Twitter has added some new tweaks to its new Notes long-form content option, which is now available to selected users in the app.
Launched to an initial test pool of selected writers late last month, Notes is similar to other blogging tools available on the web, with the capacity to create posts of up to 2,500 words, which are then natively embedded into the Twitter app for easy sharing.
That alleviates the need for screenshotting big chunks of text and attaching them to a tweet, or putting together long tweet threads. The idea is that this will help creators on Twitter focus more of their efforts on the platform itself, as opposed to linking their audiences out to other hosts and platforms to read their longer content.
And based on initial usage of the option, Twitter has now added some new tools to help make Notes a more valuable, intuitive platform for longer-form content.
???? Trending topics used to show up next to a published Note on web. Now, you’ll see the author’s bio.
— Twitter Write (@TwitterWrite) July 27, 2022
???? We also added the author’s bio at the bottom of each Note.
???? Writer profiles now show a Notes tab on Android.
???? Writers can now share block quotes in their Notes.
So Twitter will now look to put even more focus on the author of each note, which could help in personal brand and audience building, while it’s also adding a new quotes option, which is again similar to other blogging tools.
These are fairly minor tweaks, but it is interesting to see Twitter putting more emphasis on individual promotion, and helping writers maximize their exposure via Notes entries. The option forms another part of Twitter’s broader effort to enhance its appeal to creators, which also includes Super Follows, Tips, Ticketed Spaces, Professional Profiles and more.
It remains to be seen whether creators actually want to use Twitter as a primary channel for their efforts, particularly in regards to elements like blogging, which they can better monetize on their own sites, while also establishing more direct connection with their readers.
Still, Twitter offers greater reach and engagement potential, and if it can also facilitate more direct monetization, that could entice more creators to post exclusive content to the app, which Twitter can then use to lure more users.
In this sense, Notes is only a small part of the greater whole, so it shouldn’t be viewed in isolation, as such, and shouldn’t be judged as a competitor to, say, Wordpress or other content options. But as a part of a bigger, Twitter-focused creator approach, maybe Notes could be significant, and could help more users build their digital presence.
