Tipping is taking over the internet
Nearly every major social platform has recently introduced some form of tipping, allowing users to directly support their favorite personalities in real time.
Why it matters: Creators have been fueling engagement on social media platforms for years, but only now that the creator economy is maturing are they actually able to make money directly from their fans.
Driving the news:
- Twitter is working on adding a “Tip Jar” feature within @TwitterSpaces and on users’ main profiles, software engineer Jane Manchun Wong discovered this week. This is in addition to its new “Super Follows” feature, which allows users to charge followers for special content.
- Clubhouse launched a payments feature at the start of the month to help audio creators generate revenue from the platform.
- Facebook said in March it would expand its “Stars” virtual currency, which lets fans reward video and game creators directly for their content.
- Instagram late last year launched “Badges,” a virtual gift that users can buy during livestreams to show their support for the creator in real time.
- YouTube has been experimenting with various tipping features including “applause,” and “Super Chats” for years.
Behind the trend: The popularity and availability of payment platforms such as Venmo, CashApp and Stripe are making it easier for tech companies to enable peer-to-peer payments on their platforms.
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