Twitter’s new feature to allow direct publishing of long form content on platform

Vishwam Sankaran
·2 min read

Twitter is reportedly developing a new feature that allows users to post long-form content on the platform, which currently allows only posts of up to 280 characters.

The upcoming feature, called Twitter Notes, will allow users to write articles with formatting and media uploading options that can be tweeted and shared with followers, according to TechCrunch.

Currently, users connect a series of posts as threads to convey ideas and thoughts that require more than 280 characters.

Some users also post long-form content by writing them on other apps, taking a screenshot of it, and then posting it on Twitter, or sometimes by sharing images of hand-written text.

By allowing users to instead write long-form articles directly, Twitter Notes may change the way some people use the social media.

The feature, earlier called “Twitter Article” is reportedly being tested with a select group of users ahead of an upcoming launch.

Images posted by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong in May suggest Notes also provides formatting tools such as those for emboldening text, adding italics or strikethrough, and adding – features normally seen in blogging software.

The feature also appears to have a “Focus Mode” to expand the article to a full-screen view.

“Twitter Article looks pretty polished at this stage,” Ms Wong had said in May, suggesting it could be launched soon.

It seems to be accessible from the menu list to the right of “Tweets & replies” and before “Media” on users’ profiles.

Twitter Notes is one of the range of features the social media giant is working on.

Earlier this year, the company announced it is working on an edit button to let users fix errors in posts.

It also began testing Twitter Circle that lets users tweet specific posts to a select smaller crowd – a feature similar to Instagram’s “Close Friends” tool.

However, as the company awaits the completion of its takeover by Tesla chief Elon Musk, reports also indicate it has been pulling back resources across some of its projects, like Spaces, and Communities.