The last thing Twitter needs is an edit button
Twitter now has ‘fleets’, but with each new addition, the call for an edit button is getting louder. However, that’s the last thing Twitter needs.
Twitterers cannot tolerate change. They have been in an uproar again in recent weeks because a new position has been added. After the riots around the like button and other adjustments that everyone accepted after a few weeks, people are now angry about fleets.
According to Twitter, the idea of fleets is that you can share messages that disappear after 24 hours, instead of always staying on your profile. In practice, fleets are exactly the same as Instagram Stories, but with far fewer options.
Every time Twitter adds something new, people are not only afraid of change, but also amazed that there is still no edit button. Everyone on Twitter has posted a tweet with a typo. Then you have to delete the post completely and post it again, but if you already have some likes and retweets, you will of course not do that so quickly. Some editing would be nice.
Misinformation
But one of the biggest problems facing all social media right now is misinformation. Twitter has recently done its best to limit the rapid spread of these messages. This happens, among other things, with a message under a tweet about an important subject, if the information in the message does not seem to be correct. That report, for example, has frequently been among Donald Trump’s tweets.
In addition, the retweets have been addressed. Previously, you only had to press the retweet button to spread information further. Now you will be sent to the screen where you have to add a comment to the retweet yourself. If you don’t add anything, the tweet will still be shared as a normal retweet. Twitter is also rolling out a new warning this week, which you will see if you like a tweet that contains a warning.
If you add an edit button to this chaos, people will post something that will get retweets very quickly, after which they quickly adjust the message. Everyone who retweeted it suddenly shares a completely different message. With large accounts, retweets are super fast, so something like that could have happened in ten seconds.
French fries or chips
And that of course goes much further than a joke, such as when someone says it is ‘fries’ and quickly turns them into ‘fries’ after a minute. Or that someone asks a question, waits for answers and then quickly adjusts the wording of the question. It’s about grand subjects. Information about the coronavirus and vaccines, about elections and so much more. One moment you are retweeting “dogs are good” and without your knowing it suddenly says “nazis are good” on your profile. No, I prefer fleets to an edit button.
I am even happy with the fleets. On the one hand because the Instagram app is deteriorating rapidly and I still want to post my stories somewhere. But above all because the fleets with me mainly consist of nice videos and photos of dogs and cats. Maybe an idea for a loose social network?
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