Twitter has revealed plans to trial a new feature allowing users to share ‘notes’ up to 2,500 words long.

Initially, the trial will run for two months will include selected users in the UK, US, Canada and Ghana.

Twitter said the new feature will allow users to share content exceeding the current 280 character limit and embed photos, videos, GIFs and Tweets in the new post formats.

Notes will also be readable on and off Twitter, the social media giant confirmed, and user profiles will now include a dedicated Notes tab that showcases published work.

How will Notes work?

In its announcement post, Twitter shared details on how the feature will work.

Users will be able to create a note by clicking on the ‘Write’ tab and embedding it into a tweet once completed.

Some users have already published Notes featuring images and text.

Appealing to writers

Twitter said it hopes to support writers and content creators with the Notes update, conceding that the platform’s functionality has inhibited some users in the past.

Traditionally, users have harnessed the threads function as a workaround to post longer-form content. Pictures of announcements have also been a popular go-to for users and many have directed followers to newsletters outside of the Twitter ecosystem.

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“Since the company’s earliest days, writes have depended on Twitter to share their work, get noticed, be read, create conversation – everything but the actual writing,” Twitter said in a statement online.

“With Notes, the goal is to fill in that missing piece and help writers find whatever type of success they desire.”

Keeping things in-house

Notably, this move appears to be an effort to contain users within the Twitter ecosystem.

In recent years, the social media giant has rolled-out a range of new features to keep users engaged on the platform. In 2017 it expanded the character limit on posts from 140 to 280 and introduced the audio-only Twitter Spaces chatroom function amidst the Clubhouse boom.

Last year, Twitter also purchased Dutch newsletter startup, Revue. The move was widely touted as a clear signal that the social media firm planned to compete with sites such as Substack.

Newsletters have now been fully integrated into users’ profiles.

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