July 29, 2017 - 14:29 AMT
Twitter tests $99 subscription to automatically promote tweets

Twitter is testing a subscription plan that charges users $99 a month to automatically promote tweets into strangers' timelines, Engadget reports.

This wouldn't be a service offered to all: Only those invited would be given the option to bellow out tweets to folks who don't follow them. But at this point, it isn't another tool for big brands to use. It's aimed at users who aren't as Twitter-savvy -- i.e. power users and small businesses -- who would conceivably rather throw money at the social media network than micromanage their account.

This is a pretty clear experiment to try out a new source of cash flow for Twitter, which saw a drop in advertising revenue this year, making $439 million in Q2 2017 compared to $535 million in the same period last year.

Twitter confirmed to Engadget that it's currently testing this program, but didn't comment further.