Twitter's inherent appeal has always been its microblogging element because bite-sized news are easier to chew than full-fledged blog posts or verbose articles on the web.
Even still, the platform has evolved in recent years to include what are called "tweetstorms," in which one tweet is followed by a series of multiple tweets, which collectively tells a continuous narrative with an overarching theme. Such a format is often fragmented and frazzled, but somehow, it works perfectly.
Fortunately for tweetstorm lovers, Twitter has decided to launch a new feature called "Threads" as a way to compose them more easily.
Threads For Tweetstorm Lovers
"At Twitter, we have a history of studying how people use our service and then creating features to make what they're doing easier," wrote Twitter in a blog post Tuesday, Dec. 12. "A few years ago we noticed people creatively stitching Tweets together to share more information or tell a longer story" — aka tweetstorms.
Rumored back in September, this feature is supposed to make tweetstorms more straightforward because they can be quite tricky to compose, and users often find it hard to read all the tweets that are part of a thread.
Right within the composer screen, there's now a "+" button, which adds a new tweet underneath the previous one, thus creating a tweetstorm. That's not all, though. Even after a thread has been published, the author will still be able to add more tweets via the new "Add another Tweet" button. This will be handy for tweetstorms with a developing story since it would be easier to update them once new details emerge.
Seeing threads will also be more easier than before — Twitter has added a "Show this thread" label to tweetstorms.
Who Invented Tweetstorms?
Twitter acknowledged in its blog post that Threads is the latest user-created feature that became official within the app. It follows the retweet, the @ mention, and the hashtag, among others. Threads have been a thing since 2014, when Twitter first began linking replies to originating tweets.
Popular tech figure Marc Andreessen took advantage of the feature soon afterward — many now call him the father of tweetstorms. There was an increased usage of the format during the 2016 election, when it became an ample platform for longer-form discussion.
Twitter also recently upped the tweet limit to 280 characters, giving users more freedom to compose their thoughts.
What do you think? Do you find the new Threads feature useful? Are you fan of tweetstorms? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
