It’s been over four years since people have been talking about Twitter edits. Back in 2017, it seemed like the Twitter edit button was coming but it didn’t. Nevertheless, in 2022, it was talked about again by Elon Musk and a Twitter Blue subscription is readily available in most countries today.
After years of requests, Twitter is finally offering an edit button feature to its subscribers. With the new Twitter Blue subscription package priced at $8/month (or $99 annually), users can now make corrections and changes before they hit that submit button. A major relief for all those who have experienced typos in their tweets.
Not only do you get access to editing capability with this plan but if your account already has verified status, it comes with additional perks like dedicated customer support from experts when needed. So no more giving up on memes after making mistakes or choosing between correcting another tweet with Twitter Blue.
The Twitter Blue subscription is now available.
Will You Pay For Twitter Blue?
Will you pay for the Twitter edit button with a “Blue” subscription? You will also be able to get your blue check verification if your account is verified with Twitter Blue. Of course, Meta is now following Elon Musk’s lead in this subscription-based model.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.
Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Twitter Edit Button – The Tweet That Started It
Then I saw this tweet a while back and I got really excited! Did you see this tweet by one of the biggest users of Twitter with 80 million followers? It sure got a lot of Twitter users excited.
And then, of course, the news broke that Elon purchased the largest stake in Twitter and he declined to become a board member. (If he did he could only purchase up to 15% of the company.)
As we all know by now the Twitter purchase happened last week and Elon began firing those that were in charge at Twitter and more layoffs have been announced. Apparently, every coder had 10 bosses over at Twitter according to Elon Musk. Some of them may be laid off according to various news reports.
Do you want an edit button?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Back in September of 2022, Twitter began testing this new feature with the Twitter Blue Accounts However, I’ve read that you will only have 30 minutes to make any edits to your original tweets. I will be signing up by March 1st, 2023 to test out this new Twitter Blue service to rocket to the top of search there. (Stay tuned!)
How Will You Recognize A Twitter Edit?
The Twitter edits will feature:
- An icon
- A timestamp
- Label
These 3 features will let other users know that you have edited your tweet. If you TAP the label, you will see the original tweet and the edits.
Twitter Blue – Paying For The Twitter Edit Button
Twitter Blue is their paid subscription service. The price in the United States is $8.00 per month for Twitter Blue or $7.00 with the annual plan option. You can sign up for it anytime on your Twitter account under your account settings.
It may be worth the $8.00/month now with the edit button. Twitter claims: “Twitter Blue simply offers an opt-in layer of customization for your Twitter experience. ”
Will you subscribe to Twitter Blue to pay for the Twitter edit button?
What Will You Do With Twitter Edits?
First of all, Twitter edits should be quick and easy. Twitter is the fastest pace social network. Therefore having the ability to quickly change a tweet within a quick time period (seconds) would be a huge win for many users. Many users say these edits would make them happier on Twitter.
It reminds me of the birthdays on Twitter that came about years ago. You can easily edit those out so people won’t know your birthdate but many leave it in.
@adntaylor Woops. One of those moments wish Twitter allowed edits! I’ve made a correction tweet for now
— Peter Clarke (@PedroClarke1) January 7, 2017
How Twitter Edits Can Be Complicated
Twitter edits could be a great way for Twitter to improve the quality of its content. But there are some potential complications that could arise from implementing such a feature.
For one, Twitter would have to establish some hard and fast rules about what constitutes an edit, how to edit, and when an edit can be done. Otherwise, there could be a lot of confusion and misuse of the feature.
Another potential complication is that Twitter edits could change the way the platform is used. For example, if people can easily edit their tweets after they’ve been posted, they may be less likely to think carefully about what they’re posting in the first place.
This could lead to more carelessness and impulsiveness on Twitter, which could ultimately degrade the quality of the platform.
So while Twitter edits could be a helpful addition, there are some potential complications that need to be considered before implementation.
Tweets As Public Records – A Problem for Twitter Edit Button?
So you’ve heard it all before right? It could be complicated! Yes, even with Twitter edits. Twitter is a public record. According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, most states’ public records law likely includes social media.
Therefore, this means that all Tweets, including those mistaken or offensive ones, are subject to the same laws governing the government’s and public officials’ email or physical records. This means tweets can be used in court cases, etc.
So if Tweets are edited, what will it do to that public record? In addition, even Jack the CEO refers to it in another tweet on the matter back in 2016.
Edit: clearest ask was to provide a quick way to fix errors. Anything beyond requires showing edit history given tweets are public record
— jack (@jack) December 30, 2016
Most of all it is a great way to see what you tweeted about years ago if you have been on the Twitter network for some time. A great way to use tweets in court cases too if necessary.
Emergency Disclosure Requests of Tweets
In line with their Privacy Policy, Twitter may disclose account information to law enforcement in response to a valid emergency disclosure request.
Twitter evaluates emergency disclosure requests on a case-by-case basis in compliance with relevant law. If they receive information that provides them with a good faith belief that there is an exigent emergency involving a danger of death or serious physical injury to a person, they may provide any available information necessary to prevent that harm.
Some natures of emergency may include reports of suicide, terrorist attack, bomb threat, etc.
Would the Twitter edit button make a difference in these emergency reports?
Embedded Tweets
Many news organizations use embedded tweets on their digital websites and in print. If one was to edit a tweet would that update the embedded tweet?
That seems like it would become a technical nightmare for many news organizations and websites. However, if the embedded tweets were to be automatically changed with the edit button that would be a great Twitter feature to have.
I believe they will be, however, be aware you may need to clear your browser’s cache to see them.
Twitter Edit Button Time Stamps
Since everything on Twitter is mostly in chronological order (depending on your Twitter feed setup) would the new Twitter edit get a new timestamp? That would have to be a must in my Twitter playbook. Furthermore what about notifications?
Make the edited tweets time-stamped for accuracy.
Would your followers be notified when you made an edit? Another technical hurdle to overcome for Twitter with a new edit feature.
Since everything on Twitter is mostly in chronological order (depending on your Twitter feed set up) would the new Twitter edit get a new timestamp? #TwitterEditButton
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Retweets With The Twitter Edit Button
In addition to the above, what about retweets? A Twitter user makes a great point in this tweet below on retweets: Retweets are considered just like tweets. Because of this retweets should include the edits somehow.
My hot take on @twitter allowing edits is absolutely no changes after the tweet has been retweeted.
— Colton Woytas (@c0ltdawg) December 29, 2016
So even all retweets are of public record. As a result, any Twitter edits have to be carefully considered. It will be interesting to see how this edit feature unfolds in 2022.
Recently a Twitter user has come up with a nice solution here:
Forum software often allows editing for a minute or so.
That gives time to review and catch a misspelling or awkward sentence construction & make a quick correction.
Put a new tweet on a timer. Don’t allow retweets for 60 seconds. Allow editing during that time.
— Sam Robb (@Samrobb4Liberty) April 5, 2022
Facebook’s Edit Option
Yet Facebook allows editing – you may be wondering why. Their way around editing is this: “any post that has undergone delayed modification will brandish a small type that says “Edited,” and when that is clicked on, it reveals the editing history of the post in question.” via Digitaltrends.
You can also view your Facebook archive similar to Twitter’s here. Seems like Twitter should try to follow in Facebook’s footsteps in this one. If you have been a reader here at Inspire to Thrive for a while you know I don’t want Twitter to be like Facebook but they could use a few of their tried and true tactics.
Now this question came up recently and I liked the answer below:
We solved this on Facebook a long time ago. You just include an indicator that it has been edited along with a change log. If you are really worried about embeds they can point to a specific revision in that history but with a link to the latest edit. Not a real issue.
— Boz (@boztank) April 5, 2022
Your Turn on Twitter Blue
Because of the complications do you think Twitter should allow Twitter Edits? Are you a Twitter Blue member? I’d love to hear from you as well! If so, will you PAY MORE for it going forward?
Have you been using the Twitter edit button with your subscription? Will you subscribe to Twitter Blue? Do you think the Like button will stay on Twitter? I’d love to know more in the comments below.
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