SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 13 ― To prevent its users from fleeing to other platforms, Twitter has launched a new feature that's still in testing. When a user takes a screenshot, a pop-up alert will appear, giving them the option to instead copy the tweet link or share the tweet, as revealed by engineer Jane Manchun Wong.

Sharing the experience

The social network hopes to prevent users from sharing tweets outside the realm of the application and without using the platform's internal tools, potentially leading to a loss of engagement and reach. In fact, while Twitter has 238 million daily active users, the platform estimates that over 500 million people see Twitter content each month without logging in.

Twitter is a key hub for trends on social networks, as shown by an infographic from "Know Your Meme,” compiling the origin of memes across the most popular social platforms between 2011 and 2022. While Twitter appears to have seen a decline since 2020, this notably coincides with the rise of TikTok.

On social networks such as Instagram and TikTok, many users share screenshots of humorous or controversial tweets to start a discussion. The content posted on Twitter, however, does not benefit from the engagement generated on other platforms. It is in the aim of curbing this dilution of its audience that, in December 2020, Twitter launched a trial for sharing tweets directly on Snapchat and Instagram.

A push towards shopping

Another trend on which Twitter is betting is online shopping. Like TikTok, which is still working to expand the field, the social network intends to reach out to users with product display cards integrated into tweets, as discovered by Jane Manchun Wong. This new option will allow brands to better highlight certain products of their choice, facilitating their advertising directly on the application's news feed, thus reaching many other users. These product display cards will have a dual purpose: to direct the user to the e-commerce site, or to the "Shop” tab directly on the user's profile. It's a way to stimulate interactions and promote a shopping experience without having to leave Twitter. ― ETX Studio