Wednesday, November 12, 2014 | By Kevin Weil (@kevinweil), VP of Product [18:34 UTC]
Everything that happens in the world happens on Twitter, and we’re
constantly working to make it easier to create, share, consume and
connect to what’s happening right now – whenever and however it’s most
convenient for you.
This morning, I had the opportunity to present our plan to deliver on that at our
Analyst Day
conference. I want to take a moment to share our vision with you and
offer some insight into product improvements we’re bringing to Twitter
in the coming months.
Earlier this year, we set out to make Tweets richer and more
engaging, giving users more ways to Tweet beyond text. We brought
videos, Vines and
GIFs into the home timeline, and introduced features that let you post
multiple photos, tag people in photos and express yourself using
emojis. To showcase all of this media, we launched a new
profile design. We also introduced a new way for partners to share
premium video and
audio on Twitter, so you can preview and play with just one tap.
But aside from just watching video more easily on Twitter, you should be able to record, edit and share your
own videos natively on Twitter too. Alongside short looping
Vine
videos, we think you’ll have fun sharing what’s happening in your world
through native video. You can expect to see this in the first half of
next year.
Right now, what you see of the 500 million Tweets published every day
is based entirely on who you follow, and that’s a great model for many
people. But with that many Tweets every day, there’s no way even the
most avid Twitter user will find everything that’s relevant to their
interests in any particular moment. That’s why we’re exploring ways to
surface relevant Tweets so the content that is interesting to you is
easy to discover – whether you stay on Twitter all day or visit for a
few minutes – while still preserving the real-time nature of the
platform that makes Twitter special.
For instance, we’re
experimenting
with better ways to give you what you come to Twitter for: a snapshot
of what’s happening. We can use information like who you follow and what
you engage with to surface highlights of what you missed and show those
to you as soon as you log back in or come back to the app.
We’re also working on ideas such as an instant, personalized timeline
for new users who don’t want to spend time cultivating one on their
own.
And we haven’t forgotten about Direct Messages. We have several
updates coming that will make it easy to take a public conversation
private. The first of these was announced today and will begin rolling
out next week: the ability to share and discuss Tweets natively and
privately via Direct Messages. Stay tuned!
These are just a few examples of projects and focus areas we’re
working on. Over the coming months, we are picking up the pace of
product changes and improvements. As ever, that will involve a lot of
experimentation, and we’ll be listening to your feedback along the way
to make sure we build a service you love.
