India's 'first' Twitter user Naina Redhu talks about blue tick fee, 'Why should I pay...?'

As Tesla CEO Elon Musk took over the microblogging platform Twitter, it has also sparked a lot of discussions about the upcoming changes on the social media platform. In the midst of this, India's first Twitter user has voiced some of her opinions on the platform's development and the recent adjustments.

When Twitter was originally introduced in the year 2006, Naina Redhu, who claims to be among its earliest users in India, signed up for the service. She has witnessed Twitter's growth into this enormous social networking site and the influence it has now. 

Naina who is currently employed in a hotel in Jaisalmer has posted over 1,75,000 tweets so far. During an interview with ANI, remembering the moment she initially joined the platform, Naina said, “I had received an invitation through e-mail from Twitter and at the time it was named TWTTR, now the spelling has changed. I joined it thinking let’s sign up and explore, it was just a coincidence and I had no idea that it will become such a big platform in future."  

Naina is an avid Twitter user and her profile also features a blue tick, which has been the subject of much debate recently because Musk said that users would need to spend $8, or around Rs 650 per month, for a blue tick. 

Naina Redhu on Musk's plan to charge verified accounts $8 per month

In addition to this, Naina when asked if she will be one of the payers for the blue tick, she said, “Whether the meaning of the blue tick will remain the same as it is now or will it change? Only once there is some clarity regarding this then only will I be able to make a decision."  

Naina continued by stating that the social media platform is a private corporation, and the reason they began providing people with the blue tick was to confirm that it is the actual account of a public figure. She claimed, “And if I have not paid for this in the past 16 years then why should I now?"  

Naina also discussed the impact that Twitter's decision to remove the blue tick will have on India. Since having a blue tick is not always necessary, she believes there will not be much impact. The general population won't be impacted either since those who need it and can afford it will just buy it, she said. However, according to her, those who are self-employed and have little resources, such as journalists, may be impacted. 

Furthermore, with 22,000 followers, Naina said, "I feel the freedom of expression in a country is not related to Twitter," when asked how she felt about the freedom of expression on Twitter. "Although it is now a place where people can view news and learn about global events, there is also a lot of fake news out there," she added. “I think relying on Twitter is not the right way, we should do our own research,” she highlighted.  

In the meantime, for iOS users in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, as well as the United Kingdom, Twitter Blue with verification was released last week. Later, Musk reportedly backed up the claims and revealed that the company will charge $8 per month for a subscription service on Twitter that would give users priority in responses, mentions, and searches. 

(Image: ANI/AP/Shutterstock)