What You Need to Know About Twitter Blue

Twitter has introduced its first-ever monthly subscription-based exclusive service called ‘Twitter Blue’. The new service comes with a few simple and exciting features. Currently, ‘Twitter Blue’ is made available for only users from two countries – Australia and Canada. Twitter will extend the service to all users based on the feedback from the initial run. In case if you have any doubts if the free version will be discontinued, do not worry. Twitter has clearly stated that it will not discontinue the free Twitter version anytime. Twitter Blue primarily concentrates on enhancing the user experience and allowing more customization. We had our first-hand experience with Twitter Blue and here are the features of Twitter Blue you can look forward to.

Introduction of Bookmark Folders

‘Bookmarks’ is an existing feature in Twitter. People using ‘Bookmarks’ constantly reports a common inconvenience. When a lot of tweets are bookmarked by a user, it gets messy and it is never easy to find the older bookmarked tweets. To overcome this shortcoming, Twitter Blue has introduced a new feature called ‘Bookmark Folders’. With ‘Bookmark Folders’, a user can categorize tweets under common sub-headings such as movies and books and place them in folders. The folder structure is more organized, and it lets the user manage content effectively.

Introduction of Undo Tweet

No, Twitter has not brought back the feature of ‘Edit Tweet’. ‘Undo Tweet’ is different from ‘Edit Tweet’. The major difference is this, ‘Undo Tweet’ allows you to recall the tweet before it is posted on your timeline. Once it is posted, there is no editing option. Then how exactly does an ‘Undo Tweet’ work? Here is the answer.

Twitter Blue lets its subscribed users set a timer of up to 30 seconds. If the timer value is not set manually, Twitter takes 30 seconds as the default value. When you click the ‘Tweet’ button, the tweet is not posted on your timeline immediately. Instead, the tweet will wait for the number of seconds set in the timer before it is posted. If you realized that something is not correct with your tweet and feel a need to recall, you can recall within the timer period. After the timer, the tweet will be sent, and you will not be able to undo it. Currently, the ‘Undo Tweet’ feature is not available for desktop users.

Introduction of Reader Mode

Twitter threads are commonly used to share long-form information which cannot be summarized in 140 words. Twitter users usually find it difficult to find the exact follow-up tweet of a thread and a user needs to open each tweet one by one to read a series of tweets conveying cohesive information. With Twitter Blue, accessing threads have become easier. Reader view beautifully packs the tweets in a thread and helps you read the set of tweets like a small blog without any interruptions. This feature is expected to encourage Twitter content creators to explore long-form options in Twitter.

Handy Customizations

Twitter Blue subscribers will have options to choose between a lot of new colored themes. Also, the app icon can be changed if a user wishes to give a new look to Twitter on his home screen. Twitter is planning to add a few more exciting customization options to give the user a better experience. Twitter has also set up a dedicated customer support team to support the paid users.

The above are the major features of Twitter Blue as seen so far. There are a few more things you need to know about Twitter Blue.

Things to know about Twitter Blue

• The option to subscribe to Twitter Blue is under the ‘Profile’ menu. Click on the option ‘Twitter Blue’ and then ‘Manage subscription’ to set up your Twitter Blue.
• Pricing for Twitter Blue is regional. Currently, Twitter Blue costs 3.49 CAD in Canada and 4.49 AUD in Australia per month. Pricing for other countries will be announced during the launch.
• Twitter does not offer free trials for Twitter Blue. Also, the amount paid for the subscription is non-refundable. You can cancel the subscription any time you want, and the cancellation will be effective from the expiry of the already paid period.
• Twitter Blue is not an ad-free Twitter experience. Twitter has not ruled out the possibility of making Twitter Blue an ad-free service in the future.

Conclusion

The introduction of a subscription-based service from Twitter is long-awaited and it’s finally here. The initial reviews are fairly positive though there are a lot of suggestions from users where they love improvements. It is understood that Twitter Blue will have a lot newer features added. But what are those features is a question only the time and Twitter can answer.

Do you have any interesting suggestions for Twitter Blue? Drop your suggestions in the comments!