Twitter Changes - 3 Things You Might Have Missed

It's absolutely no secret that Twitter's a social platform with a lot to prove. Growth has slowed, leadership has been questioned, and there's a feeling that the forthcoming big changes to character limits is the last roll of the dice. However, there's been some more subtle tweaks that we reckon not everyone knows about. So here's 3 quick points;

1) Connecting Contacts

Last Month, Twitter realised that without following the people you know, it's not particularly "social" media at all. After all, if we wanted 24hr news, there's no shortage of places to get it. To combat this, Twitter introduced the Connect tab, allowing you to search through your contacts for people to follow. Not only this, you can also receive recommendations based on location and the types of people you already follow. To get there, follow Twitter's helpful guide below;

2) Go Live

It feels like everyone has seen "that" Chewbacca Mom video, and it goes to show the value of live video. Indeed, even Facebook prioritises live streams in the newsfeed, making it a great way to get the message out quick. If we look across to Snapchat, we see the value of video even more pronounced, with videos gaining 8-10x more engagement than traditional text or picture driven copy. If you're lucky enough as not be tied to an Apple device, some users will see a "go live" button which connects you to Periscope, and lets you show a live feed on Twitter. Gone is the 140 character Q&A.

3) Images, Polls, Videos

We're not quite there with this yet, but one big change to keep an eye on - especially if you're a fan of visual content - is the coming removal of media counting towards your character count.

This will also apply when you've used any @handles to reply. Not the biggest change in the world, but one that opens up a world of possibility. Considering that a link and a photo consumes 48 of your 140 character, you're now going to open up around 20% more Tweet space. Don't waste it.