Is Twitter dead?

The short answer is no. The long answer is found in this post.

In fact, there are a lot of new features coming out of Twitter which tells us that Twitter is still thriving.

In this post we will cover new and promising features and tests that Twitter is implementing. And they’ve all surfaced in March and we’re only halfway through the month!

Twitter is Testing Podcast Functionality

Currently, Twitter is testing out offering a podcast tab within the app. This test tells us that Twitter has plans to allow podcasters to share direct links to their episodes much like how users can share links to sign up for newsletters.

Seems like Twitter is jumping on the social audio bandwagon? 

Tweet Awards

Another function that Twitter is testing is Tweet Awards. 

This feature would allow users to donate to creators. It would be a good way to get the attention of a Twitter influencer or simply reward favorite Twitter creators.

Pin Latest Tweets

Yet another feature that Twitter is testing out is the ability for users to pin the latest tweets so that they can swipe through content without an algorithmic cluttered Twitter feed.

This feature would create an alternative feed and create a stream of the latest tweets.

In-App Shopping

Following other social platforms, Twitter is now offering “Twitter Shops” with select brands.

This feature offers a “view shop” button which allows users to view the products a brand offers within the app. 

A quote from Twitter about this new feature: “With Twitter Shops, merchants can handpick a collection of up to 50 products to showcase to shoppers on Twitter. The feature, which is free to use, gives people the chance to view products from the profiles of their favorite brands, so when you talk about and discover products on the timeline, you can now browse them on Twitter, too.”

Creator Dashboard

Just weeks ago, Twitter launched the Creator Dashboard which will help influencers on Twitter track their monetization efforts.

However, there are some requirements to be eligible for this feature. Those include US creators only, must participate in Ticketed Spaces and/or Super Follows, requires IOS, and must have more than 10k followers.

Experimental Development Team

Twitter seems to be wanting to dip its toes into a younger demographic. We think this because they recently hired Michael Sayman, a youth app expert.

Sayman is part of a new team designed to make Twitter appealing to a wider audience. Particularly, a younger audience.

This new business decision is forecasted to bring in 100 million new Twitter users.

New Insights Straight From the Source

Twitter has recently released new insights after analyzing billions of tweets.

The report can be downloaded here and looks at emerging conversation topics happening within the platform.

The three primary areas that surfaced in Twitter’s analysis are The Great Restoration, Fan-Build Worlds, and Finance Goes Social. 

Crowdsourced Fact Checking

You may be familiar with Twitter’s crowdsourced fact checking initiative–Birdwatch in which users can add notes to tweets that they think are misleading or not factual based.

Just 2 weeks ago, Twitter added new features to this functionality. 

Twitter had this to say about the new changes to Birdwatch: “Starting today, a small (and randomized) group of people on Twitter in the US will see Birdwatch notes directly on some Tweets. They’ll also be able to rate notes, providing input that will help improve Birdwatch’s ability to add context that is helpful to people from different points of view.”

This is a controversial release and in time we will see if it’s a positive or negative one.

Do you still use Twitter as part of your social media marketing strategy? If so, is it effective? We’d love to read your insights in the comments below!