Announced Tuesday, the company said in a blog post it decided to extend the length because video is becoming “increasingly central to the real-time conversations happening on Twitter,” noting that video tweets on the platform have increased by more than 50 percent since the start of this year.
Twitter is also making a significant improvement to how it surfaces related videos for users to watch, a move it hopes will help boost engagement on the struggling platform. Launching “soon,” when you tap on a video tweet on your timeline you’ll notice a bunch of suggested clips listed below. If one catches your eye, simply tap and view.
With other social media companies – Facebook among them – pushing more aggressively into video, it’s no big surprise that Twitter is moving in the same direction. Instagram, too, also extended its video limit recently, pushing it to a full minute, up from 15 seconds.
Twitter’s recently announced acquisition of London-based Magic Pony to help boost video quality also signifies its increasing focus on video, while Twitter-owned Periscope and Vine could also benefit from the buyout.
Now, everyone can post videos up to 140 seconds long! We can’t wait to see the amazing videos you create and share.https://t.co/DFsuvnXkuL
— Creators (@XCreators) June 21, 2016
Speaking of Vine, the video-loop platform is also rolling out 140-second videos, though at this stage it’s being tested with a limited number of users. “Hang on,” you say, “I thought Vine was all about six-second shorts.” Well, it is, and will remain that way, except that you might soon start seeing a “watch more” button with some of those short videos. This’ll take you to a longer, related video, with the preceding six-second loop having essentially served as a trailer. No, we don’t know if it’s a good idea either. Which is why Vine is testing it.
It’s been a busy Tuesday for Twitter. The San Francisco company also rolled out an new iOS-only app called Engage, primarily for “creators, influencers, and public figures,” that acts as a one-stop shop for “real-time data and insights” about their tweets. You can read more about Engage here.
