Twitter has always been known for its 140-character character restriction per tweet, which was increased to 280 in 2017. With a new tool named “Twitter Articles,” the business appears to be experimenting with new ways to allow users to post longer messages.
App researcher Jane Wong was the first to notice the function, pointing to a secret menu on the social network’s website dedicated to the new Articles feature. While there are no specifics on how Twitter Essays will work, it is assumed that users will be able to create whole articles on the social media platform without being limited to the 280-character limit.
Users would be able to “Create a Twitter Article,” according to an image posted by Wong, implying that the capability will not be limited to certain types of accounts.
In 2020, the social media platform unveiled a new way to share tweets called “continuous threads,” which allows users to tie many tweets to a single conversation. Even for threads, the 280-character restriction per tweet applies. A Twitter spokeswoman told CNET that further information about Twitter Articles will be released soon.
If Twitter does truly allow users to publish longer texts on the social media site, it might be viewed as an attempt to directly compete with other blogging platforms such as Medium. We also don’t know if the social network will monetize articles in any way, but longer texts could be restricted to Super Followers or Twitter Blue members.
In other news, Twitter will soon add a variety of new capabilities to its microblogging platform. This features Twitter Flock, the app’s implementation of Instagram’s ‘close friends’ function, which allows a small group of individuals to see certain tweets. According to reports, the app is also testing a new search bar for the Home tab, as well as a quote tweet feature that allows you to quote tweet a post with a reaction.
As of right now, not much is known about the Articles function. The feature is presently unavailable to users, and the platform has not stated whether or not a long-format option would be added in the future. It’s also feasible that the functionality will never be released to the stable channel.
In an emailed response to CNET, a Twitter spokeswoman said the company is “always looking into innovative methods to help people start and engage in discussions” and that it will provide more information about its efforts shortly.
