Elon Musk just bought Twitter and now the entire internet is on fire (or so it is). Big changes are likely to roll out when the dust starts to settle, but Twitter users can look forward to some exciting new features as they wait to see what Musk has planned for the 16-year-old social media platform.
First, you can now choose to enable or disable closed captions (often abbreviated as CC) whenever you want. This isn't Twitter's first CC feature, but it seems to be the most convenient, and this updated CC feature will complement other accessibility features Twitter is currently rolling out, including the long-awaited ALT badge that allows capturing images. descriptive.
With video subtitles or without subtitles, it's now easier to choose for some of you on iOS and soon on Android. For videos that have subtitles available, we are testing the option to enable/disable subtitles with a new "CC" button. pic.twitter.com/Q2Q2Wmr78UAApril 22, 2022
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Another feature being rolled out is the ability for iOS users to create their own GIFs for the platform. The video can be captured on your iOS device within the app and easily converted to a GIF to, as Twitter describes it, "capture your vibe."
The functionality of this seems quite limited as there are no editing features to allow you to apply a filter or effects, but it could be a big plus for content creators who want to spend less time editing social content outside of the app.
Okay, GIFs aren't new, but what's *new* is the ability to capture your own using the app's camera on iOS. pic.twitter.com/3Hl6q78e6sMarch 22, 2022
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Speaking of GIFs...
This isn't the only new GIF-related feature on the horizon, as it appears that Twitter is developing something that will allow users to attach photos, GIFs, and videos to a tweet at the same time. This was spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who claims to have found references to the feature in the Android app in July 2020, although nothing was visible at the time.
Don't worry if you're an iOS user either, as it seems that references for the same feature have been found in the iOS version of the app. Clearly, this is all still in development, so we don't know when the feature will be released to the public, but hopefully soon.
#Twitter is working on letting you attach photos, videos, and GIFs to a tweet at the same time 👀 pic.twitter.com/uZazWRX0YrApril 23, 2022
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Finally, Twitter announced that it would ban misleading ads that contradict climate change, the established scientific consensus. This statement was made on Earth Day (Friday, April 22) on the official Twitter blog.
The blog states that "This month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released an alarming new report, underscoring the urgency of the climate crisis: 'immediate and deep cuts in emissions,' they write, are needed to reverse the tide of global crisis". heating
Now more than ever, meaningful climate action, from all of us, is essential. "Today, on #EarthDay2022, we're sharing more about our work to serve the climate conversations happening on Twitter, as well as breaking news about our own sustainability commitments."
There was little information about how this will be regulated, with Twitter simply saying that the ban on offensive ads will be guided by "authoritative sources, such as assessment reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Global Climate."
Still, Twitter aims to have its data centers run on a 100% carbon-neutral power source by the end of 2022, and the company seems determined to meet that deadline.
The blog post also says: "To better serve these conversations, misleading ads on Twitter that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change are prohibited, in accordance with our Inappropriate Content Policy. We believe climate denial should not be monetized on Twitter, and that misleading ads should not distract from important conversations about the climate crisis."
It's worth pointing out the obvious here: Elon Musk has nothing to do with any of these new features, but he'll likely start development to implement some of them in the coming weeks. We won't know what the billionaire has in store for his latest toy for at least a few months, but we wouldn't be surprised if an announcement is made ahead of time outlining the planned changes.
Analysis: What does Elon have planned for Twitter?
Musk might consider speeding up the Tweet Edits feature that is already in development, given that he has already tweeted in support of its implementation. This will further increase his public appeal, but anything else he might have up his sleeve is a mystery.
In a statement about the acquisition, Musk said: "Free speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital public square where issues vital to the future of humanity are discussed.
"I also want Twitter to be better than ever by improving the product with new features, open-sourcing algorithms to increase trust, defeating spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has huge potential. I don't see time to work with the company and the user community to unlock it."
What we do know is that Musk wants to make sure Twitter supports free speech on all sides, though there is some confusion about what that might actually mean, given that it doesn't. There is no empirical evidence to support that this is not already the case.
You can also review certain user bans, including former President Trump and Infowars creator Alex Jones. You can check out the list of current Twitter bans and suspensions on Wikipedia, and given the number of people banned from the platform who have a history of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and general extremism, it's only natural that some current Twitter users care. back to the platform.
Musk could also power NFTs and cryptocurrencies using the Twitter platform, just like he used his own account. This has led to accusations that he is using market manipulation tactics due to his position of power, a valid criticism, but one that his lawyers have rejected.
Still, investors and backers will be more interested in Musk's growth plan and how he can transform the platform to generate more revenue from existing users. Your ability to manifest money and business acumen could be a real asset to the company, but just because something is marketable doesn't mean it will retain your user base or subscribers.
Social media takeovers have gone wrong in the past. Hopefully, Musk has had time to study what happened to Tumblr after the Yahoo acquisition and is willing to learn from his mistakes, lest there be a mass migration of Twitter to a more welcoming space. With Facebook's user base sinking, the potential transformation or desecration of Twitter could be the spark that brings us closer to Internet 2.0.