2020 is finally almost over. A lot happened this year and Malaysians talked about it all on Twitter as it truly has been the only place where everyone can hang out right now. More people were seen using Twitter than ever before with daily active users growing 29% year-over-year to 187 million driven by global conversation around current events and product improvements.
Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation, which is important because it helps people learn, solve problems, and realize we are all in this together. It is indeed better when it is reflective of everyone. Before we wrap up 2020, here is a list of what Twitter built this year to make it easier for Malaysians to spark, join, and follow conversations on Twitter.
Send a Fleet (aka, a disappearing post)
People go to Twitter to talk about what’s happening but speaking one’s mind can be intimidating when 280 characters feel very public and permanent.
Twitter launched Fleets, which disappears after 24 hours, to help everyone feel more comfortable joining the public conversation. There are no Likes, RTs, or public Replies on Fleets, while replies only happen privately via Direct Message, so people can share their fleeting thoughts with less pressure. Whether one is Fleeting about his fave sports team or her fangirling moments, Fleets allow anyone join the conversation with less pressure and without overwhelming the followers’ timelines. You can read the Blog or Tweet here for more info.
Tweet with your voice
Over the years, photos, videos, gifs, and extra characters have allowed people to add their own flair and personality to conversations. But sometimes 280 characters are not enough, and some conversational nuances are lost in translation.
So, Twitter has been testing a new feature that will add a more human touch to the way we use Twitter: your very own voice. Authors have shared their stories, brands have a fresh take on connecting with their audience, and people being their raw, authentic, silly selves. Tweet with voice feature is available on Twitter for iOS, but everyone can listen to voice Tweets. Read the blog and Tweet for more info.
Control who can join your conversation
Your Tweet = your space, so Twitter launched new settings to give people more control over the conversations they start by choosing who can reply so unwanted replies don’t get in the way of meaningful conversations.
There are three options before you Tweet: 1) everyone (standard Twitter, and the default setting), 2) only people you follow, or 3) only people you mention. For Tweets with the latter two settings the reply icon will be grayed out for people who can’t reply. People who can’t reply will still be able to view and engage, Retweet, Retweet with Comment, share, and like these Tweets.
According to tests, it was found that people who had experienced harassment were 3x more likely to use these controls and shared that they feel safer talking on Twitter. Around 43 million Tweets were seen and created with conversation settings and over half of these use the “people I follow” option. Read the blog and Tweet for more info.
Follow over 5k Topics
Last year, Twitter launched Topics – so everyone can see the most relevant and interesting Tweets about what they care about and let the conversation come to them with a single tap.
When you choose to follow a Topic, be it on sports, celebrities or even school subjects, Tweets from a whole host of accounts that are experts, fans, or anyone who just talks about that thing a lot will appear on the timeline. Now, people can follow over 5,000 Topics with new Topics added every single week ranging from Astrology to Stocks. As of now, around 70 million accounts are following Topics. The most followed Topics to date are Soccer, Rap and Food. Topics are currently available in Arabic, English, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.
See the full conversation with Quote Tweets
Tweets about a Tweet also add to the conversation, so this feature was made even easier by showing all Quote Tweets, in their own timeline, in the Tweet detail view. This is available on Twitter for iOS and Android as well as twitter.com globally. Know more about this feature here.
Read before Retweeting
This year, Twitter encouraged people to read an article before they Tweet it. Hence, a prompt was made to help people to do exactly that. With these reminders, people who Retweet articles now open them 33% more often before sharing. Available on Twitter for iOS and Android globally. See this Tweet for more info.
Learning and improving never stops for Twitter, so be ready to Tweet and Fleet away this coming 2021!
