Twitter has wisely been observing some of the key evolving features of today’s online networking and conversation. Namely, that means following the lead set by social networking titan, Facebook. On August 31, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted that he is toying with two new features to add to Twitter – presence and threading.
Playing with some new Twitter features: presence (who else is on Twitter right now?) and threading (easier to read convos) https://t.co/aCVRxVDfy0
— jack (@jack) August 31, 2018
Presence
Twitter’s presence feature would see the introduction of the telltale green indicator below someone’s profile picture, signaling whether they are currently online. This feature can be seen on Facebook (both on computer and mobile devices) and Instagram.
The implication here is to encourage live back-and-forth, something that Twitter is often accused of minimizing or restricting. The hope is to have dialogue “feel more conversational here,” explains Director of Product Management, Sara Haider. It would also help to provoke response to tweets made longer ago; you may find someone responded to your tweet, but did so many hours ago.
Ordinarily, responding might seem awkward given how much time has passed, but if you saw the person was online, it might change your mind. Haider also suggested that this feature would help to distinguish whether a person was simply going logging on to throw a quick tweet or scrolling out of boredom, looking for someone to talk to.
for sure. but there's something about being avail for conversation *right now*. like for example, checking Twitter silently while distracted a meeting, vs being on the train for 45 mins
— Sara Haider (@pandemona) August 31, 2018
The danger of this feature was shrewdly pointed out the next day – an online indicator could easily open doors to unwanted conversation. While this complaint may simply seem antisocial to some, it could mean entirely different levels of discomfort for victims of verbal abuse and harassment.
oh and the online-indicator would be a nightmare for targets of harassment, even if it was opt-out, please don’t do it!!!!!!!!
— Avery Edison (@aedison) September 1, 2018
The initial response to the presence concept was mixed-to-negative, with many of the mixed crowd saying they would be alright with it if the feature could be toggled on and off by the user. This seems a good idea that would help to further Haider’s hypothetical scenario of being on a train: It would mean that you can have your presence indicator set to “off” by default, but then switch it on if you’re actively looking to converse, or are actively waiting for a response from somebody.
Threading
Threading is the more straightforward, less divisive concept that Dorsey proposed. This would simply afford a more streamlined, readable visual for any conversations held on Twitter. Much like Facebook, it would color, indent, and nest responses, making for a cleaner, neater thread. Twitter threads might soon end up looking more like this:
While this idea wasn’t met with abundant enthusiasm, it did not receive any of the backlash that the presence concept did. As such, you might expect to see the feature implemented some time soon. We’ve yet to get a date on when either feature will be added, but stay tuned because change is coming!
