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Twitter down: social media website and app aren’t working – again
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It feels like every other week that the internet breaks – you've guessed it (from the headline), Twitter is down.

The social media giant is unavailable to loads of users – trying to access the web page brings up the message “Something went wrong. Try reloading.”, and the app won't refresh with newer tweets.

Reports on downdetector.co.uk jumped up into the thousands within minutes of the outage – it's worth pointing out that, while the reports also rose on downdetector.com (in the US), they didn't rise by nearly as much.

It sounds like a limited issue, as lots of TechRadar team members haven't had an issue. Saying that the sheer number of Downdetector reports shows that something is up.

Not only is the main Twitter feed down, but other Twitter sites are down too, like its Help site.

We just wanted to post a funny joke, and now we've discovered that Twitter isn't working. We're investigating.

Judging by reports from Downdetector and TechRadar's US team, the outage is affecting far fewer people in the US than in the UK – it seems mainly a British problem. Well, we can add that to the list after Freddos costing more, Magnums getting smaller and the whole cost of living thing.

In the UK, DownDetector reports more than 4,000 reports in the last few minutes. That's a huge number given how many we normally see – even for the major outages that affect multiple websites, we usually see one or two thousand reports.

This outage has come less than six weeks after the last Twitter outage.

That was a smaller one, as the main Twitter feed would load, but Tweets wouldn't – so you could see them, but not click on them or interact with them. 

Now, you can't see anything – it's radio silence.

Usually when there's an internet outage, people turn to Twitter to look for answers. That's… a little harder now.

We looked at Facebook, but Twitter itself hasn't posted there for several months. Last time it did, it was a screenshot of a Tweet about cats. What is this, 2007?

Facebook is a bit more community-focused though, so it's harder to see what people in the wider world are saying.

Reddit to the rescue though:

is_twitter_down_for_anyone_else_in_uk from r/Twitter

There's no official comment, but there are people from around the world commenting to say that Reddit isn't working for them.

Unfortunately, because Reddit's support and news room sites are all hosted by the media giant itself, they're not working either.

We're seeing a growing number of reports of outages from the US, but TechRadar's team based there hasn't seen anything.

It's likely that a server in Europe is at fault, which is why it's so much more of an issue for our UK readers than our US ones.

But we're waiting to find out from Twitter to see what's going on.

Oppo Find X5 Pro

(Image credit: Future)

Reports are well over 4,000 at the moment.

For context, the baseline is 3. That's a big difference.

Oh wait – Twitter is back! (for me at least)

This suggests the end of the outage could be here – just in time for you to return to work after your lunch break. What bad luck.

DownDetector reports for Twitter problems are finally going down – it looks like the outage could really be over.

It's not a steep plummet of reports, which suggests some people are still finding problems with their desktop site or phone app, but this at least tells us that the initial problem is being solved.

We've been looking to see if Twitter itself has commented on the outage – so far we can't see anything from any of its official accounts.

Saying that, it's got about a billion of its own accounts for different regions, aspects of the site and more, so it's very possible that one of them has posted, and we just haven't found it yet.

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Twitter rolls back another terrible feature update in new speed record
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In record time, Twitter has rolled back a feature that would force you to either look at two timelines or only view the 'Top Tweets' timeline, to the scorn of users.

For almost a week, users would have to switch between two timelines as they would scroll to see what new tweets were there from their brands and friends – myself included.

But it got to the point where I would be scrolling for five minutes, not realizing that I was on the 'Top Tweets' feed, not the 'Latest Tweets' feed.

It's a ridiculous design decision that didn't go down well with its many users. While there were some self-congratulatory tweets from designers at Twitter praising this reversal, I can't help but wonder if this was a feature purposely designed to annoy users for a short time, or communication of what users want in features at the company, has hit a new low.

Leave our feeds alone Twitter

I had spoken before about how much I hated this new feature, and I wasn't alone. Executives at Twitter were replying to others in how they were working on an alternative to this change in the feed, and we didn't have long to wait.

The alternative turned out to be Twitter reversing its decision to push 'Top Tweets' as if nothing happened. But it's an example of a feature that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Its change made no sense, and from a usability angle, it didn't give any benefits to the user.

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Having two timelines was confusing, and the added fact that the 'sparkle' icon on the top right, would give you the option to show one feed that no one wanted, was another baffling decision.

Every user on Twitter has different feeds from everyone else. It's what makes the social platform unique – its algorithm and the people you've decided to follow shape your interests while discovering new voices.

But features like this hinder the experience massively, and I'm not aware of anyone who likes to use the 'Top Tweets' feature. Twitter is a platform that many folks use to catch up on the latest news, regardless of the topic – it's not a magazine highlighting the last few days.

Hopefully, when the company realizes this, we will see less of these useless features and others that we can benefit from, such as an edit button.

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Twitter just made a big change to our timelines, and I hate it
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It appears Twitter has just flicked a switch to let you slide between two feeds on iOS, where you can decide between a feed of top tweets or chronological tweets.

However, this feature has been available for a while, thanks to the star icon on the top-right corner of your screen. You could switch between the feeds through here, and one feed would display on the app instead.

But there's now an additional swipe required to go to your profile if you're on the 'Latest Tweets', and none of this makes sense. While it's rolling out to iOS for now, Twitter has said that it's soon coming to Android and the web in the coming weeks, but I'm hoping this change is rolled back and forgotten about as soon as possible.

An additional swipe is an additional annoyance

Twitter is the social platform I use the most. Granted, there's some tweets that are written just to drum up pointless discussion, or as an attempted joke to try and go viral, but in the majority of my time there, I've found it to be a good place, and I've met a lot of great people through it.

Toward the end of 2021, the company brought out a feature to display your top tweets – this meant that any tweets with the most interaction at that time, whether it was likes or replies, would be shown at the top of your feed. But Twitter was adamant that the choice between this and a chronological feed would remain.

Overnight, it looks as though that train of thought has gone off the rails.

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Not only does it add an additional step to decide between two feeds, but I've already found myself to be confused as to which feed I'm looking at.

Not being able to unpin the algorithmic timeline feels backward, and puts the user into a corner, where you have to abide by Twitter's design, whether you like it or not.

The company has been trying different features and refinements in the last 18 months, with Fleets being a great example of something that didn't work, and it was soon scrapped.

I'm hoping the same repeats here, where Twitter will soon realize how irritating this change is, as I don't see how this benefits the user when the choice was already there, and had been designed in a better way for months anyway.

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Twitter is preparing to embrace podcasts with a dedicated section
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Serial discoverer of Twitter secrets Jane Manchun Wong has come up trumps again, unearthing signs of another exciting new feature in the social app. The reverse engineer frequently delves into the Twitter codebase, and now has fund references to a new podcast section.

Having already developed a taste for audio content in Spaces, helped to some extend by its acquisition of social podcasting app Breaker, it seems that Twitter is ready to take things further. It is not clear exactly what plans the company has for its Podcasts section, but it is something what will be welcomed by creators and consumers alike.

After burrowing into the depths of the Twitter app, Jane Manchun Wong shared an image of her findings in a tweet. it shows a microphone icon in the bottom navigation bar which is used to access the yet-to-be-released Podcasts section.

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Unpopulated with content, the Podcasts tab looks a little spartan and uninspiring, but once the feature (hopefully) goes live for everyone, it should prove to be an exciting addition to the platform.

There are several directions Twitter could take this in. It could be used for exclusive content which could in turn be used to boost revenue, be that through advertising or subscriptions. There is also the possibility of licensed content, or the ability for Twitter users to use the platform to start their own podcasts.

It could also be used as an extension to Twitter Spaces, which can already be saved as podcasts. As is so often the case with early discovery like this, the only thing we can do is wait and see how things pan out.

While it could be argued that fans of podcasts are spoiled for choice – or overwhelmed, depending on your point of view – when it comes to places to discover new content, it's important to remember a couple of things. Firstly, are there still plenty of people who are still to get on the podcast bandwagon? Secondly, new ways to discover and promote content should always be welcomed.

Via The Verge

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Twitter borrows a Window 11 feature to make settings easier to find
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Like so many other apps, Twitter has grown and developed dramatically over the years and to help give users control over things there are a huge number of settings that can be configured. Manually trawling through the “Settings and privacy” section of the app to find a particular setting can be a frustrating experience, but now there is a new option.

Much like Microsoft has done with Windows 11, as Apple has done with macOS, Google has done with Chrome and other developers have done with their own software, Twitter has finally decided to implement a search option for settings.

The real surprise here is that it has taken quite so long for such a simple and obvious idea to come to the app, but the day has – at long last – arrived. The change addresses a problem faced by many people: knowing that they want to change a setting, but not knowing which section to look in to find it.

Seek and ye shall find

With this latest update, when you pay a visit to the “Privacy and settings” section of the Twitter app, you will see a search bar at the top of the screen. Type a keyword in to this “Search settings” bar, and you'll be presented with a list of matching settings that you can jump to with a quick tap.

Twitter shared news of the new search capability in a tweet from the Twitter Safety account:

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Reception to the tweet has been positive, and this is hardly surprising given just how much it can help speed up the process of customizing, personalizing and securing a Twitter account.

The new search functionality is gradually rolling out to all versions of the Twitter app, so check for updates but be prepared to wait a little while if you don't see the option just yet.

Via SocialMediaToday

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Twitter begins to expand its downvote feature – but is it needed?
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Twitter has been working on a way to enable users to downvote tweets, while not making them public, since early 2020, however the company is expanding the feature to more users across the world, not just in US.

Downvoting was also confined to web users, but this wider testing of the feature will also apply to some iOS and Android users, where you may start to see a downward-facing arrow on some tweets.

This won't hide the tweet or let the tweeter, or your followers, know that you've downvoted. This is more for Twitter to help refine its algorithm in helping you find better curated tweets. However, users aren't convinced.

A 'hide tweet' option instead?

If you use Reddit, you'll see the downvote button everywhere. It's a major part of the site's design, as it shows other users how well the post has been responded to by others.

But Twitter has gone down another avenue here, where the downvotes are seemingly just for the company to help improve its service, which seems over-engineered.

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Other companies such as YouTube has changed how it displays dislikes, with the option remaining, but the number of dislikes being hidden, and that has also proved controversial so far. The co-founder of YouTube, Jawed Karim, spoke of his frustrations in how the platform may decline after this change.

But with Twitter, it feels as though it's a feature that doesn't need to exist. While the company explains that it's to help the content you see, there's still the bigger problem of harassment and bullying that many users have been subjected to.

Showcasing a downvote button for Twitter's algorithm is backward, and instead, there should be other features, and beefed-up existing ones to help curb the harassment.

A 'I don't like this tweet' would be beneficial, alongside more streamlined ways to report abuse on the platform. Having a downvote button that benefits Twitter, not the user may be something that will urge the company to put the feature on pause for now, and to see how it can better serve users, rather than the algorithm.

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Twitter could soon let you be much more verbose in tweets
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Since its inception, Twitter has been about content that's short and sweet. Originally capped at 140 characters, the maximum length of tweets was doubled to 280 in 2018. While this gives a little more breathing room to express opinions, the limit still forces users to be concise – or resort to tweet threads.

But a new option could be on the horizon. Evidence has been unearthed that Twitter is working on a new feature called Twitter Articles. If the feature ends up seeing the light of day, it would serve as an alternative to a tweetstorm, posting links to lengthier articles hosted elsewhere, or posting images of passages of text.

News of the feature came courtesy of serial tipster Jane Manchun Wong, who shared her finding on Twitter:

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The screenshot does not give away a great deal, but it does show that Twitter Articles could be given their own dedicated section within the app.

As there has been no official word about Articles from Twitter – coupled with the fact that the feature was only found by a well-known reverse engineer ferreting around in-app code – it is impossible to say when (or, indeed, if) the ability to post long-form articles will land on Twitter

When contacted by Social Media Today about the discovery, Twitter commented that it is “..always looking into new ways to help people start and engage in conversations”. The company did say that it would offer up more information soon.

Analysis: moving away from its origins

Keeping things short and sweet has long been Twitter's raison d'etre. For years, the character limit has prevented users from waxing too lyrically too regularly, helping to keep content flowing in easily digestible chunks.

But there have long been very vocal bands of users who have been demanding change. Some would like to see the addition of an Edit button to make it possible to amend tweets to correct spelling mistakes, but this is something that – rightly or wrongly – has been dismissed by Twitter. There have been concerns that the ability to edit tweeted material after the fact could lead to confusion and the spread of misinformation.

There have also been plenty of calls for further increases to the tweet character length, and this is something that Twitter has resisted for some time. But with the probable arrival of Twitter Articles, it seems that the company is bowing to pressure – albeit in a slightly different way to what many people would have hoped or expected.

While longer tweets will be welcomed by many, Twitter Articles would indicate quite a change of direction for Twitter and take it further away from its roots. But having branched out with options which as Twitter Blue subscriptions and the Super Follow feature, it is possible that Twitter Articles could be a feature that is only made available to a subset of users – and it could see Twitter transforming into a different type of publishing platform that competes with a slightly different sector.

Via: Social Media Today

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Twitter is working on a close-knit community feature called Flock
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Twitter is testing a new feature called Flock, that will seemingly allow you to tweet to followers in a closed group.

Social networks are, by their very nature, largely shared social experiences. But there are also options available on different platforms that make it possible to limit who can see what you post. On the likes of Facebook, this is a simple matter of configuring your audience to anything from making content public – meaning anyone can see things – to limiting viewing to a number of named individuals.

On Twitter, there aren't many options when it comes to controlling who can see your tweets. Unless you block individual users or restrict your account so it is only visible to followers, it is broadly speaking an all-or-nothing approach – but this could be able to change.

Just as Instagram has a feature that makes it possible to share content with a small group of people, we have known for a little while that Twitter is working on something similar. Towards the middle of last year, we learned about Trusted Friends – Twitter's take on Instagram's Close Friends – and now more details have started to emerge.

The first thing to note is that there seems to have been a name change. No longer known as Trusted Friends, the feature now appears to be called Twitter Flock. In a screenshot shared on Twitter by mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi, we can see that work has progressed noticeably:

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Flocking to the tweets

As you can see from the screenshot taken from the iOS version of the Twitter app, your Flock is a group that can include up to 150 people. Anything you post to or share with your Flock can only be seen by those people, and only members of the Flock will be able to reply to tweets.

Privacy is a key feature of Twitter Flock. Not only does the feature mean that users will be able to limit who is able to see and interact with content, but Twitter also points out that “people won't be notified if you remove them from your Twitter Flock” – helping to avoid the need to awkward explanations!

For the time being, Twitter is keeping its cards close to its chest about the feature. The company is essential neither confirming nor denying what Flock is exactly, saying to the Verge that it is “always working on new ways to help people engage in healthy conversations, and we're currently exploring ways to let people share more privately.”

The company goes on to say: “We don't have any further news to share about the feature at this time, but we can confirm that the name 'Twitter Flock' is just a placeholder.”

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Twitter finally lets you save your Spaces to use as a podcast
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If you regularly host a Twitter Spaces room, but were frustrated that you couldn’t save it for future use, Twitter has good news for you.

Back in 2020, Twitter announced the Spaces feature, where you could chat to others about any topic in a virtual room while your followers could listen in, similar to a live podcast. It’s available to use on iOS and Android where you can access it through the navigation bar, or at the top of the app if a follower is hosting one (access to Spaces when using Twitter in a web browser is still in development).

But once you were done hosting a Spaces room, there was no way to save the chat as a file and upload it to a podcast feed for those who may have missed out on the discussion.

However, there will soon be a ‘Record Spaces’ option when you’re about to chat. Once you’re finished with the Space, Twitter will hold it for 30 days, or you can download it as an audio file, which opens up many possibilities.

Analysis: One more step for Twitter Podcasts

Having a local audio file is the natural next step for Spaces. With apps such as Clubhouse offering similar features but having fallen into obscurity recently, Twitter has an opportunity to make its own mark in distributing Spaces as podcasts.

While the company has been testing Ticketed Spaces, which is a way of paying for access to Spaces in order to listen or to add to the conversation, exporting Spaces to an audio file can make the process of creating a podcast much easier for new users.

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Spaces offer an easy way for a discussion to be held about a certain topic, without having to set up Skype or Zoom, though you would still need to use another program to record the conversation. Spaces can cut these steps further now, with the offering of recording, but it also lowers the barrier for anyone on the social media platform to try their hand at podcasting about their favorite topic.

Users can become speakers and leaders of their own Twitter Spaces. They can be inspired to host their own Spaces to talk about other topics that they’re passionate about while meeting new followers who share the same interest.

This alone gives Twitter a big opportunity and could open up a new avenue to make Spaces a great platform for its own curated podcast library. But for many users, it could also go some way towards making the platform fun – and genuinely useful – once again.

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Twitter just sold its mobile ad business for more than a billion dollars
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Twitter has officially completed the sale of its mobile ads platform MoPub to AppLovin, netting the company a cool $ 1.05 billion.

MoPub helped Twitter generate around $ 190 million in revenue during 2020, but the company felt that having the platform was impacting its ability to execute in other areas, such as catering to SMBs and e-commerce, both of which are areas of strength for Meta (formerly Facebook). 

The deal was originally announced in October 2021.

Out with the old

“With the sale of MoPub completed, we continue to concentrate our efforts on enhancing ads across our platform,” Twitter GM of Revenue Products Bruce Falck said. “Our goal is to deliver faster growth in key areas and accelerate our product development.” 

At the time of the deal, AppLovin said that MoPub was being used by 45,000 apps to monetize, reaching 1.5 billion addressable users around the world. 

“Developers benefit from more features to help drive higher monetization opportunities and streamline workflows, leading to increased revenue for their businesses. We believe the power of this unified platform will be unparalleled in today’s market,” said AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi. 

“We are excited to execute on this strategic acquisition with our sights set on operating the largest and most robust in-app advertising platform that enhances the growth of the broader mobile app ecosystem.”

According to Twitter, many MoPub features will sunset on March 31, 2022, although the MoPub Dashboard and Reporting will remain live until April 8, 2022. 

While Twitter has outsized influence, its finances are generally much weaker than its rivals, leading to an ambitious plan to double revenues to $ 7.5 billion per year (or more) by 2023. 

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