Creating a problem, then selling a solution is one of the most lucrative business models in existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Would mobile games designed to be long, grindy slogs instead of tight, engaging fun be as lucrative without in-app purchases? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Would \u2018bleach your skin\u2019 soaps, lotions, creams, and pills rake in cash if companies didn\u2019t lean into the classism and racism that says dark skin isn\u2019t as good as lighter skin? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now with the overflow of \u2018Verification and security for everyone\u2026who can pay<\/em>\u2019 spreading from Twitter like an uncovered sneeze, it looks like I just\u2026Meta \u2018nother company to vent my dirty commie spleen on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced the rollout of its own blue checkmarks<\/a>\u2014and it\u2019s a tidy $11.99 per month on desktop, and $14.99 on mobile to make sure you\u2019ve got a:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t have a huge issue with verification as it used to be used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure it was definitely irritating to watch Facebook pages pop up for books and shows, and I thought it was dumb that social media let companies and celebrities have their own pages instead of just keeping up their websites. But for worse and worse, we landed at social media profiles becoming another marketing tool, and so there rose a legitimate need for easy identification of the \u2018REAL\u2019 version of anywhere and anyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Any buttholey butthole could run out and call themselves Oprah Official, and use a combo of widening media illiteracy<\/a> and innocent credulity to scam people, harass others, and spread misinformation. It made sense for actual<\/em> Oprah to be able to keep her digital identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s not what verification is about anymore. Now it\u2019s another sold fix from a company deliberately throwing wrenches into their own gears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone who\u2019s slogged through how to report a page you see pretending to be a shop or celebrity you know full well would not follow you<\/em>, has met with the \u2018Hi, sure, we\u2019re definitely on this, thanks\u2019 message. Same with reporting harassment or spam\/money entrapment accounts. I\u2019ve actually gotten a message after reporting a spammy profile that told me \u2018We have too many problems and too few people to consider this a priority, so get stuffed we guess, lol.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n But imagine if I were to report\u2026with a checkmark<\/em>. You know, a little proof that I\u2019m paying a company valuated in the billions of dollars grabbed from advertising to me every five posts to actually perform customer service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then<\/em> they\u2019ll actually keep their services safe. Then<\/em><\/strong> they\u2019ll actually maintain a hospitable environment for their users. Then<\/em><\/strong> they\u2019ll bother to make sure your posts reach people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, they didn\u2019t make an official statement on that last one. But come on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the rest, does that even begin to make sense? <\/p>\n\n\n\n And the separation of church and app\u2014this extra charge for mobile versus the exact same service but through a computer that can\u2019t fit in a pocket? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well now we know why stock soared earlier<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n