SOCIAL
Twitter’s Testing a New ‘Undo’ Option for Sent Tweets

The now legendary Jane Manchun Wong has done it again.
For years – basically for all of Twitter’s existence – Twitter users have called on the platform to add an ‘Edit’ option so that they can correct those annoying grammatical errors, which always seem to infiltrate your best tweets. Twitter has repeatedly said that it’s not going to happen, but there have been signs of a potential compromise, like, say, a short window of time after pressing ‘Tweet’ to recall your missive.
Now, that could be what Twitter’s developing – check out this example:
As you can see here, the new option would enable you to recall your tweet within a 5-second window, which could be enough time to quickly check over your witty observation and catch any clumsy errors before it’s unleashed.
The format here is likely not the final version – as several Twitter users have noted, the prompt obscures the tweet in question, which renders it somewhat ineffective. But once finalized, it could indeed be a good compromise. It won’t please all of those dedicated, and passionate, tweet editing advocates. But it’s something – and it could be a valuable option, in several ways.
The main usage here would be to catch errors, but an additional benefit could be that it enables users to also re-think their tweet before sending. Small elements of friction like this within the tweet process can often be enough to provide a moment of clarity, and may stop users from sending offensive or unintended comments as a result.
That’s what Twitter’s found with some of its other prompts, like its ‘read before retweeting’ pop-up, which Twitter says has lead to people opening articles 40% more often when displayed.

That success has lead to Twitter adding other nudges in the process, like alerts on tweets that have been flagged for misinformation. Those extra prompts are easy to go through, so they don’t clog up the tweeting process, and negate engagement. But they do give users an extra moment of pause to consider their messaging.
But the main benefit will be grammatical mistakes. As noted, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey actually flagged this exact compromise back in 2019, in an interview with Joe Rogan.
As per Dorsey:
“The reason we don’t have edit in the first place is we were built on SMS, we were built on text messaging. 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. You could build it as such so maybe we introduce a 5-second to 30-second delay in the sending. And within that window, you can edit. The issue with going longer than that is it takes that real-time nature of the conversational flow out of it”.
Any longer than this, and Dorsey has always opposed the idea, but a small window of time to revise has been on the cards even as far back as 2016.
It’s just never progressed into fleshed out option – and last year, Dorsey once again responded to the edit tweets question by alluding to this editing window, before finally saying:
“But we’ll probably never do it”
That seemed to be the nail in the coffin – but like The Undertaker, it appears to be rising from the grave once again.
It’s not tweet editing, it’s not going to solve all your editing desires and ensure that you don’t end up with any errors in your tweets. But it could be a valuable addition, and given the advanced look of this prototype, it does seem to be on its way.
We’ll keep you updated on any progress.
SOCIAL
Twitter Outlines New Platform Rules Which Emphasize Reduced Reach, as Opposed to Suspensions

After reinstating thousands of previously suspended accounts, as part of new chief Elon Musk’s ‘amnesty’ initiative, Twitter has now outlined how it will be enforcing its rules from now on, which includes less restrictive measures for some violations.
As explained by Twitter:
“We have been proactively reinstating previously suspended accounts […] We did not reinstate accounts that engaged in illegal activity, threats of harm or violence, large-scale spam and platform manipulation, or when there was no recent appeal to have the account reinstated. Going forward, we will take less severe actions, such as limiting the reach of policy-violating Tweets or asking you to remove Tweets before you can continue using your account.”
This is in line with Musk’s previously stated ‘freedom of speech, not freedom of reach’ approach, which will see Twitter leaning more towards leaving content active in the app, but reducing its impact algorithmically, if it breaks any rules.
New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.
Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter.
You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
Which means a lot of tweets that would have previously been deemed violative will now remain in the app, and while Musk notes that no ads will be displayed against such content, that could be difficult to enforce, given the way the tweet timeline functions.
But it does align with Musk’s free speech approach, and reduces the onus on Twitter, to some degree, in moderating speech. It will still need to assess each instance, case-by-case, but users themselves will be less aware of penalties – though Musk has also flagged adding more notifications and explainers to outline any reach penalties as well.
“Account suspension will be reserved for severe or ongoing, repeat violations of our policies. Severe violations include but are not limited to: engaging in illegal content or activity, inciting or threatening violence or harm, privacy violations, platform manipulation or spam, and engaging in targeted harassment of our users.”
Which still means that a lot of content that these users had been suspended for previously would still result in suspension now, and it leaves a lot up to Twitter management in allocating severity of impact in certain actions.
How do you definitively measure threats of violence or harm, for example? Former President Donald Trump was sanctioned under this policy, but many, including Musk, were critical of Twitter’s decision to do so, given that Trump is an elected representative.
In other nations, too, Twitter has been pressured to remove tweets under these policies, and it’ll be interesting to see how Twitter 2.0 handles such, given its stated more lax approach to moderation, despite its rules remaining largely the same.
Already, questions have been raised on this front – Twitter recently removed links to a BBC documentary that’s critical of the Indian Government, at the request of India’s PM. Twitter hasn’t offered any official explanation for the action, but with Musk also working with the Indian Government to secure partnerships for his other business, Tesla, questions have been raised as to how he will manage both impacts concurrently.
In essence, Twitter’s approach has changed when it chooses to do so, but the rules, as such, will effectively be governed by Musk himself. And as we’ve already seen, he will make drastic rules changes based on personal agendas and experience.
Twitter says that, starting February 1st, any previously suspended users will be able to appeal their suspension, and be evaluated under its new criteria for reinstatement.
It’s also targeting February for a launch of its new account penalties notifications.
SOCIAL
4 new social media features you need to know about this week

Social media never stands still. Every week there are new features — and it’s hard for the busy comms pro to stay up-to-date on it all.
We’ve got you covered.
Here’s what you need to know about this week.
Social media sleuth Matt Navarra reported on Twitter that LinkedIn will soon make the newsletters you subscribe to through the site visible to other users.
LinkedIn will make your newsletter subscriptions visible to others from February 11, 2023. pic.twitter.com/iMK2C3TLPE
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) January 23, 2023
This should aid newsletter discovery by adding in an element of social proof: if it’s good enough for this person I like and respect, it’s good enough for me. It also might be anopportunity to get your toe in the water with LinkedIn’s newsletter features.
After admitting they went a little crazy on Reels and ignored their bread and butter of photographs, Instagram continues to refine its platform and algorithm. Although there were big changes over the last few weeks, these newer changes are subtler but still significant.
First, the animated avatars will be more prominent on profiles. Users can now choose to flip between the cartoony, waving avatar and their more traditional profile picture, rather than picking one or the other, TechCrunch reported, seemingly part of a push to incorporate metaverse-esque elements into the app.
Instagram also appears to have added an option to include a lead form on business profiles. We say “appears” because, as Social Media Today reports, the feature is not yet listed as an official feature, though it has rolled out broadly.
The feature will allow businesses to use standard forms or customize their own, including multiple choice questions or short answer.
In the chaotic world of Twitter updates, this week is fairly staid — with a useful feature for advertisers.
Millions of people on Twitter search for what’s happening every day.
Now advertisers can bid to insert Promoted Tweets solely among specific search results, reaching people with high real-time intent & improving ad relevance.
— Twitter Business (@TwitterBusiness) January 25, 2023
The platform will roll out the ability to promote tweets among search results. As Twitter’s announcement points out, someone actively searching for a term could signal stronger intent than someone merely passively scrolling a feed.
Which of these new features are you most interested in? That LinkedIn newsletter tool could be great for spreading the word — and for discovering new reads.
Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.
COMMENT
SOCIAL
Twitter Tests Expanded Emoji Reaction Options in DMs

Twitter’s looking to give users a broader set of emoji reactions for their DMs, while also, potentially, enabling personalization of your quick reactions display in the app.
As you can see in these mock-ups, shared by Twitter designer Andrea Conway, Twitter’s testing a new search option within the reaction pop-up in DMs which would enable you to use any other emoji as a reaction to a message.
An extension of this would also be the capacity to update the reactions that are immediately displayed to whatever you choose.

It’s not a game-changer by any means, but it could provide more ways to interact via DMs, and with more interactions switching to messaging, and more private exchanges, it could be a way for Twitter to better lean into this trend, and facilitate a broader array of response options in-stream.
Twitter’s working on a range of updates as it looks to drive more engagement and usage, including tweet view counts, updated Bookmarks, a new ‘For You’ algorithm, and more. Elon Musk has said that he can envision Twitter reaching a billion users per month by next year, but for that to happen, the platform needs to update its systems to show people more of what they like, and keep them coming back – which is what all of these smaller updates, ideally, build to in a broader approach.
But that’s a pretty steep hill to climb.
Last week, Twitter reported that it’s now up to 253 million daily active users, an increase on the 238 million that it reported in July last year. Daily and monthly active usage is not directly comparable, of course, but when Twitter was reporting monthly actives, its peak was around 330 million, back in 2019.

As noted in the chart, Twitter switched from reporting monthly active users to daily actives in 2019, but looking at the two measurements, it’s hard to imagine that Twitter’s monthly active usage is any more than 100m over its current DAU stats.
That means that Twitter has likely never reached more than 350 million active users – yet Musk believes that he can best that by close to 200% in a matter of months.
Seems unlikely – even at current growth rates since Musk took over at the app, Twitter would only be looking at around 500 million users, optimistically, by the end of 2024.
If it can maintain that. More recent insight from Twitter has suggested that user activity has declined since those early post-Musk purchase highs – but maybe, through a range of updates and tweaks, there could be a way for Musk and Co. to maximize usage growth, beyond what seems possible, based on the stats.
We’ll find out, and as it pushes for that next level, you can expect to see more updates and tweaks like this, with enhanced engagement in mind.
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