San Franscisco – Twitter has officially rolled out its “retweet with comment” feature, which lets people annotate the tweets of others.
The new tool lets users embed tweets in their own messages, so users still get 140 characters to comment on a tweet.
Available on Twitter’s website and the iPhone app, the feature will be extended soon to Android handsets.
Twitter began testing its tool last year.
Until now, Twitter users have had to embed tweets by cutting and pasting a URL and then adding a comment, within the 140-character limit. Now the process is available at the touch of a button and is going down well on the social network.
Celebrity chef and prolific tweeter Nigella Lawson has embraced the tool by commenting on a retweet. She first retweeted a tweet by user AyaReina that said: “Huzzah! Twitter unveils revamped ‘quote tweet’ functionality, rolling out to iPhone and web users today.”
The TV chef then commented on another that she shared, which said: “Also this is great news for tweeters like @Nigella_lawson who quotes tweets a lot”, simply adding: “It is indeed.”
As well as allowing people 140 characters with which to construct a comment, the new feature preserves the context and meaning of an original tweet, TechCrunch noted.
The platform is gradually evolving to let users express themselves in more detail.
Users got around the problem by using unofficial techniques such as posting screenshots and using apps such as Jumbo Tweet and Twit Longer that extend the character limit.
The feature doesn’t allow users to comment on a string of tweets, to produce one mammoth message and users can’t retweet their own quote tweets.
How to use the ‘Retweet with comment feature’
To use the feature on Twitter’s website:
1 Hover over a tweet.
2 Click the “Retweet” icon.
3 A pop-up will show you the tweet and a comment box.
4 Type your own comments in the “Add a comment” field.
5 Click the “Tweet” button.
6 The tweet will then be shared with your followers as a quote tweet.
From mobile apps:
1 Tap the “Retweet” icon.
2 Tap “Quote Tweet”.
3 Add a comment and tap “Tweet”.
4 The tweet will then be shared with your followers as a quote “tweet”.
Users may delete quote tweets by clicking the “More” icon and by selecting “Delete Tweet”.
Sunday Independent