primarily with the rise of celebrities’/politician’s use of Twitter, verified accounts then spread to other categories such as news outlets, companies and more. Confirmation that the account is being run by who it says it is.”
Here are some of the big time celebrities, brands, and tweeps with Verified Twitter accounts that I follow:
In the Philippines, only a few have Verified Twitter accounts:
Surprise!
Last August 16, I received a DM from Twitter about verifying my account. It was so surreal that I thought it was one of those bogus DM’s/spam. I didn’t even pay attention to it till last August 24.
When I finally had the courage to click on the link and followed all the instructions (they never asked for my password, just random questions about my account), it turned out that the DM was legit — Twitter finally Verified my account.
What kinds of accounts get verified?
Twitter proactively verifies accounts on an ongoing basis to make it easier for users to find who they’re looking for. We concentrate on highly sought users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, advertising, business, and other key interest areas. We verify business partners from time to time and individuals at high risk of impersonation.
We do not accept requests for verification from the general public. If you fall under one of the above categories and your Twitter account meets our qualifications for verification, we may reach out to you in the future.
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Twitter’s DMs to me:
The good news: You don’t have to have millions of followers to have a Verified account on Twitter.
The bad news: Only the folks at Twitter know the exact qualifications to get one’s account Verified.
There is hope: Like what Thomas from Twitter DM’d me, just be “awesome” on Twitter and see what happens.
Again, as I’ve posted on Twitter, I have no clue how this happened but it’s pretty cool. Thanks Twitter! This is such an honor! Having a Verified Twitter badge just adds authenticity and more credibility to my account and that’s freakin’ awesome!
I think it’s pretty cool too that Martha Stewart follows me on Twitter. Haaay!
Verified or not, at the end of the day, we are what we tweet. Make every tweet count!