Since its launch in June, the global attention surrounding the potential real-life fight between Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the two giants of social media, has now entered a new phase with the emergence of Meta's new service 'Threads', designed to rival Twitter. Threads is a platform for communication within 500 characters of text, and after its release on July 5th, it surpassed 30 million subscribers in just 16 hours, reversing the public's perception of a declining social media industry.

The ease of joining through Instagram account linking and the familiarity of the existing platform, which was previously dominated by algorithm-driven choices rather than close friends, may have ignited the rapid initial growth of the Threads service. However, in the initial feeds left by those who actually joined, it's easy to see questions about what to post on this unfamiliar stage. In other words, we need to pay attention to the fact that users' intense desire to improve their status within this new digital platform is causing confusion and hesitation in the planning of early postings.

'Status' is a colloquial expression used to describe an individual's position in an informal social hierarchy. Every community has people who are famous, powerful, and respected at the top, the majority of people in the middle, and a lower tier of those who feel relatively unfortunate. Our position within this hierarchy governs our everyday experiences as individuals. According to sociological studies, social status influences long-term happiness, motivates behavior, and can be considered a fundamental human desire as it is a goal in itself.

At the end of 2022, Twitter made the blue account verification feature, previously only available to verified individuals, accessible to everyone by charging $8 per month, effectivelyselling 'social status recognized by influence'.While it was defined as a subscription service that ostensibly protects users' identities, increases awareness, and provides opportunities to utilize new features, the public response was negative. Hundreds of thousands signed up, but many of the most active users did not, and some later canceled their subscriptions. Why did Twitter face this outcome? And how can the new service Threads, which offers a paid verification badge product of this structure, offer a different response?

W. David Marx, author of 'Status and Culture',argued that the question of 'whether status can be bought with money' requires not expensive items but rather behavioral residues that reflect how one lives.In other words, to maximize and stabilize status, it ultimately needs to be connected to patterns of behavior, customs, traditions, fashion, trends, and tastes, which we understand as culture. For example, while we can attend a wedding in sportswear, if we do not meet the implicit expectations of other guests, we may be ostracized, so we willingly accept the social cost of choosing formal attire appropriate for the occasion.

In this regard, the author argues that high status can be achieved by combining three key elements. First, it must be associated with groups of high status. Tailors in Naples, Italy, and London's Savile Row have traditionally served royalty, nobility, and wealthy individuals, and their names alone hold a status that is conveyed to the public. Second, it requires the cost of a social signal. Status requires time, knowledge, networks, and specific tastes, making it difficult to acquire. Doctoral and MBA degrees in various fields obtain status for this reason. Third, it must provide a credible reason other than simply seeking status. Business class, through lounge access, priority boarding, and personalized services, successfully conceals the superiority of seeking actual status by assuming that executives need to conduct business and get enough rest during flights.

Applying this to the result of Twitter's paid blue verification mark policy, the following interpretation is possible. First, the blue verification mark within Twitter, led by Elon Musk, was closely linked to his unique political views and values. Therefore, for those who wanted to share his vision and interests, the blue badge was experienced as a passionate symbol, like a large-scale gathering, while for others on the opposite side, not adopting the verification mark became a symbolic choice that revealed their membership in a 'not them' community. Furthermore, the monetization of the verification mark resulted in reducing the value cost as a previous social signal. Finally, the features provided by acquiring the verification mark, such as longer tweets and editing, were difficult to consider as a justifiable assumption for those who did not pay.

While many people still experience withdrawing from Instagram as difficult, likened to being freed from their smartphones, as evidenced by the recent craze for the 'quietly leave group chat' feature in KakaoTalk,platform usage is increasingly perceived as an active choice.This means that these platforms have fewer opportunities to say they exist on top of the same public culture as before. It is necessary to note that the war over status has become a major strategic consideration not only for users but also for platform companies.

*This article is the original content of theNamed column in the Electronic Timeson July 10th, 2023.

References

The billionaire showdown of the century, 'Musk VS Zuckerberg' - facing off in a real fight?

'Twitter's Rival' Threads, Tops iOS Charts in 9 Countries on Day of Release

Elon Musk's Twitter Blue Verification Is a Gift to Scammers

Money Can’t Buy Class. Or Can It?

Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠