I suppose this is the value prop:

1. For people who post, you will be treated better by the ranking and spam systems. The blue checkmark may be like the “blue bubbles” iMessage thing where it’s not-so-subtly a marker of ingroup status.

2. For readers, you get to see less ads.

I don’t use Twitter much, but I could imagine it being worth it for people who spend a lot of time on the app.

So spammers can now pay $8 to better circumvent spam systems? Sounds like a terrible idea ripe for abuse.

Spammers are usually cycling through accounts rapidly. If they pay, that gets a lot harder. You’d still enforce against spammers who pay the $8, but the requirement to pay will reduce the volume and make the problem more manageable.

I guess it depends on what your definition of spam is. I think it people are paying to be promoted then it is the same as an ad, and to me ads are a form of spam if I don't want to see them.

verified account tweets get amplified so you are paying for that, also you are paying to reduce cybersquatting of your name (if it is of value to you)

You would think the opposite would be true... amplifying tweets sounds an awful like turning it into a cesspool of marketers like LinkedIn.

It's not only a verification service, you get more features.