- New Twitter features already being used by sports teams
- Elon Musk says he plans to proceed with US$44bn acquisition
Twitter has launched two new multimedia features that will allow sports rights holders and broadcasters to be more creative in their posts, potentially driving engagement and reaching new audiences.
Up until now, the social network has restricted users to a single media type in each tweet, making it impossible to post a GIF reaction alongside a video.
With ‘mixed media’, anyone can use up to four pictures, videos or GIFs in a single post by tapping on the ‘media’ icon. The feature is currently limited to iOS and Android, but mixed media tweets can be viewed across multiple platforms.
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The National Football League (NFL), the Football Association (FA), and several North American sports teams have already taken advantage of the capability.
‘We’re always looking for new and exciting ways to help creators share more and be seen,’ said Twitter.
‘Mixing different types of visual content together in a single Tweet allows creators to express themselves beyond 280 characters and gives them more ways to tell their story.’
Will @dalvincook rush for a 4th straight 1,000-yard season in 2022?
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2022
Happy 27th birthday to the @Vikings’ Pro Bowl RB! pic.twitter.com/kljcnFMVAE
The second addition is ‘immersive video viewer’. When a user clicks or taps on any video in the platform, it will automatically switch to full screen. If users like the video they are watching, they can keep on swiping up to see more like it, making the video experience on Twitter much more like the algorithmic approach pioneered by TikTok and employed by Instagram’s Reels.
The new features come in the same week that Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk announced he wanted to proceed with a deal to acquire Twitter, having previously attempted to renege on the US$44 billion transaction.
Musk has hinted he plans to use Twitter as the focal point for ‘X’, a super-application similar to the likes of China’s WeChat.
