As we move into a world that increasingly focuses on content creator monetisation, Twitter is staying relevant by experimenting with two direct payment features. Apple just announced its podcast subscription service, creators are used to utilising platforms like Patreon to monetise their content, now Twitter wants to have its users making money on the service.

Twitter’s ‘Super Follow’ and ‘Tip Jar’ features were teased at the social platform’s Analyst Day in February, and now they are rolling it out to test on real users. This is according to trusted Twitter researcher and analyst Jane Manchun Wong, who tweeted what the features will look like in a mock profile.

The tipper in Twitter

The tipping feature will accept monetary contributions through a variety of money sending apps, like PayPal (here’s how to use it in SA) or Venmo (a US-based service). Twitter users will be able to ‘tip’ their favourite Twitter profiles for the content they create. At this point, it looks like users will be able to decide how much they tip at any point.

Then there’s something called ‘Super Follow’, which will replace the ‘Follow’ button once a person is already followed. This will be a paid ‘subscription’ type access to the Twitter profile’s exclusive content, only viewable under the Super Follow subscription.

Of course, all of this could change on a design level, but it does confirm that Twitter is looking at other methods of monetising its platform to stay away from evolving into a second Facebook, hellbent on all that ad money.