Twitter kicked off the year with an update that promises to facilitate conversations on the platform. The new strategy offers four different options for users to control the replies they get to their tweets. The first option allows replies from anyone coming across the post. Option two limits replies to users that the tweet author is already following, and option three limits it further to only those tagged can comment. The fourth and most radical option blocks all replies.
This update was revealed during CES in Las Vegas, and the principal reason cited for rolling this out were empowering users to have more control over the content they post, and the conversations these posts spark. Similar to real life, one chooses interlocutors to take part in a conversation, which makes for more meaningful connections. This also limits viral backlash on certain tweets, which can make the conversation hard to follow and threatening to the user.
Adding these nuances to the ways people interact on Twitter will hopefully result in more valuable conversations and authentic content. We believe that this update will limit viral Twitter feuds, and increase ties within Twitter communities that are already having conversations with each other. That being said, while users will have more freedom to express their thoughts without the fear of viral negative feedback, it will be up to Twitter to jump in and censor content when inappropriate. This update will certainly shift the nature of Twitter interactions, and we will keep updating you as the changes roll out.
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