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Twitter updates 2022

Launched in 2006 as a micro-blogging platform, Twitter is one of the most prominent social media companies in the world, with over 217 million monetisable daily active users as of the year ending 2021. It is also known for enabling faster and easier conversations on social media.

Additionally, the platform allows multiple ideologies to come together and share points of view while keeping the discourse civil. Twitter is also the go-to platform for millions for the latest news and empowers activists, journalists and media houses to share and break stories.

To maintain the user experience, Twitter introduces updates like all other social media platforms. This year too, it has unveiled new features while some are in testing mode already.

Some of the most important Twitter updates of 2022 include the possible expansion of its subscription service, Twitter Blue and other features designed to make the platform safer and easier to use.

Thus, it becomes necessary for users to know about updates the company makes to enhance its interface and reach the target audience. The new features are currently limited to countries or platforms such as iOS. However, it is important to note that one of them, which will probably be one of the biggest updates, is being discussed by the newest stakeholder in Twitter — Elon Musk.

A look at Twitter updates of 2022

Twitter Blue

Twitter Blue
Image credit: Twitter

Twitter Blue is a premium monthly subscription service started by the social networking service in 2021, but it is yet to launch outside of the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Most of the major Twitter updates of 2022 are woven within the Twitter Blue service. Subscribers get exclusive premium features and app customisations, including new themes, bookmarking options and an Undo button that gives users 30 seconds to undo sending the tweet.

Twitter says that subscriptions are non-refundable, but subscribers get dedicated support regarding subscription-specific issues. Additionally, Twitter Blue isn’t ad-free but includes a feature that lets users read articles without ads on sites within the Twitter Blue network.

It has also been reported that users of Twitter Blue will get the first access to Twitter’s NFT portfolio, which will allow them to display their tokens in the form of hexagonal profile pictures.

Downvotes

Twitter updates 2022
Image credit: Twitter Support/@TwitterSupport/Twitter

Reddit and Quora users are familiar with the Downvote button. On YouTube, it is known as the Dislike button. Used to indicate disagreement with a post, the button is one of the indicators of a democratic discussion.

Currently in testing mode, the button will be available to only a few customers. Twitter first announced the test in July 2021, followed by a tweet in February 2022, which said that the social microblogging company is expanding the test’s scope.

“We learned a lot about the types of replies you don’t find relevant and we’re expanding this test –– more of you on web and soon iOS and Android will have the option to use reply downvoting. Downvotes aren’t public, but they’ll help inform us of the content people want to see,” read the tweet.

According to reports, Downvote works in a way slightly different from the Dislike button on other social media platforms. On Twitter, Downvotes are currently meant only for replies to an original tweet. They are not public and are not shared with the tweet’s author or others on the timeline. The button, according to Twitter, is meant to only inform the company that a reply “isn’t adding to the conversation.”

Flock

A much-liked feature that is available in Instagram Stories is the ability of the users to share content with only a select few within their followers’ group. Twitter is reportedly experimenting with a similar service.

In July 2021, the social media giant revealed it is working on a feature that would allow its users to share tweets with friends and followers they chose.

Alessandro Paluzzi, a developer and reverse engineer, in January 2022, reportedly found that Twitter has started developing the feature and has dubbed it ‘Flock.’ The name itself is temporary, though; Twitter told The Verge that “Flock” is just a “placeholder name,” which means it might get a proper name at the time of launch.

Now, how does ‘Flock’ work? According to Paluzzi, the feature lets a user share a tweet with a group of up to 150 users. The group can be updated, and people aren’t notified if they are removed from it.

Those who get to read such tweets will find a label beneath it reading: “You can see this tweet because the author has added you to their Flock.”

Twitter articles

One of the most significant Twitter updates of 2022 revolves around long threads. Twitter has long done away with its 140-character limit, giving more space to people to express themselves in 280 characters.

But over the years, many have taken to Twitter to post long threads. These are sometimes difficult to read or follow due to the clutter of the date and time stamps at the bottom of every tweet.

Now, according to Jane Manchun Wong, Twitter is experimenting with a service simply known as ‘Twitter Articles’. It is not clear what this service will be, but speculations indicate Twitter will let users read long threads in an article format.

It is also not clear if this feature will be clubbed into the Twitter Blue subscription service. If that is the case, it will obviously not be available to all.

Edit button

On 1 April 2022, the official Twitter account posted a tweet reading, “We are working on an edit button.” As of 5 April, the tweet had received 1.3 million likes testifying to the discussion it triggered around the world.

It was not immediately clear at the time if Twitter was serious about what it said. Some users pointed out that the tweet was posted on 1 April, which is April Fool’s Day, and people normally play pranks on the occasion.

But on 5 April 2022, Twitter confirmed that it will be testing the edit button on Twitter Blue. Once activated, it will be one of the most significant Twitter updates of 2022.

Twitter is indeed famous for not having an option for users to edit their tweets once they have been sent out. So, if a typo occurs in a tweet, the only option available as of now is to delete the tweet or follow it up with another one explaining the error.

This became a major discussion on 5 April itself. A day after he took a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter worth USD 2.89 billion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a cheeky Twitter poll, asking his followers if they wanted an edit button.

The options he gave were a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ with both words deliberately misspelled to indicate how it is impossible to rectify typos on posted tweets. The poll garnered around 1.5 million votes in less than three hours with an overwhelming 75 percent in favour of the edit button.

Responding to the tweet, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal wrote, “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” The words were verbatim from Musk’s tweet from 25 March in which he had asked his followers to vote on whether Twitter supports free speech. Respondents to that tweet overwhelmingly voted ‘No’, indicating their dissent against Twitter.

It remains unclear, however, whether Twitter will create a separate edit button for all users or launch it only for Twitter Blue subscribers..

Safety Mode

Safety Mode
Image credit: Twitter

Twitter began a small test of what it calls the Safety Mode in September 2021. In February 2022, the company announced that it is expanding the beta version of the feature to around 50 percent of accounts in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

So, what is Twitter’s Safety Mode? The unique feature allows users to grant Twitter the right to automatically block any account it believes contains harmful language. This autoblock feature applies to quoted retweets. People blocked by the feature won’t be able to interact with the blocker’s account for seven days, unless the original account manually unblocks the blocked user.

“When the feature is turned on in your Settings, our systems will assess the likelihood of a negative engagement by considering both the Tweet’s content and the relationship between the Tweet author and replier,” Twitter said in its September 2021 statement regarding Safety Mode.

The feature applies only to those accounts that are not followed by the user or frequent interactions have not taken place between the users.

However, this has a downside. On 4 April 2022, Mashable reported the autoblock feature blocked healthcare activist Laura Marston’s quoted retweet of US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s tweet on access to affordable insulin.

According to the report, Twitter blocked Marston’s comment even though it only added crucial information that Pelosi didn’t mention and contained no verbal attack. Mashable noted the algorithm went wrong in this case.

Tweet Reaction Videos

One of the most important Twitter updates of 2022 came with the introduction of Tweet Reaction Videos.

In a post dated 7 January, Twitter said it is “testing tweet reaction clips on iOS”.

It explained that a user has to tap the Retweet icon and then choose “Quote Tweet with reaction”. The feature lets users create and customise their very own Tweet Take in the form of a reaction video (or photo) with the Tweet embedded.

The Tweet Reaction Videos are like the features on Instagram and TikTok, where users can respond through their own videos.

According to PCMag, the feature resembles Twitter Fleets. That feature, which led users to share stories as they do on Snapchat, was shelved just nine months after launch.

Topics Tag Bar

According to social media consultant and industry analyst Matt Navara, Twitter is experimenting with a feature he calls ‘Topics Tag Bar’ for iOS.

It is not clear what this feature will do, but it is expected to let users quickly check topics of their interest by selecting them from a list of options.

Sharing communities

Twitter updates 2022
Image credit: Twitter Communities/@HiCommunities/Twitter

Twitter Communities is a way for a group of like-minded people to come closer through discussions on topics of mutual interest. In January 2022, the official Twitter handle of Twitter Communities put out a post informing of a new feature, which allows people on iOS to share the community itself with others.

The feature could be accessed by tapping on the Upload button next to the Joined tab. The topmost option then visible is ‘Share via…’ followed by ‘Copy link’ and ‘Invite members’. The ‘Share via…’ option lets the user share the community.

Composer Bar

Most users on Twitter need to tap on the blue button with a plus sign at the bottom right of their Twitter app on their phones to post a tweet, gif, photo or start discussions on Spaces.

Twitter began testing a new feature on iOS in January in which the blue button was replaced with its composer bar.

It appears like a text box above the bottom navigation menu and lets users quickly start typing to post a tweet. On the right-hand side of the bar are options to post a picture or start live audio conversations on Spaces.

More about this feature, like some others being tested for iOS only, will be clear once Twitter expands the tests to Android and reveals more information.

ALT badge and image descriptions

In a tweet posted on 8 April, Twitter announced that it was making global its ALT badge and improved image descriptions.

“As promised, the ALT badge and exposed image descriptions go global today,” read a tweet from Twitter’s Accessibility account. “Over the past month, we fixed bugs and gathered feedback from the limited release group. We’re ready. You’re ready. Let’s describe our images!”

Twitter also shared the link to a blog post which presented a step-by-step process of adding alt text to images.

With the update, images with text descriptions will be marked with a badge reading “alt”. The badge will return the description of the image when clicked.

The image descriptions system was first introduced in 2016 but remained inaccessible to most users.

‘Unmentioning’ feature

In June 2021, Twitter started planning a unique feature that allows people to remove themselves if they have been tagged in a tweet. On 8 April 2022, Twitter announced that it has begun testing it.

“How do you say “Don’t @ me,” without saying “Don’t @ me”?” read a tweet from Twitter Safety. “We’re experimenting with Unmentioning—a way to help you protect your peace and remove yourself from conversations—available on Web for some of you now.”

A GIF shared by Twitter presented a glimpse of how to “unmention” yourself from a conversation.

It is not clear if the feature is being tested for a worldwide user base or only in specific countries.

(Main and Featured images: Jeremy Bezanger/@unarchive/Unsplash)

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