Twitter confirms it’s working on a built-in Notes feature

Twitter said in a tweet that it is now developing a new long-form writing capability called Twitter Notes. According to the site, a small number of users in the US, UK, Canada, and Ghana presently have access to the functionality, and users “in most countries” may read Notes on and off Twitter. In two different GIFs, Twitter explained how the functionality will function. Users may begin composing a Note by selecting the “Write” option, and when done, they can embed the Note into a tweet. On the site, some authors have already released Notes, which are extended pieces that incorporate tweets, videos, and photographs.

This feature has been the subject of leaks and reports for months, including the revelation from sources on Tuesday that first hinted (but now confirms) that Twitter is developing it. App researcher Jane Manchun Wong published screenshots of a feature in May that went by the names Twitter Notes and Twitter Articles in various locations. It allowed users to create blog articles with formatting, images, links, and embedded tweets. More images of the same tool, showing choices for users to share content with their followers or create standalone links for posts to share elsewhere on the web, were posted by another app researcher, Nima Owji, in April.

Always-form writing might fundamentally alter Twitter’s identity, which has long been characterized by short-form writing (at first, tweets were just 140 characters in length, before doubling to 280 characters in 2017). On the other hand, Twitter may already be rife with larger pieces of writing that are shared in the form of tweet threads, tweeted screenshots of articles authored by others, or users’ own work (usually captured in the iOS Notes app). Twitter may be able to increase the value of these messages by integrating long-form writing into its platform. Directly posting articles or notes to Twitter would make the material searchable and marketable. It may also integrate with the fledgling Newsletter function offered by the business. Twitter acquired newsletter provider Revue in 2021 to compete with Substack and other providers, and it has subsequently incorporated Revue newsletters into users’ Twitter accounts. The film does not, however, appear to have gained widespread acclaim just yet.