It was only a matter of time, eh? Based on last week’s news regarding baseball manage Tony La Russa’s lawsuit against Twitter, Biz Stone and the gang have announced Verified Accounts – the beta version coming soon to a tweeter near you.
Verified accounts, where a person is ‘vetted’ to make certain they are who they say they are, are not new to the Web. However, they are usually only applied on sites where e-commerce activity is an option. Twitter looks to change that, and hopefully reduce their growing legal fees.
Verified Accounts will start as an optional feature for public officials, public agencies, famous artists, athletes, and other well known individuals at risk of impersonation. Oddly enough, businesses will not be included in the beta group.
When the product is rolled out, a special verified” seal will appear on the individual’s profile. There will be feedback opportunities for all Twitter users.
There aren’t many people out there trying to be me, and for good reason, but when verified accounts become more widespread, I’ll be jumping all over it. Our bet: everyone will be verified soon enough.
No word yet on exactly how the verification process will work.
