Musk announces new Twitter features: 10k characters, encryption, emoji reactions
What's the story
Twitter is struggling financially, but Elon Musk is not done trying to enhance the user experience on the platform. The CEO announced some new features the company plans to add to the microblogging site. This includes 10,000 characters in long-form tweets, the ability to reply to individual DMs with any emojis, and encryption. The company recently introduced a zero-tolerance approach toward violent speech.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Musk is struggling to make his Twitter experiment work. New features, Twitter Blue, and even his drastic cost-cutting measures do not seem to have the expected impact on the company. The platform is still struggling to attract advertisers, its chief revenue source. The company recently resorted to another round of layoffs to cut costs. Even Musk loyalist Esther Crawford lost her job this time.
Character
Twitter to increase character count of long-form tweets
Responding to a user, Musk said on Twitter the company would "soon" increase the character count of long-form tweets to 10,000. Last month, the company increased the character limit for Blue subscribers in the US to 4,000 characters. It is unclear whether the new upgrade will be limited to Blue subscribers. Musk also did not provide a timeline for the feature's arrival.
Twitter Post
Long-form tweets with more characters will arrive soon
As an attachment? How many chars? We are extending longform tweets to 10k soon.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2023
Emojis
Users will be able to reply with any emoji
Twitter allows replying to DMs with emojis. However, users only have the option to choose from six basic emojis. This will soon change. In another tweet, Musk said Twitterati would get the chance to reply to DMs with any emoji of their choice. Along with this, Twitter also plans to introduce encryption to direct messages. It needs to be seen how that turns out.
Twitter Post
Musk also announced 'encryption'
Aiming to roll out ability to reply to individual DMs, use any reaction emoji & encryption later this month
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2023
Revenue
Twitter's December revenue declined by 40% year-over-year
Musk's new announcement comes on the heels of a report about the decline in Twitter's revenue. Per The Wall Street Journal, the social media site's revenue and adjusted earnings for the month of December fell by 40% year-over-year. The decline in revenue is closely related to advertisers estranging the platform. Ad spending on Twitter fell by 71% in December.
Information
Turkish Competition Authority fined Musk over Twitter takeover
Meanwhile, Musk or Twitter cannot catch a break. The Turkish Competition Authority (Rekabet Kurumu) fined Musk regarding his acquisition of Twitter. According to the board, the takeover occurred without its permission. Musk has to pay 0.01% of Twitter's gross income in Turkey in 2023.