Have you ever thought about what Twitter would be like if it had a check-in function similar to that of Facebook? Think about it – how much difference will it make to have your followers know where you are and what you’re doing at any time via a simple signal on each of your Tweets? Will that have some sort of benefit at all?
Well, guess we’re all finding out. Twitter’s seemingly reawakening its ‘Status’ project, which would add a small, customizable status update to Tweets.
What’s The Status?
An example shared by Alessandro Paluzzi shows that Twitter looks to develop a new status indicator, inserted into each individual Tweet, enabling you to note where you are, how you’re feeling, what your plans are, etc. It’s nothing new, but it does help add a bit more context to Tweeting- maybe. Then again, will it really?
For a little background, Twitter was already working on this as far back as 2018, along with other potential Tweet upgrades. As seen in one variation, the original concept was a tad more ‘stylistic’, and somehow looked better than its current iteration. Of course, this new iteration is still in testing, meaning that whatever we’re seeing isn’t the final look when it does hit the Live environment, provided it reaches that far. At the very least, it seems that Twitter is experimenting with the concept once more as a means to boost Tweet engagement.
Twitter’s been working on a range of updates and tests on this front as part of its push to increase usage over the next two years. Last February, an analyst day presentation revealed that Twitter has its sights on reaching 315 million mDAU (monetizable daily active users) by 2023’s end – at present, Twitter is at 100 million more users than it currently sees. Though it might not sound overly ambitious, take note that Twitter was only able to add around 18 million mDAU throughout the entirety of 2021.
If Twitter wants to reach its target, it’ll need to significantly ramp up its growth momentum, which is why it has to try out as many ‘experimental’ concepts as it can, in the hopes that they’ll cumulatively boost active in-app engagement. Status indicators seem like a lesser element on this note, but then again, every new addition is cumulative, adding up the engagement that contributes to the larger goal.
The Wrap
With all due respect, it’s going to be a major challenge for Twitter to reach these numbers, given that the platform also wants to hit from $5 to $7.5 billion revenue within the same time frame. In many ways, it’s like Twitter just painted a target on its back, but at the same time, it also kind of had to if it wanted to stay in the race.
Really, Twitter has little choice but to keep throwing things at the wall in the hopes that something sticks. At least with audio social, Twitter’s Spaces seems to be holding its own, giving Twitter a candidate for the potential next big thing. Expect to see more tests and variations on the way, with status indicators currently up-front on the list.
Subscribe to our‘Bottoms Up!’ Newsletter. Get the latest social media blogs about news, updates, trends, and effective social media strategies to take your business to the highest level from Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer.
Please note:
This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin.
Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
