Social Legitimacy

This week (21/Jul/2016) Twitter extended the verified accounts scheme to allow direct applications.

The “blue tick” scheme allows an account to become the official account associated with a brand or individual.  This is a cherished feature in Twitter, especially for celebrity individuals who are often spoofed or targeted by look-a-like accounts.

The process is not as simple as just “being” who you say you are.  You still have to be able to prove that there is a clear need to identify yourself from the crowd or trolls.

You will need:

• A mobile associated to your account
• Default posts set to “public”
• Two web pages that help identify you
• A statement (500 characters) on why you need to be verified.

500 characters is not a lot of space to explain your case.  This is deliberate and will deter the vast majority of requests.  If it isn’t obvious you need to protect your account, you won’t be “verified”.

Still, this is a good step forward if Twitter bend the requests in a more open fashion.  Many professions will be cheered that they can get this and advance social standing – it will encourage more interaction on Social Media and move conversations into the open.

In my line of work (Information Security) this is a crucial element in controlling risks.  The weakest link in all security is end user education and behaviour – high is why Social Engineerig is on the rise.

Verification provides no protection to the verified account apart from being “identified”.  I hope to see this approach extends to all social platforms in the coming year.

References:

1. “About verified accounts“, Twitter
2. “Request to verify an account“, Twitter