The thing that makes Twitter so popular is its accessibility – it’s easy to use & understand. The basic format is that Tweets must be no longer than 140 characters in length, but there are many different types of Tweets.
Content tweets can take various forms – text, image, video.
For Image Tweets
To take a spontaneous image of your surroundings or a selfie, click on the camera icon & shoot. To add an existing image, click on the photo icon & select an image from your gallery (camera roll). As with text, Twitter limits the number of images you can add to your Tweet so you’ll only be able to add 4 per Tweet.
On newer Twitter apps, images can be edited directly on the app & various filters are on offer to spruce up users’ pictures. A set of stickers are also available & users can add up to 26 per Tweet.
For GIFs
Twitter offers a comprehensive Gif library. To view available Gifs, click on the Gif icon & scroll through the images on offer. Users can, also, add their own Gifs, which should be limited to 5MB on mobile, & 15MB on the Net.
For Videos
Users can shoot a video directly by using their camera & upload it to Twitter. Additionally, users can upload videos from their galleries (camera roll). Videos can have a maximum length of 2 minutes & 20 seconds. Videos can be trimmed using Twitter’s editing facilities directly on the app.
For Polls
To add a poll, click on the 3 bar poll icon & add Content to the poll. Users can also set the duration of the poll by setting up this option.
Location
Location can be attached to any Tweet by clicking on the map pointer icon & selecting the suitable option.
Tagging Users
Users can tag others in their images, but this controversial feature is limited; users can elect to have tags removed & the feature may be deprecated in the near future.
For Audio
Use the waveform icon to select Voice Tweets. Tap the record button to begin recording. Voice tweet captures up to 140 seconds of audio content.
For Mixed Content
A combination of images, text & links & polls can be used to enliven Tweets.
Other Features
Twitter offers a broad set of interaction features, which include the option to re-tweet, comment on other users content & simply “like” the Tweet. Additionally, users can elect to share their content with everyone or only a select few – they also have an option (called Safety Mode, which is aimed at protecting female journalists) to block comments from abusive Trolls, if they so choose.
A new feature is the option to tip users on the platform. Payments can be made via PayPal, Patreon, Razorpay & other services (Twitter also added Bitcoin tipping options in September 2021.
