Twitter announced the other day that they are now allowing anyone to apply to have their accounts verified. Before, there was no way to get request to be verified on Twitter – you just had to wait or know someone. Now, you can apply.

Twitter said:

Verified accounts on Twitter allow people to identify key individuals and organizations on Twitter as authentic, and are denoted by a blue badge icon. An account may be verified if it is determined to be of public interest. Typically this includes accounts maintained by public figures and organizations in music, TV, film, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other key interest areas.

I applied at https://verification.twitter.com/welcome and within hours my account @rustybrick was verified.