Twitter announced last week they were testing a new feature that would allow images, videos and GIFs in one tweet.
How it works. Multimedia tweets cannot be created or viewed on a desktop at the moment, and are only available to on the Twitter app. Additionally, the feature is only available to a handful of users at the moment with no word on when the company plans to make the feature public.
I wasn’t able to find any examples of a multimedia tweet on my own feed and didn’t have access to create my own, but the screenshot below from Alessandro Paluzzi shows what it looks like.
What Twitter is saying. In a statement reported to TechCrunch, Twitter said:
We’re testing a new feature with select accounts for a limited time that will allow people to mix up to four media assets into a single tweet, regardless of format. We’re seeing people have more visual conversations on Twitter and are using images, GIFS and videos to make these conversations more exciting. With this test we’re hoping to learn how people combine these different media formats to express themselves more creatively on Twitter beyond 280 characters.
Tests continue on the edit feature. Additionally, Twitter continues to test the edit feature on a limited number of accounts. Jane Manchun Wong found that when you edit a Tweet, the original one doesn’t disappear, but shows a notification that says “There’s a new version of this Tweet” just below it, and the new, edited Tweet is then shown above.
Initial testing. Twitter began testing the edit feature back in April to Twitter Blue subscribers only. 73% of the 4 million voters that replied to an Elon Musk poll replied that they wanted an edit option. The day after the poll, Twitter responded that they were in fact testing an edit feature and that it had nothing to do with Musk’s poll.
Why we care. Twitter users have been asking for an edit option for a long time. There is no indication that non Twitter Blue users will have access, so this could be their way of enticing users into paying for the subscription. As for multimedia posts, it could be a fun feature for brands to showcase their products, but likely won’t move the revenue needle much.
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About The Author
Nicole Farley is an editor for Search Engine Land covering all things PPC. In addition to being a Marine Corps veteran, she has an extensive background in digital marketing, an MBA and a penchant for true crime, podcasts, travel, and snacks.
