Twitter has, on Wednesday, 13th March 2019, introduced some interesting new features to its social media app. First, it introduced a revamped version of its camera that will promote more sharing of photos and videos, almost like Instagram.
To view this feature, download the latest update of the app and swipe left on the timeline. It will allow you to snap a photo or take a looping video of up to two minutes by tapping or holding a circular capture button.
You can also tap a “live” button to begin broadcasting a stream to your followers directly from the Twitter app, somewhat like “Instalive”. However, the camera does not give you an option to upload videos or photos that were already taken on your device. This also does not affect the regular tweet upload feature.
Keith Coleman, Twitter’s vice president of product, told reporters this week that the company wants to encourage people to capture more visual moments from the world around them directly from the app.
Using Periscope, a live streaming app acquired by Twitter back in 2015, they have been able to promote live-streaming using the app. However, this new feature does not have a periscope branding. It’s all Twitter.
Interestingly, you can also now use special visual treatments on the videos and photos captured in this new feature. Upon taking a photo, a feature appears on top that lets you add an optional caption and location.
We’re updating the Twitter camera over the next few days to make it simpler to use. Capture and share what’s happening with a swipe and few taps right from your Home timeline.
But wait, there’s more! Your Tweet will also stand out in timelines with our new media-forward layout. https://t.co/0Ik0KC2UiY
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 13, 2019
Very much like the Snapchat feature, Twitter will also search your area for events happening or trending on Twitter and suggest hashtags you can use on the image. This is a very welcome development from Twitter seeing as Facebook seems to have monopolised the social media market.
They also presented a more thread-like style with more distinct bubbles around each tweet. This makes it easier to identify strays who jump on a tweet or thread. Conversations are now also more colour-coded to distinguish original tweets from replies from those you follow and don’t follow. Twitter will no longer let non-users circulate data from the app, and you will need to tap to see, like, retweet and reply options.
During the downtime yesterday, Instagram and Facebook resorted to Twitter to communicate with their users.