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Want to have a conversation on Twitter? That may get easier soon.
Twitter is considering two new features designed to make conversations easier. Both are intended to make interacting with others more engaging.
Twitter’s head of product, Sara Haider, recently tweeted about the features being tested by Twitter and asked for feedback:
hey Twitter. we’ve been playing with some rough features to make it feel more conversational here. presence and reply threading. still early and iterating on these ideas. thoughts? pic.twitter.com/3U3NvpHWPy
— Sara Haider (@pandemona) August 31, 2018
Her tweet was re-tweeted by Twitter’s founder, Jack Dorsey:
Playing with some new Twitter features: presence (who else is on Twitter right now?) and threading (easier to read convos) https://t.co/aCVRxVDfy0
— jack (@jack) August 31, 2018
Whether these two new features will work to stimulate conversation remains to be seen. But clearly Twitter is investing in making its social media more social.
Threaded Replies
Twitter is testing threaded replies. Much like text messages, Twitter conversations will be more obvious because replies will be indented and shaded with a different color.
You’ll be able to see more clearly what is a reply to a tweet, and even a reply to a reply, versus what is an original tweet.
Right now Twitter shows replies with a line between tweets. This designation isn’t always as clear as it could be and sometimes results in confusion.
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Online Status Indicator
The second new feature Twitter is considering is what they call “presence” — a status indicator showing a green dot for users who are currently online using Twitter.
As with Facebook and Instagram, Twitter would show a green dot for users who are currently active on the site. According to Haider, the activity status feature “could be a fun way to invite more conversation, if you’ve got time and are hanging out on Twitter.”
would want you to have full control over whether or not you’re showing the status. but i think it could be a fun way to invite more conversation, if you’ve got time and are hanging out on Twitter
— Sara Haider (@pandemona) August 31, 2018
In a reply to a comment about her tweet, Haider explained that the green dot status indicator would be optional. You’d be able to turn it on and off, so you’d have total control whether you want to let the world know you’re currently active on Twitter.
Some were concerned that the status indicator could be abused by others.
But others thought that the status indicator might generate more interaction on Twitter. In the conversation on Twitter between Haider and others, one person commented that they might be more willing to reply to an older tweet if the person who posted the tweet was currently online.
But another person thought that they might be less likely to reply to a tweet if the person who posted the tweet had a gray dot and was no longer actively using Twitter.
Poll
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Your Thoughts
Do you like the idea of Twitter becoming more conversational? Do you think these new features will help Twitter encourage conversations? Which of these features do you like? Would you turn your Twitter status indicator on or off?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
I think I like the status notification but the other one for conversations is similar to what they have.
I would keep my status notification on once the option is available.
Twitter seems to be making more changes lately to keep up with Facebook. I hope they keep their own unique features.
Thanks for sharing about this one and have a great Labor Day and week ahead!
Hi Lisa, Great points. Yes, Twitter certainly is trying to encourage more social interaction. It was interesting to see how they announced these new tools, through tweets instead of rolling out the changes with an announcement.
I do wonder whether the status indicator would be a magnet for trolls, but I like that Twitter users could turn it off, especially if abuse happened.
I do hope Twitter makes these changes available for everyone so we could see how they work.
Hi Carolyn,
This is great news. It is good to know finally Twitter has come up with this welcome change.
Thanks for sharing, have a great day. 🙂
Hi Tarique, Yes, these changes could really help Twitter become more social.
Hi Carolyn,
Good post! I am glad Twitter has finally come up with something like this. Though I wouldn’t want it to lose its identity. Twitter is different from Facebook and I believe That is what makes it appealing to users. So I think these positive changes are welcome however they should change much and follow Facebook’s path. Because that way it will lose its identity.
Thank you for sharing, have good day. 🙂
Hi Sajid, Great point. You’re right, if Twitter makes too many changes towards making it like Facebook, people might give up on Twitter and just use Facebook.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Sajid.
Hi
Carolyn,
Great information. Twitter’s new features will be make conversations easier. The color feature will help to see replies more clearly. Happy to know that the green dot status indicator will be optional where we are able to turn it on and off.
Thanks for sharing this informative post with us.
Have a great day.
Praveen Verma
Hi Praveen, Yes, I hope they do make these changes to Twitter. Both ideas will help with engagement, and make conversations easier.
You’re right, making the status indicator optional is very important. If it were mandatory, many people would be quite upset.