We first heard about a potential Twitter Articles feature back in February. A new report today says that this has been rebranded as Twitter Notes, and is currently in testing with a limited number of users …
Background
Reverse-engineering expert Jane Wong first discovered the feature.
It seems that the company has been exploring new ways to let users write longer texts with a new feature called “Twitter Articles.”
The feature was first discovered by app researcher Jane Wong, who showed a hidden menu on the social network’s website dedicated to the new Articles feature. While there are no details about how Twitter Articles will work, it will presumably let users write full articles on the social network without the 280-character limit.
A screenshot shared by Wong shows that users will have the option to “Create a Twitter Article,” which suggests that the feature won’t be restricted to certain categories of accounts.
Nima Owji subsequently learned a little more about it.
According to Owji, this upcoming Twitter article editor will have some basic styles for texts, such as bold, code, italic, strike-through, and underline.
Twitter Notes now in testing
TechCrunch reports that the feature is now being tested with “select” Twitter users.
In what could be one of Twitter’s more significant changes since doubling the character count from 140 to 280 characters, the company is preparing to launch a new feature that would support the direct publishing of long-form content on its platform. With Twitter Notes, as the upcoming feature is called, users will be able to create articles using rich formatting and uploaded media, which can then be tweeted and shared with followers upon publishing.
The feature is being tested with select users ahead of an upcoming public launch, we understand. (Twitter declined to comment but said it would share updates about the feature “soon”) […]
In the current version, now called Notes, the feature will be accessible from users’ profiles directly to the right of the “Tweets & replies” link and before “Media,” app researchers said.
Mobile product intelligence firm Watchful.ai was additionally able to confirm the development of Twitter Notes, which it found to be ready for launch in the latest version of the Twitter app. The firm also confirmed the feature was located next to “Tweets & replies,” giving it a prominent place on users’ profiles.
9to5Mac’s Take: Twitter Notes
It’s as yet unclear what Twitter’s objective is here. The most significant interpretation would be that the micro-blogging platform is aiming to drop the “micro” part, and compete directly with full-on blogging services like WordPress and Medium. Users would then be free to mix and match tweets with long-form pieces on the same platform.
But it may be that the company’s ambitions are smaller, and is simply planning to offer a more convenient alternative to tweetstorms for those who have an occasional desire to make longer posts.
Still waiting for edit button
We’re still awaiting the most-desired Twitter feature to land: the ability to correct typos in tweets after they have been posted. We recently learned a little about how this is likely to work.
According to developer and app researcher Nima Owji, Twitter is working on a timer for when you’re editing a tweet, and it will appear when you’re editing it.
As of now, it’s not clear if users will have 30 minutes to edit a tweet or if it’s just a placeholder for the official release […] You won’t be able to like, retweet, or reply to the old version of an edited tweet. That means it will almost feel like a deleted tweet, as you’ll be able to interact only with the newest version of that tweet.
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