so, this new functionality doesn't allow you to add your own text to something you RT? that's sort of inherent to the idea of RTing, would be odd if they killed it.
Gsp
· 3 months ago
Hmm...nice idea theoretically as the retweet doesn't take up part of your 140 characters anymore.
But the implementation desscribed above lacks a couple of things like being able to add your own extra comment about the tweet you're retweeting, which I often like to do (if there's space). It also doesn't have the flexibility of being able to edit the original tweet to make extra room for your own comments added to it, e.g. by putting in a [...] - especially where people were already over the 140 characters in their original tweet.
It encourages people to discover the original tweeter though, which is good...but also bad, as I think more people (this already happens) will just copy & paste the original tweet as though it was their own. I think part of the motivation to retweet, includes getting credit for sharing something interesting to your followers, after all, a big part of being on Twitter (as discussed in the Mashable article about why there aren't many teenagers on Twitter) is about wanting an audience.
txvoodoo
· 3 months ago
I agree on the bit about being able to edit the RT - we often now use it as a way of giving context to our own tweets.
Ryan
· 3 months ago
If you cant add your own text along with a RT then this is a fail. I would say 95% of my RT's I add my own blurb to.
Shannon Whitley
· 3 months ago
I agree with Ryan. The retweets need comments.
jef
· 3 months ago
I really wanna ask you, everyone visiting here, something. Do you retweet other person's tweet with your own comments or not? Like:
A lot of people in East Asia (like Japan and Korea) use RT for such purposes. What about you?
trenoops
· 3 months ago
Yes i reTweet that way all the time jef.
Loren
· 3 months ago
Yes! I was wondering the same thing... will we still be able to comment on a RT if we use this method?
skgirl
· 3 months ago
I would say 95% of the time I add a comment on RTing.
ALLthingsPORN
· 3 months ago
All too often when I go 2 reTweet, it makes the tweet TOO LONG 2 keep the LINK intact. So I wind up having 2 shorten the original message a bit 2 make sure others can still utilize the LINK! I hope Twitter designs their reTweet function 2 let us still keep the WHOLE LINK intact!
- @ALLthingsPORN
Evandro Felippe
· 3 months ago
Yep, I do that too!
I would like when it become implemented to allow me to edit or add comments to RT before submit it to all my followers.
If that doesn't happen, probably I'll use the old method of reTwitting (copy&paste the tweet, insert "RT @mention:", then type my comment) when I want to add comments...
Police Notes
· 3 months ago
Yes I usually retweet with my own comment if possible. Sometimes I will tastefully shorten the original tweet to get my comment in.
Sweet. I'm glad Twitter is finally embracing the retweet and also giving the apps a chance to launch with them. Very cool.
trenoops
· 3 months ago
Now if they could commence with project 'SEARCH who you FOLLOW'! for real is this in the works?
dagorret
· 3 months ago
Good notice
Frank
· 3 months ago
About damn time.
Gsp
· 3 months ago
@ trenoops sevenly Ah yes - now we're talking! The retweet is much less useful that the ability to easily search your followers, and even better would be if you could search tweets and restrict to just your followers, and also see who's following yo uwhen you visit their profile - like when you're following someone & you visit their profile so you can also see if they're following you back (especially DMs are contingent on this!)
Also something really simple like when viewing your followers, and who you're following, to have a last and first page button for web navigation, instead of just next and previous!
Gsp
· 3 months ago
Oops, sorry for the typos. Hope it made sense (e.g. that I meant especially 'since' DMs are contingent... etc.)
Sara Asche Anderson
· 3 months ago
I've actually had a "RT" function on the Twitter web site for quite some time. It's obviously a test b/c it doesn't look great (or anything like the above). You can see screen shots of what this function looks like to me here: http://twitpic.com/ds8nl and here: http://twitpic.com/ds8qj
Uh.. It looks like bit.ly's Firefox plug-in thing.
Sara Asche Anderson
· 3 months ago
Dang, you're right. I disabled it and it was gone. Here I thought I was cool or something.
Alessandra Colaci
· 3 months ago
I think that is actually the PowerTwitter plugin, not bit.ly. Because I have it too with PowerTwitter.
Scott Duehlmeier
· 3 months ago
It is about time...that is the main reason I rarely logged onto the website...ReTweeting was a pain in the arse.
richrecruiter
· 3 months ago
Fantastic. I'll finally be able to turn retweets OFF.
@VeryShortStory
· 3 months ago
I hope this means that you will be able to retweet messages that are already 140 characters.
CrystalsQuest
· 3 months ago
Not sure how they'll handle the timing. If I retweet something 12hrs after, currently the rt shows up with the time I sent it as a status of it's own. Using this, it looks as though it'll just constantly refresh the original, begging the question of whether a popular tweet will perpetually hog the top of a timeline, or get buried back where it was originally sent (eliminating the point of retweeting to a new audience in a different timezone). I think just adding the function as a template (like reply) but using the existing conventions, and creating retweets as independent status updates with links back to the original, would make a lot more sense - especially if the RT@username no longer counts in the 140char, like your username doesn't shorten the original tweet. Why reinvent the wheel?
Gsp
· 3 months ago
CrystalsQuest makes an excellent suggestion - lets hope Evan & his team are thinking along the same lines, or of something even cleverer.
skgirl
· 3 months ago
I will be very disappointed if you can't edit the RT first. Most people I follow add their insight to a RT that makes the reason for forwarding it on salient and relevant to their followers. I know a lot of businesses, including the one I work for, that also value being able to do that. It might even be a deal-breaker for me in using Twitter if I could not comment before retweeting.
Renee
· 3 months ago
I kind of like it---now retweeting someone with a long username won't force you to cut down what they had to say to make it fit.
darlanne
· 3 months ago
If there's a way to add commentary/blurbs then this is a huge plus ... if not then by adding one feature they've sacrificed another. I like having control over my tweets, whether they are tweets or RTs. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving that they are supporting retweeting and I really believe they are embracing user input all in all ... but please leave us a choice, Twitter.
Only one other upside I see here is no room for error ... as far as quoting something wrong in a RT.
fwisp.com
· 3 months ago
Its about time this happen. BTW they should allow a comment on the RT
Tweeminence
· 3 months ago
I like the fact that this should make the flow of information a bit more efficient. However, it would be nice if there were a way to maintain the ability to add your own text to a RT
Chris
· 3 months ago
It was inevitable, but ultimately pointless. If you use twitter properly then it'll save you a few seconds a week. The major benefit is for twitter "spammers" who think twittering means retweeting everything they read rather than think up their own content (or can bothered re-wording the original tweet into something more personal)
The one thing I do like is adding RT's to the search API, so it'll be a lot easier to find out who's retweeting you.
Alessandra Colaci
· 3 months ago
I don't get why it is taking out the RT part. If you see it in your stream and don't look at the bottom part of the tweet for details (which most people don't pay attention to), then you don't know it is a retweet. This does 2 things: 1- Doesn't give the original tweeter as much credit, and people might think it is an original tweet of the retweeter instead. 2- Takes away from the "viral" element of retweeting. Valuable links/tweets get retweeted. And seeing something retweeting gives it a bit of extra credibility.
Pliggs
· 3 months ago
I can't wait for this to be implemented, I have always wondered why they didn't do it sooner.
David Banes
· 2 months ago
Isn't this going to break services that proxy Twitter for generic clients?
devorahf
· 2 months ago
I like to know that it's an RT before I read the post so the retweet below sounds annoying. I guess in good news it saves room for the post. I will probably still retweet via my Greasemonkey script where I can write my own commentary as well. By having this reading order messed up, how will it affect those reading with screen readers?
wniizzati
· 3 weeks ago
i had been using this feature on my Twitter also wrote a post about this feature.
All Comments
But the implementation desscribed above lacks a couple of things like being able to add your own extra comment about the tweet you're retweeting, which I often like to do (if there's space). It also doesn't have the flexibility of being able to edit the original tweet to make extra room for your own comments added to it, e.g. by putting in a [...] - especially where people were already over the 140 characters in their original tweet.
It encourages people to discover the original tweeter though, which is good...but also bad, as I think more people (this already happens) will just copy & paste the original tweet as though it was their own. I think part of the motivation to retweet, includes getting credit for sharing something interesting to your followers, after all, a big part of being on Twitter (as discussed in the Mashable article about why there aren't many teenagers on Twitter) is about wanting an audience.
"Mashable Rocks (via @emailer) - Yeah, ditto that." / "RT Yeah, ditto that. @emailer Mashable Rocks"
A lot of people in East Asia (like Japan and Korea) use RT for such purposes. What about you?
I hope Twitter designs their reTweet function 2 let us still keep the WHOLE LINK intact!
- @ALLthingsPORN
I would like when it become implemented to allow me to edit or add comments to RT before submit it to all my followers.
If that doesn't happen, probably I'll use the old method of reTwitting (copy&paste the tweet, insert "RT @mention:", then type my comment) when I want to add comments...
www.policenotes.com
http://www.adgirlandtechnerd.com
http://everygirlblog.com
Also something really simple like when viewing your followers, and who you're following, to have a last and first page button for web navigation, instead of just next and previous!
I first noticed this on May 9th: http://twitter.com/sjaa/status/1750750513
I think just adding the function as a template (like reply) but using the existing conventions, and creating retweets as independent status updates with links back to the original, would make a lot more sense - especially if the RT@username no longer counts in the 140char, like your username doesn't shorten the original tweet. Why reinvent the wheel?
Only one other upside I see here is no room for error ... as far as quoting something wrong in a RT.
The one thing I do like is adding RT's to the search API, so it'll be a lot easier to find out who's retweeting you.
By having this reading order messed up, how will it affect those reading with screen readers?
also wrote a post about this feature.