Now you can tweet political donations as Twitter and Jack Dorsey’s Square partner for 2016 Presidential elections
As if it didn't already feel like Twitter sets the political agenda these days, it could soon also dictate political finances.
The social network has teamed up with US payments startup Square to let people make donations to political campaigns for the 2016 Presidential elections with just a simple tweet.
That means candidates such as Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton stand to benefit from direct donations as a result of their social media activity, rather than simply trying to sway public opinion in their favour on the platform.
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"When people have conversations about politics, they have them on Twitter. It’s what voters learn and share in these conversations that routinely motivates political action. That’s why we’re making it easier for Twitter users to actively support candidates and causes." the company said in a blog post.
There will be "$Cashtags" (a unique URL), which candidates can use to ask for donations. Twitter users wanting to support candidates with cash just have to hit contribute within the tweet button that appears and fill in their card details.
It's an interesting move from Twitter, which is looking for new features to attract users beyond the existing Twittersphere and making efforts to monetise the platform.
Twitter yesterday unveiled a partnership with successful Irish FinTech startup Stripe to make it easier for retailers to add "buy buttons" to Tweets so users can purchase with a single click.
Can we expect the same from feature to be rolled out for UK elections? Twitter hadn't responded to a request for comment at the time of publication, but with UK political parties increasingly using social media to corral support, it could be a valuable tool in their arsenal if they do.
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The company pointed towards other tools, such as country-specific voter registration reminders, as examples of how it is "complimenting" the public discourse taking place on Twitter.
"By partnering with Square to enable donations through Tweets, and as the 2016 election season heats up, we’ve upgraded these tools through which citizens can raise their voices to champion causes and candidates they support," said Jenna Golden, Twitter's head of political advertising in the blog post.
Incidently, the boss of Square is none other than the co-founder and interim boss of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. Several investors and analysts have called on Dorsey to give up Square to take on the Twitter job full-time as it struggles with user growth.