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Tweet (Twitter)

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

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"Tweeting" and "Tweeted" redirect here. For the animal behavior, see Bird vocalization.


A tweet by @karenism from 2007: "catching bugs. squish squish!"
A user tweeting about bugs

A tweet (officially renamed to an x in 2023)[1] is a short status update on the social networking site Twitter, which can include images, videos, GIFs, straw polls, hashtags, mentions, and hyperlinks. Around 80% of all tweets are made by 10% of users, averaging 138 tweets per month, with the median user making only two tweets per month.

Twitter has experimented with changing how tweets work over the years to attract more users and to keep them on the site. The character limit was originally 140 characters when the service started, had media attachments no longer count in the mid-2010s, and doubled altogether in 2017.

Content[edit]

A tweet can contain up to 280 characters and include media. Users subscribed to Twitter Blue can post up to 25,000 characters and can include bold and italic styling.

Character limit[edit]

Tweets originally were limited to 140 characters when the service launched, in 2006. Twitter was originally designed to be used on SMS text messages, which are limited to 160 characters. Twitter reserved 20 characters for the username, leaving 140 characters for the post.[2] The original limit was seen as an iconic fixture of the platform,[3][4][5] encouraging "speed and brevity".[6]

Increasing the limit had been a topic of discussion inside the company for years, and had been resurfaced in 2015 for ways to grow the userbase. At the time, internal discussion also involved excluding links and mentions from the character limit.[7] By January 2016, an internal product named "Beyond 140" was in development, targeting Q1 of the same year for expanding tweet limits.[8] By the end of 2015, the company was moving close to introducing a 5,000 or 10,000 character limit.[9] An unfinalized version had tweets that went over the old 140 character threshold only showing the first 140 characters, with a call-to-action that there was more in the tweet. Clicking on the tweet would reveal the rest, which was done to retain the same feel of the timeline.[8][9]

The change was controversial internally[10] and met with backlash by users.[11] Dorsey confirmed that the 140 character limit would remain, but had told employees upon his return as CEO that the once-sacred aspects of Twitter were no longer untouchable.[11]

In May 2016, a week after being leaked,[12] Twitter announced that media attachments (images, GIFs, videos, polls, quote tweets) nor mentions in replies would no longer increase the character limit to be rolled out later in the year to ready developers.[13][14] The changes rolled out in September,[15][16][17] except for the @replies, which were tested in October[18][19] and then rolled out in March 2017, a year after the original announcement.[20][21][22] These changes were a compromise to internal resistance to a 10,000 character limit from the year before.[10]

On 26 September 2017, Twitter announced the company was testing doubling the character limit—from 140 to 280. It was an effort for users to be more expressive with their tweets,[23][10] as users would be cramming ideas into a single tweet by rewriting and removing vowels,[24] or not tweeting at all.[25] It began testing to a small group of users in all languages, excluding Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, because the three languages can say double the amount of information in one character. According to the company's statistics, 0.4% of tweets in Japanese hit the 140 character ceiling, while 9% of tweets in English hit the ceiling.[6] Users not in the test group were able to see and interact with them normally.[3]

The change was similarly controversial internally as the 10,000 character limit proposal.[25] The immediate reaction by Twitter users was largely negative.[26]

Links[edit]

URLs can be linked on Twitter. A tweet's links are converted to the t.co link shortener, and use up 23 characters out of the limit.[12] The shortener was introduced in June 2011 to allow users to save space on their links, without needing a third-party service like Bitly or TinyURL.

Media[edit]

A screenshot of a Tweet with a yellow image.
Media added to tweets appear with the tweet.

Some users use screenshots of text and uploaded them as images to increase the amount of words they could include in a tweet.[27]

Cards[edit]

A crop of a Tweet linking to a Wikipedia article, which has a card below it with the title and an image.
Some websites allow Twitter to grab metadata from the webpage linked to in a tweet, including Wikipedia articles.

Beginning in 2012, tweets linking to partnered websites would show, below the content of the tweet, expanded media: an excerpt of a linked news article or an embedded video. Twitter already had a way to see Instagram posts and YouTube videos, called "expanded tweets".[28][29][30][31] Twitter then began allowing websites apply to test offering cards for Twitter users.[32] Later in 2012, notably after Facebook purchased it, Instagram started cropping images displayed in cards, with the plan to end them all together.[33][34][35][36]

CoTweets[edit]

Between July 2022 and January 2023, Twitter tested a feature where two users could be the author of a tweet, which would be posted on both of their accounts. Both users' profile pictures, names, and handles are shown.[37][38] One user drafts a tweet in the Composer field, then invite a user that is both following them and has their account published.[37] Edits could not be made once the invite was sent, with the alternative being deleting the invitation and making a second one.[39] The second author could accept the invitation, at which the tweet would then be posted to both accounts.[37] Once published, the second user could revoke them being a co-author, and the tweet would change to being written by the first author and being removed from the second author's tweets.[40] Until the second author accepts the invitation, the tweet would be unlisted, not appearing on the authors' timelines or in searches, but available via a direct link.[41]

It was tested with some accounts in the US, Canada, and South Korea.[42] The company noted during the test that the feature may be turned off and all CoTweets deleted.[37] The feature was spotted in code in December 2021.[40]

On January 31, Twitter suddenly and quietly decided to stop new CoTweets from being made,[43] though noted that it could return in the future.[44] CoTweets were able to be seen for another month, before being converted to a normal tweet for the first author, and a retweet for the second author.[45] Though Twitter's support page offered a generic reasoning for discontinuing the feature, Elon Musk said that it was to focus on allowing users to add text attachments.[46][43]

Vibes[edit]

Twitter briefly tested a feature in 2022 that allowed users to set the current status—codenamed "vibe"— for a tweet or account, from a small set of emoji-phrase combinations. It would allow the user to either tag per-tweet, or on the profile level with it showing on tweets and the profile.[47][48][49] Testing began on vibes in June 2022 with a wider selection that could be put above tweets, but disappeared after some time. Phrases included "✔️ Current status" and "💤 Case of the Mondays".[50] Twitter removed the ability to add vibes to tweets.[when?]

Interactions[edit]

Users can interact with tweets by 'retweeting' (reblogging), liking (formerly 'favorite'), quoting the tweet, or replying to it.

Retweets[edit]

In November 2009, Twitter began rolling out the ability to 'retweet' a tweet. Prior to this, people would write "RT @username" before quoting the original tweet. Some people limited their 140 character limit down further, so that other people could always fit their entire tweet in a proto-retweet.[2]

Liking[edit]

Tweets can be liked by users, adding them to

Quote tweets[edit]

In 2014, Twitter began testing a new feature that allows users to embed a tweet inside their tweet to add additional commentary. Prior to this, users could include a snippet of another tweet in a new tweet, but were limited to quoting the—at the time—140 character limit. It was originally called "retweet with comment", and now has the name "quote tweet".[51][52]

Threads[edit]

Multiple tweets in reply to each other are grouped together in 'threads'. The 140 character limit prevented users from posting as complete thoughts as they desired, and resorted to making upwards of dozens of tweets, which all showed in a disjointed manner, dubbed a "tweetstorm".[53][27] It was popularized by Marc Andreessen.[2][54]

Bookmaking[edit]

Users are able to add a bookmark to individual tweets via the share button, saving them to revisit them later. The bookmarks are private,[55][56] but tweets display the number of times it has been bookmarked, if at all.

The development was revealed to in October 2017. The feature, highly-requested by Japanese users, started from an annual hack week at the company[57] and called "#ShareForLater".[58] Previously, users would resort to liking the tweet or by sending it to themselves.[59][60] Liking tweets is often seen as an endorsement or positive endorsement, and the likes are public and are notified to the user who made the tweet.[58][56] The feature was tested in November for some users,[61][62] and rolled out in February 2018 on mobile alongside a new share menu.[63][64] The web version of Twitter didn't test the bookmark feature until November 2018[65] When released, the user who made the tweet would have been unaware that a tweet was bookmarked.[66]

Fact-checking[edit]

Two tweets from Donald Trump: "There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way!" Underneath is an alert saying "Get the facts about mail-in ballots".
Donald Trump, months before the 2020 United States presidential election, falsely claiming that mail-in ballots are "substantially fraudulent" in two tweets. Both were applied labels that linked to Twitter's election resources center.

In March 2020, Twitter added a label to a manipulated video of then-candidate Joe Biden that Donald Trump retweeted.[67] Two months later, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitter introduced a policy that would label or warn users on tweets with COVID-19 misinformation.[67] The company said at the time that other areas would have labels covered, and shortly afterwards, misleading information on elections were included.[68]

On March 26, then-US president Donald Trump made two false statements about mail-in ballots, claiming they were "substantially fraudulent".[67] Within 24 hours of the tweet,[67] Twitter's general counsel and the acting head of policy jointly decided to label Trump's tweets, with several hours of internal debate from company leaders, and then-CEO Jack Dorsey signed off on the decision shortly before the label was applied.[68] The labels, which told readers to "Get the facts about mail-in ballots", was the first time they were applied to Trump's tweets. A spokesperson for Twitter said that the tweets contained "potentially misleading information about voting processes and have been labeled to provide additional context around mail-in ballots." The label linked to articles by CNN, The Washington Post, and The Hill, as well as summaries of claims of fraud.[67]

Two tweets by Donald Trump. One tweet is visible, with the other hidden by a label that says "This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible."
A tweet from Trump about Minneapolis was labeled and collapsed for violating "the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence."

Three days later, a tweet about the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul was hidden from view.[69]

Community Notes[edit]

The logo for Birdwatch.

In the weeks after the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Twitter rolled out a new program that allowed users to add notes underneath tweets that would benefit from additional context.

History[edit]

Jack Dorsey via Twitter
@jack

just setting up my twttr

March 21, 2006[70]

The first tweet, made by Jack Dorsey, was made on 21 March 2006. It has the Snowflake ID of 20.

Demographics[edit]

See also: List of most-retweeted tweets, List of most-liked tweets, and List of most-followed Twitter accounts

The median Twitter user tweets twice a month. Around 80% of tweets made are from 10% of the users, who tweet 138 times per month. 65% of the prolific users are women, compared to 48% of the bottom 90%. Most of the prolific users tweet about political issues. There is no difference in political views between the two groups. 25% of the prolific users use automated tools to make tweets, compared to 15% of the others.[71]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Are Tweets Now Called 'Xeets'?". Snopes. 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 McCracken, Harry (June 24, 2016). "A Brief History Of Twitter's 140-Character Limit". Fast Company. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bell, Carissa (September 26, 2017). "Twitter is actually ditching the 140-character limit (for some)". Mashable. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  4. ↑ Schofield, Zach (September 26, 2017). "Twitter is experimenting with l-o-n-g 280-character tweets". ZDnet. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  5. ↑ Perez, Sarah (September 26, 2017). "Twitter trials expanding tweets from 140 characters to 280". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wang, Selina (September 26, 2017). "Twitter to Let Some Break 140-Character Limit in Tweet Test". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  7. ↑ Wagner, Kurt; Del Ray, Jason (September 29, 2015). "Twitter Plans to Go Beyond Its 140-Character Limit". Vox. Vox Media. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2023. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wagner, Kurt (January 5, 2016). "Twitter Considering 10,000-Character Limit for Tweets". Recode. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2023. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Issac, Mike (January 5, 2016). "Longer Tweets Said to Be Coming Soon to Twitter". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Newton, Casey (September 26, 2017). "Twitter just doubled the character limit for tweets to 280". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Issac, Mike (March 18, 2016). "Twitter Rules Out Long Tweets, Sticking to 140-Character Limit". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Frier, Sarah (May 16, 2016). "Twitter to Stop Counting Photos and Links in 140-Character Limit". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  13. ↑ Lee, Dave (May 24, 2016). "Twitter revamps 140-character tweet length rules". BBC News. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ Perez, Sarah (May 24, 2016). "Twitter moves away from 140 characters, ditches confusing and restrictive rules". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  15. ↑ Welch, Chris (September 12, 2016). "Twitter's new, longer tweets are coming September 19th". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  16. ↑ Griffin, Andrew (September 20, 2016). "Twitter introduces new character limit, dropping its most famous feature". The Independent. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  17. ↑ Yu, Justin; Collins, Terry (September 19, 2016). "Twitter tweaks tweets to let you say more". CNET. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  18. ↑ Constine, Josh; Roof, Katie (October 26, 2016). "Twitter finally stops counting usernames against reply character limits in test". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  19. ↑ Reynolds, Matt (October 27, 2016). "Twitter finally ditches handles from its 140-character limit". Wired UK. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2023. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  20. ↑ Perez, Sarah (March 30, 2017). "Twitter stops counting @ Replies towards its 140 characters on web and mobile". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  21. ↑ Collins, Terry (March 30, 2017). "Twitter makes more room for replies, just don't overdo it". CNET. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  22. ↑ Newton, Casey (March 30, 2017). "Twitter redesigns replies so usernames don't count against the 140-character limit". The Verge. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  23. ↑ Castillo, Michelle (September 26, 2017). "Twitter is testing 280-character tweets, double the current max". CNBC. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  24. ↑ Wamsley, Laurel (September 27, 2017). "Twitter To Try Giving Users 280 Characters — Whether They Want Them Or Not". NPR.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Issac, Mike (September 29, 2017). "Twitter to Test Doubling Tweet Length to 280 Characters". The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  26. ↑ Watercutter, Angela (September 26, 2017). "The Internet Doesn't Need—or Want—Longer Tweets". Wired. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Frier, Sarah (January 5, 2016). "Twitter Considers Higher Character Limit for Tweets". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  28. ↑ Panzarino, Matthew (July 10, 2012). "Twitter for iOS, Android gets expanded tweets, new notifications, and more, removes 'via 3rd party client' note". The Next Web. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  29. ↑ Stern, Joanna (June 13, 2012). "Twitter's Expanded Tweets Now Include Article Excerpts and Video". ABC News. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  30. ↑ Musil, Steven (June 13, 2012). "'Expanded Tweets' bring more content to Twitter feeds". CNET. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  31. ↑ Lawler, Ryan (June 13, 2012). "Twitter Launches Expanded Tweets, Letting You Read News, Check Out Images, And Watch Video Inline". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  32. ↑ Isaac, Mike (August 1, 2012). "The Future of Twitter's Platform Is All in the Cards". Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  33. ↑ Parr, Ben (December 5, 2012). "Twitter vs. Instagram: It's all about monetization". CNET. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  34. ↑ D'Orazo, Dante (December 5, 2012). "Instagram cuts off Twitter cards integration, further souring relationship". The Verge. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  35. ↑ Crook, Jordan (December 5, 2012). "Kevin Systrom On Pulling Twitter Cards Integration: We Want Images Viewed On Instagram.com". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  36. ↑ Honan, Mat (December 5, 2012). "In Twitter's Fight With Instagram, You Take the Hit". Wired. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 Rabie, Passant (July 7, 2022). "Twitter Tests a New Feature That Lets You Co-Author Tweets". Gizmodo. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  38. ↑ Navlakha, Meera (July 8, 2022). "Twitter is testing a co-tweeting feature". Mashable. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  39. ↑ George, Anita (July 8, 2022). "Twitter CoTweets: Everything you need to know about co-authored tweets". DigitalTrends. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Malik, Aisha (July 7, 2022). "Twitter begins testing 'CoTweets' to allow users to co-author tweets". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  41. ↑ Hollister, Sean (July 4, 2022). "This is an unlisted tweet". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  42. ↑ Warren, Tom (July 7, 2022). "Twitter starts testing new CoTweets feature that lets two accounts co-author a tweet". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Barr, Kyle (January 31, 2023). "Twitter Offers No Explanation as It Puts an End to CoTweets". Gizmodo. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  44. ↑ Holt, Kris (July 31, 2023). "Twitter is killing off co-authored tweets after less than a year". Engadget. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  45. ↑ Binder, Matt (January 31, 2023). "Twitter is shutting down its CoTweets feature immediately". Mashable.
  46. ↑ Mehta, Ivan (February 1, 2023). "Twitter discontinues CoTweets, says will debut text attachments next week". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  47. ↑ Sato, Mia (April 22, 2022). "Twitter is reportedly working on a vibe check feature". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  48. ↑ Malik, Aisha (April 22, 2022). "Twitter spotted testing a feature that would let users set status updates". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  49. ↑ McDaniel, Allison (April 22, 2022). "Twitter developing its own status update feature codenamed 'Vibe'". 9to5Mac. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  50. ↑ Leffer, Lauren (July 28, 2022). "Twitter's New 'Status' Feature Is Here to Make Tweeting Even More Embarrassing". Gizmodo. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  51. ↑ Perez, Sarah (June 24, 2014). "Twitter Is Experimenting With A New Way To Retweet". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  52. ↑ Wagner, Kurt (June 24, 2014). "Twitter Testing Ways to Add Commentary to Retweets". Mashable. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  53. ↑ Warzel, Charlie (June 7, 2014). "Why Twitter's Newest Tweetstorm™ Trend Must Be Stopped". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  54. ↑ Frommer, Dan (July 10, 2014). "Marc Andreessen's first six months on Twitter were unbelievably epic". Quartz. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  55. ↑ Grigonis, Hillary K. (February 28, 2018). "Twitter's new share tools mean enjoying tweets at any time". Digital Trends. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Morse, Jack (February 28, 2018). "Twitter's new Bookmarks feature saves you from embarrassing likes". Mashable. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  57. ↑ Moon, Mariella (February 28, 2018). "Twitter makes it easier to save and share tweets". Engadget. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Perez, Sarah (February 28, 2023). "Twitter launches Bookmarks, a private way to save tweets". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  59. ↑ Li, Abner (October 9, 2017). "Twitter developing 'Save for Later' feature to easily, privately bookmark tweets". 9to5mac.com. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  60. ↑ Ghosh, Shona (October 10, 2017). "Twitter is finally building a bookmark feature so you can save tweets for later". Business Insider. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  61. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (November 23, 2017). "Twitter is testing Bookmarks, a feature to privately flag Tweets for later". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  62. ↑ Ong, Thuy (October 23, 2017). "Twitter will test Bookmarks, its save for later feature". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  63. ↑ Clover, Juli (February 28, 2018). "Twitter Officially Launches Bookmarks for Saving Tweets". Mac Rumors. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  64. ↑ Roettgers, Janko (February 28, 2018). "Twitter Adds Bookmark Feature for Tweets, Simplifies Sharing". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  65. ↑ Clover, Juli (September 6, 2018). "Twitter Testing Revamped Desktop Site With Bookmarks Integration". MacRumors. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  66. ↑ Welch, Chris (February 28, 2018). "Twitter is rolling out Bookmarks to all users today". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 67.2 67.3 67.4 Dwoskin, Elizabeth (May 27, 2020). "Twitter labels Trump's tweets with a fact check for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  68. ↑ 68.0 68.1 Dwoskin, Elizabeth (May 27, 2020). "Trump lashes out at social media companies after Twitter labels tweets with fact checks". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  69. ↑ Dwoskin, Elizabeth (May 29, 2020). "Twitter's decision to label Trump's tweets was two years in the making". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  70. ↑ Jack Dorsey [@jack] (March 21, 2006). "just setting up my twttr" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  71. ↑ Wojcik, Stefan; Hughes, Adam (April 24, 2019). "Sizing Up Twitter Users". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2023-07-26.

External links[edit]


This article "Tweet (Twitter)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Tweet (Twitter). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.


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