Here's what India's 'first' Twitter user said on whether she will pay for blue tick

By Team Newsable | First Published Nov 8, 2022, 9:04 PM IST

In 2006, Jaisalmer-based businesswoman Naina Redhu joined the network after receiving an invitation email from what was then known as "TWTTR." "I want to know more information about what will happen to the blue tick. I'm not sure how that secondary tag will appear. When I have clarification on these issues, I'll accept a call," she said.

The recent acquisition of Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sparked a lot of discussion about the upcoming changes to the microblogging service. Despite this, India's first Twitter user has some opinions to express on the platform's development and the recent adjustments.

In 2006, a girl received an email from TWTTR (the project's code name) inviting her to sign up for a new platform during the Orkut and blogging eras before Twitter was formally established. Prior to the formal debut of the network, she signed up and became the first Indian to use Twitter. That woman was Naina Redhu, who has posted around 1,75,000 tweets to date and who currently works in a hotel in Jaisalmer.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

Also Read | Twitter impersonators will be permanently suspended without a warning: Elon Musk

Speaking to the media, she said, "I recall receiving an invitation from Twitter through email; at the time, it was called TWTTR; the spelling has since changed. It was just a coincidence when I joined, and I had no clue that it would grow to be such a significant platform in the future."

Naina is a frequent 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 USD 8, or around Rs 650 per month, to obtain a blue tick. When asked if she would be one of the ones to pay, she said "For the time being, it is unclear what the money is being used for. Whether the blue tick will still mean what it does now or if that meaning will change? I won't be able to decide until there is some kind of clarity on this."

Also Read | Twitter Blue to launch in India in 'less than a month', confirms Elon Musk

"It's a private corporation, and they began displaying the blue tick next to users' accounts to confirm that it's the legitimate one of a public person. And why should I pay for this now if I haven't in the previous 16 years?" she added.

She proceeded by talking about her experience of being the lone Indian on Twitter. Naina said, "There was no one from India at the time, and the majority of the discussions I had seen were from Twitter workers or their friends. They formerly communicated by messages." She said she doesn't believe this merits noting in her bio because it is not an accomplishment and was just a coincidence, and she did not work very hard for it. "Being the first Indian to use Twitter, I learned about it when a writer from the USA published an article on the first 140 Twitter users. My name was listed there," she added.

Also Read | 'Unfortunately there is no choice,' says Elon Musk after massive Twitter layoffs

Nowhere in Naina's Twitter bio, which describes her as a "Photographer, Artist & Experience Collector," is it mentioned that she was the India's first Twitter user.

It has almost been 2 decades since Naina first joined the micro-blogging platform and in that time period along with the world, Twitter too has gone through a myriad of changes even before its recent takeover. For iOS users in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, Twitter Blue with verification was released last week. Later, Musk reportedly backed up the rumours and disclosed that the business will charge USD 8 per month for a subscription service on Twitter that would give users precedence in responses, mentions, and searches.

Also read: Billionaire Elon Musk says Twitter will form 'content moderation council'; check details

For more reliable and latest news