What is Twitter Notes?

As reported by TechCrunch, Twitter will launch its new long-form blogging feature in the coming weeks. It is being tested with select users ahead of an upcoming public launch. Although Twitter has declined any further comments on Twitter Notes, the company said it would soon share updates about the feature.  

Twitter Notes has been in the news for quite a while. In May 2022, app researcher Jane Manchun Wong shared screenshots of a feature, named either Twitter Notes or Twitter Articles, that allowed users to write formatted blog posts with pictures, links, and embedded tweets. More screenshots of the same tool were circulated in April 2022 by another app researcher, Nima Owji, showing options for users to share posts with their followers or create standalone links for posts to share on other platforms on the internet.  

According to TechCrunch, the feature is currently called Notes, and has been given a prominent place in beta versions of the Twitter app. Although it will be reportedly ready to launch in the coming weeks, there could be delays in the launch due to further experimentation.  

Twitter before ‘Notes’ 

Prior to the rollout of Twitter Notes, long-form content existed on the platform in multiple ways. Generally, users created numbered Twitter threads to connect a series of tweets as a means of storytelling. Twitter threads were also commonly spotted while explaining any subject that stretched beyond Twitter’s supported character limit.  

Owing to this user activity, Twitter officially launched ‘Threads’ in 2017 with a new Twitter composer screen that enabled users to multi-tweet posts—or tweetstorms—that were easier to create and publish.  

Initially, Twitter’s character limit was 140. Further in 2017, the platform doubled its character limitation to 280. With Twitter Notes, users can create articles using rich formatting and uploaded media, which can be further tweeted and shared with followers after publishing.    

Possible Impacts on Twitter Characters 

Adding long-form content to Twitter could induce more significant changes to the platform. This is because doubling the character count from 140 to 280 characters could potentially change how some people use the platform to share their in-depth thoughts and opinions. Moreover, if broadly adopted, the character doubling could influence the micro-content creation of the platform.  

Arguably, adding long-form content writing to Twitter could drastically change the platform’s character. However, Twitter is already filled with long written screeds, shared in the form of threads of tweets or tweeted screenshots of others’ articles or users’ own writing (most of which are written in the iOS Notes app).   

By incorporating long-form writing into its platform, Twitter could potentially grasp onto the value of these posts. In fact, publishing articles or notes directly to Twitter would make the text indexable for marketing and search purposes. It could also give a headstart to Twitter’s nascent 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. However, the feature does not yet seem to have achieved wider popularity. 

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Anwesha Mishra

Anwesha has been a creative writer for a while. Currently, on her pursuit of tech writing, she is diving into the realms of technology to produce better content on the forever-changing world of technology. In her free time, you’ll find her humming tunes of her favourite shows or reading a book.

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