In the world of social media, Twitter remains a platform that has stayed true to its ethos. Unlike the rest of the channels, which are constantly updated, the short message platform has not shown substantial changes compared to its initial offer.
However, Twitter seems to be working on a new feature called ‘Articles’ that could allow users to create long-form posts, exceeding the current 280-character limit. This option is a means of creating blog posts within the app, shared via tweets.
The new capability was first spotted by tech writer Jane Manchung Wong, who also said: “Twitter is working on ‘Twitter Articles’ and the ability to create one within Twitter. Possibility (of) a new long-form format on Twitter“.
Twitter is working on “Twitter Articles” and the ability to create one within Twitter
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 2, 2022
Possibility a new longform format on Twitter pic.twitter.com/Srk3E6R5sz
No Twitter spokesperson hasn’t confirmed the feature, and the launch date, if it happens, hasn’t been revealed either. However, experts are guessing that “Articles” could be a premium service for the Twitter Blue option, or at least start that way, with paying subscribers able to create long-form posts.
From 140 to 280 characters and more
Since 2016, Twitter has introduced various options to enable longer posts on the platform. The first step was expanding the tweet length to 280 characters in 2017. Later, the possibility of sharing images and screenshots was included (many users have used the latter to publish longer texts via notes).
Next came the popular “Threads,” a series of connected tweets to allow users to provide additional context, an update, or an extended point by connecting multiple tweets. Finally, Twitter bought the Revue newsletter platform to encourage users to post longer text updates.
Twitter close friends or “Flocks.”
Although Twitter seems to keep its ethos intact, the need to adapt to new trends continues to gain ground within the platform. In September, Twitter also launched invite-only communities that let you connect with users with shared interests.
More recently, and following the same concept of “close friends” on Instagram, Twitter is developing Flocks, an option that lets users share tweets with a specific group of people.
According to developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who has been following the progress of this feature since the first teaser in July 2021, Twitter users can add up to 150 members and only these users can see or reply to tweets sent to their Flock.
Flock members will see a label below a Tweet, saying, “You can see this Tweet because the author added you to their Flock.” – a similar feature to the subscribers’ badges on Instagram.
#Twitter continues to work on Twitter Flock by adding an explanation of how it works 👀
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) January 21, 2022
ℹ️ You can choose up to 150 people to include in your Twitter Flock 👥
ℹ️ People won't be notified if you remove them from the list 🔕 pic.twitter.com/xtGcDiHgxS
