Twitter Tests Exciting New Feature
We’ve been waiting for this one!
It’s happening for real this time folks; we might finally be getting the the long awaited (and controversial) option to edit our posts on Twitter — but not in the way you may expect.
Users have been asking the platform for years to allow them to edit their tweets after they are sent. Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey, has previously stated that the app would likely never add this feature- as it was built on an SMS model. Dorsey stated in a Joe Rogan interview, “Once you send a text, you can’t take it back. So when you send a tweet it goes to the world instantaneously. You can’t take it back.”
Additionally, some users worry about the ethical issues of an edit option. Some have argued that having an edit option would compromise the integrity of Twitter, stating it would allow anyone to alter previous tweets from years ago to fit their current narrative, which in itself can be dangerous.
But it looks like Twitter is testing out an alternative to appease both the users and critics, an ‘Undo’ option.
This feature would give users the option to undo and edit a tweet after it was sent, but only for a brief period of time. This means we can go back and fix those pesky typos without having to retype the entire tweet!
My Thoughts:
Personally, I would LOVE to have this option go public. I think it offers a great solution for all Twitter users without compromising the integrity of the platform. In addition to fixing grammatical issues, this small change may make a huge impact on the overall quality of tweets.
I find it interesting that this feature is being considered at this specific time.
For many people, myself included, Twitter is where we get the majority of major news. And after a year of inconsistent information and facts about COVID-19, political conspiracies, and racial turmoil, Twitter feeds became more overwhelmed than ever.
Hopefully with this new addition, we will see more users take a second to reflect on their tweets, before sending it out to the rest of the world.
