Twitter tests long-form text feature Notes. What is it?

There was a time when Twitter used to have a 140-character limit for tweets. But in 2017, in order to attract new users, the micro-blogging website increased the character limit for tweets to 280 characters.

On Wednesday (June 22), Twitter said it was testing a new feature called 'Notes' that would allow users to share essay-like write-ups as a link both on and off the social media platform.

The company also said newsletter firm Revue, which it bought last year, would now be part of Twitter Write along with the 'Notes' feature, reported Reuters.

The announcement comes at a time when the company is in the middle of a $44 billion buyout by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

WHAT IS NOTES?

With the new feature, users will be able to create articles using rich formatting and uploaded media, which can then be tweeted and shared upon publishing. Users will have the option to embed photos, videos, GIFs and tweets into their Notes. Like tweets, Notes will have their own link and can be tweeted, retweeted, liked and bookmarked, reported TechCrunch.

? Introducing: Notes ?

We’re testing a way to write longer on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/SnrS4Q6toX

— Twitter Write (@TwitterWrite) June 22, 2022

A small group of writers now have access to Notes as part of the initial testing phase. Twitter said Notes can be read on and off Twitter by people in most countries.

Users who are part of the testing phase will get access to a new “Write” tab, which is where they can write and access all of their Notes. These users will also have a new “Notes” tab in their profile that holds their published work to make it easy for their followers to find their long-form content, reported TechCrunch.

HOW IT WILL IMPACT TWITTER

One reason why Twitter has been different from other social media platforms is because of its character limit. But, due to this quality, which some consider a drawback, the company has been missing out on value and attracting new users. Though users already use Twitter threads to share long posts.

With this addition, publishing articles or notes directly to Twitter would make the text indexable for marketing and search purposes. It could also link it with the company’s Newsletters feature. In 2021, Twitter bought newsletter firm Revue to take on rivals like Substack and has since integrated Revue newsletters into users’ Twitter profiles, reported The Verge.

DOESN’T NOTES RING A BILL?

It's not like Twitter with Notes feature has come with an unique idea. Facebook (now known as Meta) used to have a Notes feature but it was discontinued by the team as of October 31 2020.