>>> why not just charge the superusers with tens of thousands of followers, like Mr. Jones, who really do get some tangible benefit from the service?
I'd go the other way. I don't think the concept of charging people for being successful on a social media platform has legs. I'd instead attach micropayments to all the fish who want to follow various celebs and such. Say 1c/month to follow Lady Gaga. Then we'll see exactly how much use these feeds are to consumers. Or this could be done through a premium concept, such as delaying tweets to/from non-premium subscribers by a few minutes.
I'd go the other way. I don't think the concept of charging people for being successful on a social media platform has legs. I'd instead attach micropayments to all the fish who want to follow various celebs and such. Say 1c/month to follow Lady Gaga. Then we'll see exactly how much use these feeds are to consumers. Or this could be done through a premium concept, such as delaying tweets to/from non-premium subscribers by a few minutes.