Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says 'NO' to an edit button on the platform

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says they WON’T add an edit button to the platform because it would ruin the ‘vibe and feeling’ and changed tweets could mislead people

  • CEO Jack Dorsey answered questions from users in a new video interview
  • One asked if Twitter was going to add an edit button to the platform soon
  • Dorsey simply replied, ‘the answer is no’, but then went into more detail
  • Tweets were posted via SMS that can’t be recalled, so they are keeping the ‘vibe’ 
  • Editing can be used as a malicious application in a bid to mislead people

It is the most requested Twitter feature, but users are not going to see an edit button on the platform anytime soon – and the CEO has revealed why.

In a video Q&A with Wired Jack Dorsey was asked if there’ll be an edit button for Twitter in 2020, which he replied ‘The answer is no.’

He explains that tweets were originally sent via SMS and you cannot recall a text once it is sent, which is why the firm never added the option.

However, now the social media site is omitting the feature in a bid to ‘preserve the vibe’ of the original design.

There are good reasons for editing tweets, Dorsey says, like fixing typos and broken links, but also malicious applications, like editing content to mislead people.

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In a video Q&A with Wired Jack Dorsey was asked if there’ll be an edit button for Twitter in 2020, which he replied ‘The answer is no.’ He continued to explain that tweets were originally sent via SMS and you cannot recall a text once it is sent, which is why the firm never added the option

‘So, these are all the considerations,’ says Dorsey. ‘But we’ll probably never do it.’

During the interview, he did mention that Twitter has considered a window of time that lets users edit tweets, which could be anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute.

Users may not have the power to edit tweets, but the could soon control who comments on them.

Last week at CES, Twitter executives took the stage to reveal ‘conversation participants’ that appear in the Compose Tweet screen and include four reply settings: global, group, panel and statement. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=de8wRd2TQQU%3Ffeature%3Doembed

However, now the social media site is omitting the feature in a bid to ‘preserve the vibe’ of the original design. There are good reasons for editing tweets, Dorsey says, like fixing typos and broken links, but also malicious applications, like editing content to mislead people

The different options will let anyone reply, limit replies to people you follow or mention in the tweet, only let those mention leave a comment and finally, the last setting blocks all remarks.

Although Twitter said the feature is to put an end to trolling on the platform, attendees at CES asked how misinformation will be debunked if the user blocks others from replying. 

The new feature was first reported on by The Verge, which listened to Twitters director of product management, Suzanne Xie, speak at the event.

‘We’re really excited about this, because not only does it help people feel … more comfortable as a … community, but also [because it] allows us to create a whole new format of conversation,’ she explained.

Xie says that Twitter is ‘in the process of doing research on the feature’ and that ‘the mock ups are going to be part of an experiment we’re going to run’ in the first quarter.

The social media giant took the stage at CES in Las Vegas to reveal ‘conversation participants’ that will appear in the Compose Tweet screen and include four reply settings: global, group, panel and statement.

The social media giant will gather what it learned from the experiment and use them in the global launch that is set for later this year.

Twitter’s product lead Kayvon Beykpour said: ‘Part of the goal of the experiment is seeing what the outcomes are. How does that influence the ratio situation? How does that influence how people use good conversations?’

Xie was met with questions during the reveal, specifically one that asked if limiting replies could mean misinformation could not be easily refuted.

Suzanne Xie (pictured) spoke at the event and revealed ‘conversation participants’. The social media giant will gather what it learned from the experiment and use them in the global launch that is set for later this year

Although Twitter said the feature is to put an end to trolling on the platform, attendees at CES asked how misinformation will be debunked if the user blocks others from replying

She noted that this is ‘something we’re going to be watching really closely as we experiment.’

Twitter also noted that this change is aimed at reducing the more unhealthy conversations that float around its platform, rather than spark a flood of misinformation.

The feature is, for now, still only a test and will only be accessible to a small group of users. 

Twitter says it will begin experimenting with the new replies feature sometime in the next couple of months, and that it will be watching closely and looking for feedback before it decides whether to make it available more broadly.

 

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