Twitter Inc. said on June 22 that it is testing a new feature called “Notes” that will allow users to write longer on the platform.
Users can now share essay-like writing as a link on and off social media platforms.
Twitter shared how the feature would work in two different GIFs on its platform.
The company also said that newsletter firm Review, which it bought last year, will now be part of Twitter Right with a “notes” feature.
Currently, the long-form feature is being tested by a small group of authors. The company did not reveal much details about its wider roll-out.
Users can click into the “Write” tab to start composing a note, and then embed the note in their Tweet when they’re finished. Twiiter has also shared tweets from authors who have already published notes on the platform, which appear as long posts that may have mixed tweets, videos and images.
The company currently has a 280-character limit on tweets, a feature it began testing about five years ago.
Earlier on April 6, Twitter said it was working on a way for users to edit its 280-character messages, which it called “the most requested feature for many years”.
It had said that it would be testing the feature in its paid service, Twitter Blue, in the coming months.
It said the test would help to know what works, what doesn’t and what is possible. So it may take some time for most Twitter users to get used to it, if they ever do. Twitter spokeswoman Katherine Hill declined to say whether an editing feature could be rolled out to all users.
Many Twitter users — among them, Kim Kardashian, Ice T, Katy Perry and McDonald’s corporate accounts — have long been begging for an edit button.
The company recently teased its users with an April Fool’s Day tweet saying that we are working on the edit button. The official Twitter account said on Tuesday that the April 1 tweet was not a joke and it has been working on it since last year.
Twitter also said it didn’t get the idea from a Twitter poll commissioned by Tesla CEO Musk that polled more than 4 million people. Musk had asked followers if they’d like an edit button, misspelling Yes as Yes and No.
Musk also tweeted that he expects Twitter to make significant improvements in the coming months.
The company is currently in the midst of a $44 billion buyout by Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk, according to Forbes magazine.
(with inputs from agencies)